Joel Bowden

Joel Francis Bowden (born 21 June 1978) is an Australian politician, former union leader and former professional Australian rules footballer. He was elected to the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly at the 2020 Johnston by-election, representing the Australian Labor Party (ALP). He previously played professional football for the Richmond Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL) from 1996 to 2009.

Joel Bowden
Bowden in May 2009
Personal information
Full name Joel Francis Bowden
Date of birth (1978-06-21) 21 June 1978
Place of birth Mildura, Victoria[1]
Original team(s) West Alice Springs (CAFL)
Draft Father-son selection, 1995 AFL Draft
Height 188 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight 90 kg (198 lb)
Position(s) Defender/forward
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
1996–2009 Richmond 265 (171)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2009.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Football career

He was drafted at the end of the 1995 AFL season under a father-son selection, and is the son of former Richmond 1969 premiership player Michael Bowden.

In 2006, Bowden was among the leading possession getters in the AFL, and had the most possessions shared between any two players with his brother Patrick. He played his 200th AFL game in round 8 against Adelaide, gathering 34 possessions as the Tigers upset the then-ladder-leading Crows by three points just a week after suffering a 118-point loss to the Sydney Swans.[2]

In round 16, 2008, Bowden was at the centre of a major controversy regarding rushed behinds. With Richmond up by 6 points against Essendon with less than a minute left, Bowden proceeded to wipe the remaining time off the clock by rushing 2 behinds from the kick out.[3] These tactics which caused an uproar with many calling for the current rules to be changed; football journalist Mike Sheahan even likened it to the infamous Trevor Chappell underarm delivery incident. He played his last game against Collingwood, who defeated Richmond by 93 points.[4]

Statistics
[5]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
1996 Richmond 11543171431730.80.63.42.86.21.40.6
1997 Richmond 11132191467522151211.60.711.25.817.03.91.6
1998 Richmond 1118171917813130972360.91.19.97.317.24.02.0
1999 Richmond 1122151123818342182380.70.510.88.319.13.71.7
2000 Richmond 11221914293203496124510.90.613.39.222.55.62.3
2001 Richmond 11252622381210591149511.00.915.28.423.66.02.0
2002 Richmond 11221817334171505125630.80.815.27.823.05.72.9
2003 Richmond 1122129300181481128740.50.413.68.221.95.83.4
2004 Richmond 112196345177522128510.40.316.48.424.96.12.4
2005 Richmond 112275324188512131380.30.214.78.523.36.01.7
2006 Richmond 112130326169495133370.10.015.58.023.66.31.8
2007 Richmond 112232329220549179380.10.115.010.025.08.11.7
2008 Richmond 1118176259153412153390.90.314.48.522.98.52.2
2009 Richmond 11123119510129684200.30.116.38.424.77.01.7
Career 265 174 124 3665 2176 5841 1546 560 0.7 0.5 13.8 8.2 22.0 5.8 2.1

Achievements and honours

Unions NT

In 2018, Bowden was appointed general secretary of Unions NT, the peak body for the labour movement in the Northern Territory.[6]

Politics

In February 2020, Bowden ran for and won the 2020 Johnston by-election to the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly.

References
  1. Holmesby, Russell; Main, Jim (2002). The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers: every AFL/VFL player since 1897 (4th ed.). Melbourne, Victoria: Crown Content. p. 56. ISBN 1-74095-001-1.
  2. Phelan, Jason (20 May 2006). "Crows come up short". Adelaide Football Club official website. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 1 March 2015.
  3. "Joel Bowden Rushed Behinds (AFL, Richmond v Essendon, Round 16, 2008)". YouTube. Channel93. Retrieved 12 January 2018.
  4. The Rushed Behind Debate Archived 10 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  5. Joel Bowden's player profile at AFL Tables
  6. Manicaros, Ashley (21 July 2018). "Bowden to carry the banner for Unions NT" (PDF). Northern Territory News. Retrieved 1 March 2020.
Northern Territory Legislative Assembly
Preceded by
Ken Vowles		 Member for Johnston
2020–present		 Incumbent
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.