He hasn't regretted his decision. By then, Bowes had joined the Suns Academy, knowing nothing about what it might lead to, how good he could be, whether the club would want him or how it would be able to get him. Last year he moved to the Gold Coast, to be closer to training and to spend more time at the club he is bound for at the end of this year, as an academy player, and the club's first highly-rated one.

To leave home was a big decision: Bowes had to start year 12 at a new school and get used to living a two-hour plane ride from his parents and younger brother. The Suns had to talk him into it. But he was lucky: his grandparents had moved from Cairns to the Gold Coast a few months earlier and he went straight in with them, a 10-minute drive from the Suns and not far from the university campus where he has since started a double degree in exercise science and business.

"It was a challenging year at first, having to make new friends and adapt to a new environment at school and the way they do things, but I came out of it with the score I wanted and I didn't lose any of my friends back at home so it worked out how it was meant to," he said. "The way I look at it, I would have moved away from home after year 12 anyway. So all I really did was force myself to do it a little bit earlier."

It has helped him learn more about himself as a footballer, and have time to work on all those things. Training each week with the Queensland state team last year, Bowes got to watch what Ben Keays and Eric Hipwood did, before both became first-round draftees for the Lions. He's been able to see the Gold Coast physios, to use the club's gym and to spend some time in their ice baths.

He trained through summer with the Suns, alongside Gary Ablett, Dion Prestia, David Swallow. Nick Malceski has helped him along, as have most of the other players. "It's hard to pinpoint anyone, because they've all been so good. It's the same with all the coaches there," he said. "They've all given me feedback and given me a lot of insights. But just being out there with the other players is the best thing. That's the best guide to whether you fit in, and how you fit in. It makes you realise what you have to do."