View source for Joel Bowden

{{short description|Australian rules footballer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2016}}
{{Use Australian English|date=January 2016}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Joel Bowden
| honorific-suffix    =
| image               = Joel Bowden (cropped).jpg
| image_size          = 200px
| alt                 = 
| caption             = Bowden in May 2009
| office              = Member of the [[Northern Territory Legislative Assembly]] for [[electoral division of Johnston|Johnston]]
| term_start          = 29 February 2020
| term_end            = 24 August 2024
| predecessor         = [[Ken Vowles]]
| birthname           = Joel Francis Bowden
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1978|6|21}}
| birth_place         = [[Mildura, Victoria]]<ref>{{Ref AFL Encyc|4th|56}}</ref>
| party               = [[Territory Labor Party|Labor]]
| module              = {{Infobox AFL biography
| embed = yes
| originalteam = West [[Alice Springs]] ([[Central Australian Football League|CAFL]])
| draftpick = Father-son selection, [[1995 AFL Draft]]
| height = 188 cm
| weight = 90 kg
| position = Defender/forward
| statsend = 2009
| years1 = 1996–2009
| club1 = {{AFL Ric}}
| games_goals1 = 265 (171)
| careerhighlights = *2× [[Jack Dyer Medal]] 2004, 2005
*2× [[All-Australian]] 2005, 2006
*[[AFL Rising Star]] nominee: [[1997 AFL Rising Star|1997]]
}}
| successor           = [[Justine Davis]]
}}
'''Joel Francis Bowden''' (born 21 June 1978) is an Australian politician, former union leader and former professional [[Australian rules football]]er. He was elected to the [[Northern Territory Legislative Assembly]] at the [[2020 Johnston by-election]], representing the [[Australian Labor Party]] (ALP) until 2024. He previously played professional football for the [[Richmond Football Club]] in the [[Australian Football League]] (AFL) from 1996 to 2009.

==Early life==
Bowden was born at the Mildura Base Hospital in [[Mildura, Victoria]], to mother Judy and father [[Michael Bowden (Australian rules footballer)|Michael Bowden]] (a [[Richmond Football Club]] premiership player),<ref name="Territory Story">[https://anchor.fm/territorystory/episodes/122--Joel-Bowden---Eye-of-the-Tiger-ei3fn3 Territory Story] By Leon Loganathan & Peter Gowers</ref> one of four biological brothers (including older brother [[Sean Bowden]] and younger brother [[Patrick Bowden]]) he was part of a football dynasty.<ref>[https://www.theage.com.au/sport/afl/at-home-with-the-bowdens-20060428-ge27ls.html At home with the Bowdens] by Lyall Johnson for The Age April 28, 2006</ref>

Bowden's family moved to the remote South Australian community of [[Pukatja, South Australia|Ernabella]], in the 1980s as a very young boy where his father Michael was a community advisor. He spent a couple of years playing with indigenous children in the area. The family returned to Mildura for a few years before returning to [[Alice Springs]] in 1987, where Michael became a teacher and where Joel completed his schooling from the age of 9.<ref name="Territory Story" />

Joel played for the Northern Territory Schoolboys in 1993. He was named in the All-Australian Schoolboy's team and won the J.L Williams Medal as best player. In 1994 he once again represented the Northern Territory.<ref>[https://www.aflnt.com.au/aboutteam-of-the-century/joel-bowden Joel Bowden] from AFL Northern Territory Team of the Century</ref> In addition to football, Bowden represented the Northern Territory twice in [[cricket]] at under 17 level.<ref name="Territory Story" />

==AFL career==
Bowden was drafted at the end of the [[1995 AFL season]] under a father-son selection.

