Razor-sharp forward loving it with Sharks
SOUTHPORT forward Billy Gowers has looked a cut above this season and the apprentice barber says it’s reinvigorated his love for the game.
Gowers has already proved to be one of the recruits of the season for the Sharks’ VFL team, kicking 12 goals in three games, including a 5.5 showing against Aspley in Round 2.
The 24-year-old, who played 33 AFL games for the Western Bulldogs, said his
shift from Melbourne to Queensland was something he had relished.
“I’m enjoying full-time work and footy has become that outlet and something fun again, which it previously hasn’t always been,” Gowers said.
“I’m loving it at the Sharks. It’s a far more relaxed environment and a different landscape to what the AFL is.
“It feels like a real community club and everyone is so willing to do anything for anyone.”
Gowers made the decision to move to Queensland with fellow Sharks recruits and former Bulldogs teammates Lukas Webb and Brad Lynch to pursue a career in barbering, while taking advantage of the weather the Sunshine State has to offer.
Gowers’ time in the AFL system was full of highs and lows. Originally drafted as a rookie by Carlton at the age of 18 in the 2015 draft, Gowers couldn’t muster a game for over two years.
He released the shackles in 2017 while playing for Footscray and it led to a chance in the AFL with the Bulldogs, where he became the team’s leading goal-kicker in his first season.
His 2019 season was interrupted by injuries, including a wrist injury suffered in a car accident the day before the pre-season started, then a bruised heel a few weeks out from the AFL season.
Gowers managed to come back in and play the first 10 games of the 2019 season but conceded he fell out of love for the game after being dropped.
After being delisted by the Bulldogs, Gowers opted to sign for a Gold Coast side and has reinvigorated his game on the back of it.