BIG BOYS ARE GOOD SPORTS
THE daughter of Cowboys legend Matty Bowen proved she can mix it with the big boys, and now the big boys are getting their due credit too.
Diaz Bowen, 9, was snapped at last weekend’s Gorden Tallis Cup carnival staring down an opponent more than twice her size following a tackle involving Diaz and a couple of her Centrals teammates.
The boy tackled by Diaz was AJ Lepua of the Waterford Demons, praised by fellow teams and tournament organisers for their exemplary sportsmanship and respect throughout the two-day carnival. The Waterford boys, who were among the biggest players of the carnival, regularly avoided heavy tackles with their smaller opponents and earned wide respect from players and parents from opposition teams.
Waterford team manager Kylie Boudelah said she was proud of the way her team conducted itself throughout the Gorden Tallis Cup, which fielded a record 72 teams and more than 1000 players.
“They had smiles all weekend and we’re so proud of how our boys represented themselves and their club,” Boudelah said.
“They were so well behaved and they’re such a lovely group of boys. They’ve been playing together all year and it’s something we spent a lot of time fundraising for.
“AJ (Lepua) is such a lovely kid and he knows how big he is, so it was great to see him taking the tackles against the smaller players.”
Ms Boudelah said the team, which won the carnival’s tier 2 Reggie Matthews Plate, would plan to return next year.
“It’s a great experience and the boys really enjoyed meeting Matty Bowen,” she said. “We can’t talk about the carnival highly enough.”