Midfield beckons Bowes

THE start of Jack Bowes’ career as an AFL midfielder could begin in his home town of Cairns with an injury to Aaron Hall opening the door for him to spend time on the ball against the Kangaroos in Round 1.

Bowes managed 11 games, mostly across halfback, in a debut season that was interrupted by a bout of tonsillitis which made him lose weight and strength.

But he was a standout mid- fielder in his junior career and that is where the Suns need his poise and ball use.

Given Bowes ( pictured) was a part of the Suns academy and they had four picks in the top ten, and were therefore no danger of missing out on him, he was not taken until pick 10 but he was widely considered among the top five players in that draft.

When Pearce Hanley was injured against Brisbane last week Bowes dropped back to defence.

But he spent his time over the pre- season playing on the wing and will likely line- up there against the Kangaroos in Cairns.

And with Hall absent, he may get some time in the middle at centre bounces.

“There is still a long way to go yet, the body still has some maturing to do but that is the plan,’’ he said.

“I trained on the wing all pre- season and getting bits and pieces inside.

“The end goal for myself, having been a midfielder throughout the juniors, is to play there in an AFL side.’’

The profile in the AFL’s season guide lists Bowes as having put on 4kg since his debut season but it looks more because he has built muscle.

He says he can feel the increased strength in contested situations but the league is full of big- bodied midfielders and the Kangaroos are particularly well stocked in that department.

With that in mind he knows he must constantly work on improving his technique to win one- on- one contests for the footy.

“It helps a little bit, going up against bigger bodies you need that strength,’’ he said.

“But you need to be able to find other ways to win the footy without relying on strength.’’

Bowes conceded Hall’s ab- sence was a blow but said some new- found depth at the club gave the side confidence.

“We’ll miss his leadership, but when one soldier goes down another stands up and we have got plenty of competition for spots,’’ he said.

“I’m sure the void will be filled and we have a lot of trust in whoever comes in.’’

Suns football manager Jon Haines said Hall suffered the injury in the final pre- season match against Brisbane.

He said Hall should be right to return for Round 2.