The Paul Bowman Challenge in Proserpine will be a feature of a six-day trip by the North Queensland Toyota Cowboys’ development staff to Mackay, the Whitsundays and Weipa, starting on Friday.
To be contested by 44 teams of under-nines from throughout North and Central Queensland, the two-day Challenge is supported by the Cowboys who will provide hats and posters to every player as well as a signed NRL jersey to the host club, the Proserpine Brahmans.
Paul Bowman will take time off from his duties as North Queensland’s high performance manager to watch the action, while NYC squad members Josh Chudleigh and Ben Mathiou will also be at the Brahmans’ grounds for both days.
The Proserpine club is where Bowman played his junior football, starting a career that went on to include 203 NRL matches for North Queensland and 12 State of Origin appearances for Queensland.
The carnival’s round-robin matches start on Saturday morning with the final on Sunday afternoon.
Included in the program is a relay race with each member of the winning team to receive Cowboys branded water bottles.
The development trip, which is supported by the Queensland Department of National Parks, Recreation, Sport and Racing, will be led by Cowboys game development manager Ryan Mahoney with support from Cowboys game development officer Gavin Lloyd.
They will be in Mackay at the Steve Jackson Gala Day for under-11 primary schools on Friday and next week will attend the QRL’s camp in Weipa from Monday to Wednesday.
The visits will include talking to the young footballers about the importance of exercise and some tips on leading a healthy life.
