The depth of outgoing Sun Jack Bowes’ frustrations towards the club have been revealed in a report by the Herald Sun.
Bowes, who signed a five-year contract extension with Gold Coast in 2019, is set to be traded to Geelong along with Pick 7 in a rare package to off-load his heavily back-ended $1.6 million deal over the next two seasons.
While reports stated Bowes was happy to explore his options at elsewhere, the Herald Sun has revealed Bowes has been left feeling “betrayed” by the club and never wanted to depart it.
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It’s understood those close to Bowes believe he first saw signs that his situation could unravel midway through the 2021 season when he featured in several rolling All-Australian sides yet wasn’t inside Gold Coast’s top 10 in the best and fairest count in the same period.
And so when the Suns told him at this year’s exit meeting they were keen to trade him, he was left disappointed but not shocked. While on holidays in Bali he was left irritated by some media reports calling him a ‘wantaway Sun.’
Geelong, Hawthorn, Essendon, Adelaide and Brisbane were all among the clubs interested in his services, however the Cats had long eyed Bowes from the start of last year prior to the Suns dangling Pick 7 in negotiations, and the 83-gamer wasn’t interested in joining a rebuilding club after six seasons at Gold Coast.
The 24-year old has links to Patrick Dangerfield from his time with the Allies under-18 team and former Suns skipper Gary Ablett.
Part of Geelong’s sell to him was a meeting including Dangerfield, Geelong coach Chris Scott and list boss Andrew Mackie where they pitched the running defender playing in a variety of roles across the ground and rotating through the midfield like several other players.
He’s now believed to be thrilled to joining the 2022 premiers and trying to crack into their already stacked 22.
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It came after a Bowes only played five senior games for the Suns this year in a disrupted campaign after he suffered a pre-season shoulder injury.
But the report states the backman loves the club that drafted him with the 10th Pick in the 2016 AFL draft – where he was once seen as a potential future skipper – with an eye towards playing in its first premiership side, and he even agreed to a significant pay cut two years into his current deal.
Furthermore, Bowes’ parents relocated from Cairns to Gold Coast to be closer with him and played a big role in creating a support network for players at the Suns as well as his grandmother frequently hosting young draftees early in their careers.
The report also revealed Bowes bought a house in Queensland and that his partner is from the state.
