‘Our time will come,’ says cool goal sneak

JACK Bowes says it was surreal to kick the match winner for Gold Coast against Carlton in a moment that underpins the team’s belief that those chances will continue to come when games are on the line.

Gold Coast trailed by four points with 13 seconds left in the last quarter when tall forward Peter Wright went into a crowded contest in front of goal and managed to find Jack Bowes with clean space.

Bowes snapped over his shoulder on his non-preferred left foot, sending the ball over Mitch McGovern’s head and through the goal.

“I just remember there being a massive scrap from the boys and Peter Wright digging down there, getting low and getting his hands up,” Bowes said. “I was lucky enough to put it on the left foot and I just got it over the fingertips of the Carlton player. It’s a pretty surreal feeling.”

It came minutes after Wright dropped an uncontested mark centimetres from the goal line after Alex Sexton sent a long kick that was headed for a major.

Carlton sent the ball up to the other end of the field where Patrick Cripps kicked a goal less than 30 seconds later.

It could have been the fatal blow to Gold Coast’s hopes but Bowes said their new-found mental strength had them believing they could still win.

“You can easily drop your head in those situations but I think through the back of our preseason and the mental resilience within training we have been able to stay in games for longer and run them out,” Bowes said. “We have a real trust and belief in the group and we share the responsibility out there.

“It’s not just one person getting the footy and using it. We all have a shared workload. On the basis of that, our belief and a bit of composure out there we know it will come, our time will come.”