What has happened to this player, last year he was half as good as Sam Tomkins and now he plays like a he could not play for London Skolars, Wane needs to act quickly and get rid and sign some REAL replacement to Sam Tomkins. ASAP

I expected this post to reveal that he had retired.

At the moment he has 'gone home for family reasons' written all over him.

The next few weeks may be last chance saloon for Bowen - but we probably have to give him the chance to perform on the firmer grounds. He had an indifferent start to last season too and then started to improve at the end of March/April. He did score some fantastic tries last season but was found wanting in the really important games. Pace is his main attribute ( he is certainly not the strongest of defenders!) so he needs to prove he has not lost it in the next few games - if he plays.

On average he must cost us at least a try a game. I still maintain when he allowed the ball to bounce in GF was as big a turning point as BF being sent off.
If he does that ever again while I'm watching I will exit the ground immediately never to return whilst he is playing.
Very poor.
Worst defence full back since Mathers (shudder).
That sounds awful as I suspect he is a decent guy but professionally he is well past his sell by date.
I would love him to make me eat my words. I'd eat them bowt bread!

Before tossing Bowen on the scrap heap one would do well to remember the hue-and-cry kicked up by a significant group of Leeds fans over Brent Webb's shaky performances throughout several seasons of SL.

Webb and Bowen were/are very similar players - not just physically, but their playing styles, defensive susceptibilities etc. And both were/are confidence players.

Many a time Brent Webb strung together some truly shambolic performances (especially in defence). But on form (which was more often than not) he provided a good deal of Leeds' attacking impetus - especially returning kicks or linking into the line.

To me Bowen is simply experiencing the same kind of performance trough. At his age it's not that he's that much less of a full back. I think that for players of Webb and Bowen's ilk as the years go by the variations in form grow wider.

I'm sure Wigan figured Bowen would go through occasional periods of bad form and have chosen simply to play through it. That would be the sensible option at this time of year in seasons past when nothing was really on the line. But given the new league format which sees the top four split away from the rest - the question of whether or not to continue with Bowen is that much tougher.

I honestly can't say whether I'd drop him or not. On the one hand, his game will undoubtedly improve with the weather. But given Wigan's current predicament it's a tough call whether it's worth gambling on his form over the crucially important short-term. I mean, if Wigan's forwards cannot find a way of imposing themselves upon the game you really are going to have to win matches purely with your back division (a key component of which is Bowen). Moreover, you can't also be conceding tries through poor defence. Tough call.

FWIW, I was looking through the SL stats table for something or another yesterday and was surprised to discover that Wigan are currently ranked #11 out of 12 on total yards and yardage/carry (second only to Catalans - which is even more suprising, given their enormous pack) - 6963 yards and 6.5 yards respectively.

Compare these figures with:

1. Leeds: 8370 - 6.96
2. Warrington: 7955 - 7.03
3. Widnes: 7812 - 7.04
4. Hull: 7678 - 6.69
5. Saints: 7668 - 7.11

The worrying thing here is that Wigan's average per carry has been inflated by players such as Burgess, Tomkins, Bateman etc. who literally chew up the field in lengthy 60, 70 and 80m breaks. Take these players out of the equation and that average drops off a cliff. I figured Leeds was just a very, very bad day for your front three but looking at the numbers it seems Leeds was fairly typical.

Listening to Shaun Wane's post-match interview I literally did a double-take when he said "We're not far away at all".

Yeah he should have said we are total shoite and the players are useless beyond words.
Well that's what ape would say.
We are playing truly awful at the moment I dont read stats myself but I'm not surprised.
We lack confidence and SW will prove one way or the other if he is capable of turning things around.

Bowen is out of form and needs a rest.
If Hampshire were to take his place then he could do maybe 4-6 games when he would be stood down/rested and Bowen would come back. By then the grounds will have firmed up which would benefit Bowen. Although Hampshire will be the greatest beneficiary of firm grounds due to his exceptional pace.

As for the Stats v Leeds, 7 carries for our two starting props is eye wateringly low. The game plan was obviously not to use them to take the ball up the middle. What the game plan therefore was exactly no one seems to have worked out yet. Tautai though did 20 carries.
The previous week v Hull the starting props had very decent stats. Maybe due to the state of the pitch where fast passing out wide was impossible as the ground looked like a ploughed field.

Although Crosby, Flower and O'Loughlin are missing Clubb, Mossop, Tautai & Patrick are all experienced SL props and all four should be capable of starting and doing the hard yards i up the middle.

I think our lack timing in attack is so far out that it is putting more pressure on Bowen's lack of defensive form.

If he was causing teams issues ball in hand and scoring tries I don't think they would be highlighted as much, potentially also forgiven.

He looks like a bloke who is not enjoying his rugby which must be an issue at his age knowing it is his last season.

I'm not sure what we have been doing in the offseason but I doubt we have done much ball work, certainly not enough given how far off the fullback sweep play is from working.

If he was causing teams issues ball in hand and scoring tries I don't think they would be highlighted as much, potentially forgiven

this is what I think we were like with Sam Tomkins, world class in attack but very suspect in defence, which I agree that the fact bowen isn't scoring or assisting as much as Sam, people are pointing out every time he could of done something better

Would you guys take Locke if he came available?

INOUT

Yes and I would not be surprised if it happened.

Just for balance, Bowen may not be able to do full pre-season training any more. At the end at the Cowboys they had him on a reduced training regime between games due to his knees, relying on matches to get and keep him fit. Assuming he's being managed in a similar way at Wigan, it may take him another few games to get fully match fit.

I don't buy all this weak defence about Sam, it was something put about by rival fans who had to find flaws in his armor. I can't think of many times when his defence cost us, and any errors were more than made up by his speed and awareness in defusing potentially tricky situations.

To be perfectly honest, I never thought Tomkins was a full back. Or at least - not a natural one. From the outset I figured he was a stand off more in the Brett Kenny mould. Granted, he needed to work on his wider tactical play. But with one or two seasons in the six jersey it would have developed.

Trouble is - Wigan didn't agree.

Hamshire played tonight but I could have sworn I saw Bowen warming up. I only got in late due to ticket problems so I am not sure, they were leaving the pitch more or less as I took my seat.

Hampshire did OK but he will be a lot busier in defence if plays Friday! Wakey put him under no pressure at all.