Jack Bowes can relate to the Queensland kids who will turn up to watch his Gold Coast Suns on Saturday because he was one of them not that long ago.
The Suns wingman is one of the state's AFL flag bearers after he became the first Queenslander in 10 years to be selected in the top 10 at 2016's national draft.
Gold Coast Suns Jack Bowes training.
Photo: AAP/David Clark
That flag is currently at half-mast though, given the Suns have averaged just 35 points per game and not managed a final-quarter goal in any of their last three matches.
They have lost six straight and not won the contested possession count in any of those games, while last weekend against Greater Western Sydney the Suns failed to take a single mark inside 50 metres.
Speaking on Fox Footy's On the Couch, Brisbane Lions champion Jonathan Brown let fly at the state of the club and called for the AFL to offer the Suns draft concessions to build their list.
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"If we don't give them help to get them back on track, they will fold and it will be an absolute disaster for the AFL," he said.
The Suns are ironically in the midst of celebrating Gold Coast Footy week with Bowes, a product of the club's AFL academy in Cairns, well aware of what was is at stake.
"There will be plenty of young kids and juniors there and hopefully we can put on a good show for them and win them back; they deserve it just as much as we do," he told AAP ahead of Saturday's clash with St Kilda.
The second-year talent started the season well, throwing his matured body around as the Suns established themselves as one of the competition's hardest teams around the contest.
That effort has faded across the board though and led to widespread criticism the 20-year-old says they can't shy away from.
"It's completely on us in the midfield to start winning some contested footy and bring along some people with us," Bowes said.
"It is hard to maintain intensity (week to week), but it's no excuse because there's plenty of teams in the competition that do it."
AAP
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