You seem to have taken on a self-appointed capacity to declare whether or not players feel shame, as if you alone have been blessed with some kind of special insight of which the rest of us have unfortunately been deprived.
Bowden clearly doesn't feel shame - as you yourself state, he's been dropped numerous times because of his bad attitude and selfishness - a player who feels shame and acts on it doesn't need to be treated like that the first time, let alone multiple times.
You also have clearly pre-established an opinion of Joel Bowden, and nothing said or done can alter that. Game-winning marks running into back with the flight of the ball, game-winning goals with the last kick of the match, preparedness to get crunched when backing back into oncoming traffic, ability to hit targets with far more consistency than any of his teammates, preparedness to play through injuries which would oust lesser blokes, and a resilient game-saving temperament when many around him have anxiety meltdowns. None of these will budge you from you stubborn preconception.
Should we expect less from a senior player with his talent on his wage?
And let's be clear about this, from 250 games for the club, the 50 games where he played at somewhere close to his actual ability (ability he never fulfilled because he's a lazy, selfish coaster) don't carry a great deal of weight compared to the 200 lazy, selfish, worthless games.
But if I could go All-Australian as many times as I could be dropped throughout my career, I'd hang my boots up at the end of it all with more than a reasonable level of individual satisfaction.
No wonder you're defending him, you have the same mindset!
'I had a few decent seasons where I played at 80% of my ability and was self-admittedly awesome, and 11 others where I played at 40% of my ability, coasted through entire seasons, showed zero leadership, and didn't get within bulls roar of justifying the money I took from ordinary people who do it far harder every day. I'm happy with that.'
**** you Joel.
To make a public pledge to beat Geelong at Geelong in their current form and composition is a daft idea.
Oh good, here we go again with the strawman arguments.
Did I suggest that's what he should do?
But you know something, I doubt anyone in the football world would knock us if we had pledged as a group to beat Geelong this weekend, then we hit them with everything we have (I'm talking old fashioned gutsy football), but their class and physicality saw us fall respectably short.
And to completely trash those useless bunch of hacks who call themselves football media, when they least expect it, when theyhad everything to play for, is pure bloody unadulterated gold.
Yes, what a great victory.
Give the man a pay rise...it was gold!
Bugger it, go the whole hog and give him all the accolades he so richly deserves - make him a general in the French Army.






) is that when we saw an 18 y/o kick 4 in a quarter against the Weagles back in 97, we thought 'we've got a champion here'.