In 2006, Bowden was among the leading possession getters in the [[Australian Football League|AFL]], and had the most possessions shared between any two players with his brother [[Patrick Bowden|Patrick]]. He played his 200th AFL game in [[Richmond vs Adelaide (2006 AFL season)|round 8 against Adelaide]], gathering 34 possessions as the Tigers used low risk short-passing tactics to upset the then-ladder-leading Crows by three points just a week after suffering a 118-point loss to the [[Sydney Swans]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.afc.com.au/news/2006-05-20/crows-come-up-short|title=Crows come up short|first=Jason|last=Phelan|publisher=[[Adelaide Football Club]] official website|date=20 May 2006|access-date=1 March 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402132815/http://www.afc.com.au/news/2006-05-20/crows-come-up-short|archive-date=2 April 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref>

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 [[rushed behind|rushing 2 behinds]] from the kick out.<ref>{{cite web|title=Joel Bowden Rushed Behinds (AFL, Richmond v Essendon, Round 16, 2008)|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a9dqFsZYzQ8 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/a9dqFsZYzQ8 |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|website=YouTube|publisher=Channel93|access-date=12 January 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref> 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 [[Underarm bowling incident of 1981|Trevor Chappell underarm delivery incident]]. He played his last game against [[Collingwood Football Club|Collingwood]] in Round 20, 2009, who defeated Richmond by 93 points.<ref>[http://diehardfooty.com/the-rushed-behind-debate-aka-keep-mike-sheehan-off-the-rules-committee The Rushed Behind Debate] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110710123554/http://diehardfooty.com/the-rushed-behind-debate-aka-keep-mike-sheehan-off-the-rules-committee |date=10 July 2011 }}</ref>

===Statistics===
:<ref>[http://afltables.com/afl/stats/players/J/Joel_Bowden.html Joel Bowden's player profile at AFL Tables]</ref>
{{AFL player statistics legend}}
{{AFL player statistics start}}
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[1996 AFL season|1996]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL Ric}}
| 11 || 5 || 4 || 3 || 17 || 14 || 31 || 7 || 3 || 0.8 || 0.6 || 3.4 || 2.8 || 6.2 || 1.4 || 0.6
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[1997 AFL season|1997]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL Ric}}
| 11 || 13 || 21 || 9 || 146 || 75 || 221 || 51 || 21 || 1.6 || 0.7 || 11.2 || 5.8 || 17.0 || 3.9 || 1.6
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[1998 AFL season|1998]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL Ric}}
| 11 || 18 || 17 || 19 || 178 || 131 || 309 || 72 || 36 || 0.9 || 1.1 || 9.9 || 7.3 || 17.2 || 4.0 || 2.0
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[1999 AFL season|1999]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL Ric}}
| 11 || 22 || 15 || 11 || 238 || 183 || 421 || 82 || 38 || 0.7 || 0.5 || 10.8 || 8.3 || 19.1 || 3.7 || 1.7
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2000 AFL season|2000]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL Ric}}
| 11 || 22 || 19 || 14 || 293 || 203 || 496 || 124 || 51 || 0.9 || 0.6 || 13.3 || 9.2 || 22.5 || 5.6 || 2.3
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2001 AFL season|2001]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL Ric}}
| 11 || 25 || 26 || 22 || 381 || 210 || 591 || 149 || 51 || 1.0 || 0.9 || 15.2 || 8.4 || 23.6 || 6.0 || 2.0
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2002 AFL season|2002]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL Ric}}
| 11 || 22 || 18 || 17 || 334 || 171 || 505 || 125 || 63 || 0.8 || 0.8 || 15.2 || 7.8 || 23.0 || 5.7 || 2.9
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2003 AFL season|2003]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL Ric}}
| 11 || 22 || 12 || 9 || 300 || 181 || 481 || 128 || 74 || 0.5 || 0.4 || 13.6 || 8.2 || 21.9 || 5.8 || 3.4
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2004 AFL season|2004]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL Ric}}
| 11 || 21 || 9 || 6 || 345 || 177 || 522 || 128 || 51 || 0.4 || 0.3 || 16.4 || 8.4 || 24.9 || 6.1 || 2.4
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2005 AFL season|2005]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL Ric}}
| 11 || 22 || 7 || 5 || 324 || 188 || 512 || 131 || 38 || 0.3 || 0.2 || 14.7 || 8.5 || 23.3 || 6.0 || 1.7
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2006 AFL season|2006]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL Ric}}
| 11 || 21 || 3 || 0 || 326 || 169 || 495 || 133 || 37 || 0.1 || 0.0 || 15.5 || 8.0 || 23.6 || 6.3 || 1.8
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2007 AFL season|2007]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL Ric}}
| 11 || 22 || 3 || 2 || 329 || 220 || 549 || 179 || 38 || 0.1 || 0.1 || 15.0 || 10.0 || 25.0 || 8.1 || 1.7
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2008 AFL season|2008]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL Ric}}
| 11 || 18 || 17 || 6 || 259 || 153 || 412 || 153 || 39 || 0.9 || 0.3 || 14.4 || 8.5 || 22.9 || 8.5 || 2.2
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[2009 AFL season|2009]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL Ric}}
| 11 || 12 || 3 || 1 || 195 || 101 || 296 || 84 || 20 || 0.3 || 0.1 || 16.3 || 8.4 || 24.7 || 7.0 || 1.7
|- class="sortbottom"
! colspan=3| 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===

