have you watched any cowboys match this season? he doesn't look to be slowing down at all if anything hes just had the best couple of months in last 3 years. Also he shows no weakness in he's knees at all, you talk about people lapping up propaganda well your falling for the cowboys/NRL big time.

It's an unfair question to ask you because there is nobody anywhere near as good who's available. Especially given his mentor role with regard to Hampshire and Tierney.

I'd have preferred Sam to stay too, but we live in the real world and he's gone.

If you want to get hung up on the use of that famously elastic phrase 'marquee signing', fine ... but don't be surprised if most fans are more interested in who Bowen actually is and what he can bring to the team.

I'll take your word for it he didn't want to play for another NRL club but the reason he was retiring was also because his current club didn't offer him a new deal due to their view that his knees were not up to another season. You can't leave that rather important fact out of it.

He was a legend there and for them to release him was a decision not taken lightly.

As to being our goal kicker, I think the added stress on his knees would rule that out.

this is also the same management that signed scott moore, bowen has said hes knees are fine on more than one occasion.

One can only imagine what this forum would have been like had the internet been around in 1984.......'who is this Ferguson guy, why couldn't we had signed Eric Grothe'?

Wigan needed to add some experience to the dressing room. You can rest Bowen in certain games to give the young lads more development and bring him back for the big SL games. Hopefully our style of play will evolve next season so we are not as reliant on releasing the full back. The only worry is him swapping tropical North Queensland for winter in Wigan!

Listen, if you are over the moon with it, and consider it a "Marquee signing" then knock yourself out. There is no standard definition of a "Marquee Signing".

Personally it falls way short of what I would expect for Wigan RLFC "Marquee Signing".

Hopefully will be a "good" signing though.

Do You watch the NRL every week? You can lie and say yes and say Bowen is an average player or you can be honest and tell us that you dont watch it and have no idea how good Bowen is. Which is it to be?

Some Wigan players will complain about anything. I had aload of people on my back in the rumours and signings section for daring to say Kyle Amor is not a "massive signing" for saints and we sign Matty Bowen who has played for Queensland and Australia and Wigan fans still find something to moan about.

Can't wait to see him in a Wigan shirt, despite losing Sam Tomkins we will still have the best fullback n the league.

If anybody is doubting the signing then go on the normal video sharing site and type North Queensland Cowboys 2013 and watch their highlights. Bowen is still a top player

The "propaganda" referred to was that of the "cowboys/NRL" as mentioned by dubairl. Spread by no one else but them. Try and keep up or the snide comments fall flat.

they desperately need a quality hooker and that doesn't come cheap on top of extending Jonathan Thurston, James Tamou, Matt Scott and a few others they have looked at the long term not the now and then short term and Bowen is going because of that and that alone anybody who's watched him can see its not because of he's playing abilities.

Surely your not commenting strongly on a player you haven't watched other than highlights on youtube? STUART FIELDEN WAS A RIGHT OFF INJURED FOR CLOSE TO 2 SEASON BOWEN HASN"T BEEN INJURED FOR MORE THAN 6 WEEKS IN THE LAST 2 SEASONS!!!

And most people want Hansen to carry on and extend he's contract so stop talking bull including Wane and Lenengan.

I've aired my views about us letting class players leave and then replacing them with lesser players and cheap gambles but that really isn't the case here. I'm annoyed we didn't hold Tomkins to that third year but once we decided not to where else were we meant to go? Bowen is a top class player, he may be no Tomkins but who is? The only players I can think of who would have been of at least equal class are Slater, Inglis and when his minds right, Ben Barba. They simply aren't realistic in this day and age.

A deal like Mossop and Hock out with Powell and Clubb in makes me wince but not this deal. He's about the best we could muster for our requirements. A top class player who isn't young enough to block our young stars paths in to the first team.