One of many emerging young players coming through Melbourne Storm's pathways system, Jai Bowden has opened up on his rugby league journey as he attempts to reach the dream of playing in the NRL in the coming seasons.
For nearly three decades, the Melbourne Storm have had some of rugby league's best dummy halves wear the coveted No.9 jersey.
First worn by Richard Swain in 1998, the jumper has been worn by the likes of Cameron Smith, Nathan Friend, Ryan Hinchcliffe and more recently, international stars Brandon Smith and Harry Grant.
While Grant has made the jumper his own in recent seasons, the club have several up-and-coming hooker's coming through their pathways system, headlined by 2022 Peter Sterling Medal winner Gabriel Satrick and Jai Bowden, who was named in Queensland's U19s Emerging Origin squad in February.
Originally from Queensland, Bowden has taken his game to new heights over the past few seasons, which saw him rewarded with a development contract with the Storm for the 2027 NRL season at the backend of last year.
Currently plying his trade in the Jersey Flegg Cup, the 19-year-old spoke toย Zero Tackleย about the move from Queensland to Victoria, the support from his family and aspirations to one day play in the NRL and become the latest individual to wear the prestigious Storm No.9 jersey.
"I've been loving it. Coming down here from the Sunshine Coast, I'm proud to wear the jersey and love putting it on," Bowden toldย Zero Tackle.
"(The move) has been a little hard, but coming out of school and wanting to play footy full-time, it didn't really bother me too much because that's what I wanted to do and what I love to do.
"It wasn't really too hard, but the boys are good, which makes it a lot easier. We've got a really good, tight group here."
A member of the Melbourne Storm Academy since 2023, after the club launched an elite development program in partnership with the Sunshine Coast Falcons, Bowden has also earned several honours, such as being named in the Under-17s QLD Country team.
Idolising Cameron Smith and Harry Grant, Bowden has been granted the opportunity to spend time with the NRL first-grade squad once per week and be around State of Origin and international representatives.
"I'm trying to build off his [Harry Grant] game and learn and take in as much as he can offer," Bowden said.
"It doesn't feel real being around them. You don't really know what's going on, but it's been a great privilege."
While he is likely to continue developing in the Jersey Flegg Cup and NSW Cup competitions over the next few seasons, the youngster detailed his aspirations to play in the NRL in the future.
He also spoke about the importance of his family and how crucial they have been since his rugby league journey initially began.
"They've done everything for me. They've been there every step of the way and putting in effort and time and helped me get to trainings when I was younger," the hooker added.
"They keep pushing me, and they're really proud of me, which I'm grateful for, and I love them. I couldn't be here without them.
"It's the end goal to hopefully play at least one game, but it'd mean everything. Just at least one game to pay back to my parents and my family for putting their time and effort into me."
