Dedicated Bowey Poised for Football Success
Owen Leonard
Jake Bowey’s dedication has always paid off.
As an under 11, not even a premiership coupled with a best-on-ground medal could quench a young Bowey’s thirst for success.
Instead, a couple of hours later, Bowey played up in age to make up the numbers for Highett’s under 12 team.
“Back in the Highett days we struggled for numbers a bit,” he said.
“So I played in my age group in under 11s, and we won the flag, and we then drove down to Ormond and played in the under 12s granny.
“We won the flag there as well.”
It’s the same drive which continues to push the wingman through 2020’s missed season, training mostly with Dragons teammate Lachie Carrigan.
“[Training] hasn’t been too much of a challenge,” said Bowey.
“I’m pretty dedicated as a player, so I take every opportunity I get to go out and fix up my craft, or just go for a run.”
At 175cm, Bowey’s agility and evasion is well-completed by clean hands, toughness, and a strong vertical leap.
“I can play a bit taller than what I stand at,” he said.
And having comfortably outgrown his father, Brett, who played 85 games as a rover for St Kilda, Bowey’s drive to succeed is only heightened further.
“Dad’s 10 centimetres shorter than me, and seeing Caleb Daniel run about in the AFL these days also motivates me a fair bit.”
Bowey began to follow in his father’s footsteps last year, training at the Saints in a two-week block before Christmas.
It came after averaging 16 disposals, four marks and four tackles per game as a bottom-ager, as well as impressing in the under-17 NAB All Stars Futures match, the AFL Grand Final’s curtain riser.
And again, dedication shone through.
“[Training at St Kilda] was a tick off the bucket list,” he said.
“The players’ work rate and dedication to do six-hour days and sometimes even longer to improve themselves as people and as footy players was unreal.”
With nine of his Dragons teammates drafted last year, Bowey is already learning how to adjust to AFL-level demands.
“It’s pretty surreal watching them on TV nowadays,” he said.
"I try to keep in touch with Miles Bergman (Port Adelaide) and Ryan Byrnes (St Kilda) to see how they’re going, the changes that they’ve made to their footy and the everyday routines they go through at AFL level.
“I’ve been getting a bit of advice from them over the phone and through messages, so they’ve helped a fair bit with my footy.”
And with the AFL draft combine approaching, personal bests will be the focus for the Dragons leader.
“I’m pretty comfortable with the 20-metre sprint and the vertical leap, so it’s just touching up on the 2k [time trail].
“Beating my PB, I’d be pretty happy if I did that.”