*[[Richmond Football Club|Richmond]] [[Jack Dyer Medal|Best and Fairest]] 2004, 2005
*[[All-Australian]] 2005, 2006
*[[International Rules]] 2004
* [[Richmond Football Club#"100 Tiger Treasures"|100 Tiger Treasures]] "''Goal of the Century''" Nominee (2008)

==Unions NT==
In 2018, Bowden was appointed general secretary of Unions NT, the peak body for the labour movement in the Northern Territory.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.territorystories.nt.gov.au/jspui/bitstream/10070/301447/17/Northern%20Territory%20News_20180721_page13_NTNews_News_13.PDF|title=Bowden to carry the banner for Unions NT|first=Ashley|last=Manicaros|newspaper=[[Northern Territory News]]|date=21 July 2018|access-date=1 March 2020}}</ref>

==Politics==
{{NT parlbox header}}
{{NT parlbox|term=13th|start=[[2020 Johnston by-election|2020]]|end=2020|party=Australian Labor Party (Northern Territory Branch)|electorate=[[Electoral division of Johnston|Johnston]]}}
{{NT parlbox|term=14th|start={{NT election link|2020}}|end=2024|party=Australian Labor Party (Northern Territory Branch)|electorate=[[Electoral division of Johnston|Johnston]]}}
|}
In February 2020, Bowden ran for and won the [[2020 Johnston by-election]] to the [[Northern Territory Legislative Assembly]].

In the [[2024 Northern Territory general election]], he was unseated by independent candidate [[Justine Davis]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-08-25 |title=Johnston - NT Electorate, Candidates, Results |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/elections/nt/2024/guide/john |access-date=2024-08-25 |website=abc.net.au |language=en-AU}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*{{Richplayer|ref=13442}}
*{{AFL Tables|ref=J/Joel_Bowden.html}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-par|au-nt}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Ken Vowles]] }}
{{s-ttl|title=Member for [[Electoral division of Johnston|Johnston]] |years=2020–present}}
{{s-inc}}
{{s-end}}

{{NTCurrentMPs}}
{{Jack Dyer Medal}}
{{Northern Territory Team of the Century}}
{{2005 All-Australian team}}
{{2006 All-Australian team}}
{{2001 Australian international rules team}}
{{2004 Australian international rules team}}
{{1998 The Allies State of Origin players}}
{{1997 AFL Rising Star nominees}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowden, Joel}}
[[Category:1978 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Richmond Football Club players]]
[[Category:All-Australians (AFL)]]
[[Category:Jack Dyer Medal winners]]
[[Category:Australian rules footballers from the Northern Territory]]
[[Category:Allies State of Origin players]]
[[Category:Australia international rules football team players]]
[[Category:Members of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly]]
[[Category:Australian Labor Party members of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly]]
[[Category:21st-century Australian politicians]]
[[Category:Australian sportsperson-politicians]]
[[Category:Sportspeople from Alice Springs]]