Tom 'Bozo' Bowes, the high-flying lawyer from Sydney joined the Goannas after the clubs famous premiership victory in 2012. The Goannas were in a state of change going into the 2013 season with Dan McGrath retiring after a Golden Boot season, and the best full back in the business Craig Huddleston also following suit. Not to mention, the teams barometer Michael Milton who came a close second in the Best and Fairest also making a return back to Australia. With a handful of other players leaving as well it was up to a few to pick up the slack. Although Bozo couldn't pull on the boots due to having his hip separated from the other parts of his body playing the game as a teenager, he was able to make a huge mark in other areas, especially being a certified AFL umpire.
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Always unbiased and not afraid to make the hard calls, Bozo even once dared to call Captain Courageous Robbie Scarlett for a 'deliberate out of bounds' in a game up at Nagoya after Robbie had kicked it 30 meters out from the boundary. It drew vicious outcry from his Goannas brethren and Bozo may have lost a friend or two over it, but more importantly the hard-headed ump has maintained his strong stance even to this day saying "Rob only had one thing on his mind and he knows it".

Later that year after a torrid run of results on-field, Bozo put his hand up to MC the prestigious Goannas Black Tie Ball. Being the only Goannas bachelor at the time, the well-spoken whistle-blower charmed the pants off quite a few that evening including Evan Kerr who hasn't gone a day without texting him or wearing a flowery shirt ever since.

Then 2014 came and Bozo decided enough was enough. The on-field side of things needed some direction. Putting his hand up to become senior coach, Bozo went about designing the Goannas first ever pre-season program based around cardio. There was some back-lash at first because such things involved actually putting in effort and wasn't much fun. However, the results spoke for themselves and the Goannas found themselves back in contention and making the finals.

As one player spoke about the grueling training sessions that got the team to that point, "Bozo was making us do bumping drills one day at training using his backpack as the bump pad. Little did we know that in the front pocket of his backpack was a pair of scissors. I think the philosophy behind this was if you could crash into a pair of sharp scissors, you could crash into a pack on gameday".

Alas, the Goannas fell short on the biggest day by a few goals after leading through the first half. It was bitter disappointment for all involved and whilst most were drowning their sorrows back at the Hobgoblin, coach Bozo was busy plotting his next move.

That was to now shore up the off-field side of business. Relinquishing his role as head coach to firebrand Gordon Jones, Bozo put his hand up and was voted in as the Goannas next President. It was then he made it known in no uncertain terms that he lived at the Prudential Towers in glitzy Akasaka.

In tandem coach and Prez went about consolidating the team further and brought in new recruits that would take the Goannas to the next level, among them the Goannas first Japanese players in quite a few years Hiro Masuda and Yuji 'Yoooooj' Yamamoto.

All of a sudden, the Goannas had one of the largest squads they have ever had, and on-field started to dominate games again. The turn-around was almost complete. As one observer said, "I think the one thing that Bozo brought the Goannas was a sense of reward for action. He had control of the finances too so if the players didn't perform they got to drink VB. If they did perform they got Crownies. This was a big motivating factor".

In the end the Goannas took out the Japan Cup and the holy grail - beating the Tokyo Bay Suns for the first time in a nail biter to be crowned JAFL Champions. It validated Bozo's two-year plan he put in place in 2014, and history writes him as the defining figure in the Goannas rebirth.

Having achieved all that he hoped, Bozo promptly said goodbye to the fast lane that is JAFL football, proposed to his partner, and hopped on the next plane to try out his luck somewhere in Africa.

The club will miss many things about Bozo including the ability to line up outside Prudential Towers for free law consultation and document signing.

All the best from the Goannas fraternity and return soon.

The long winter break has come to an end, and the Tokyo Goannas have had their first hit-out of 2016. The boys in red and white matched up against the Japan Samurais. At the end of five energy-sapping  fifths, the Samurais took the 105-69 victory over a combined Goannas-Hawks-Suns side. Despite being just a practice match, it was a hard-fought affair with plenty of old returners, fresh debutants, and some help from JAFL rivals.


With an eye on developing a stronger side, the JAFL and the Samurais endeavored to up their training and create a cohesive side in anticipation of the AFL International Cup in summer 2017. That may seem a long time away, but much like national teams in soccer or basketball, the chances to assemble the best players together are few and far between. The match was a chance to put into practice everything they have worked on in their weekly training sessions, and the work showed against a combined Goannas, Eastern Hawks and Tokyo Bay Suns lineup on Sunday. 


While it was ostensibly a training exercise for the Samurais, the opportunity to test the Goannas squad in a proper match against quality opposition meant it was fruitful for both sides. “The skills were outstanding for the first hit out of the season,” Goannas coach and ruckman Sam Ghirardello said. “A lot of players settled into new positions very well.” 


The new players left a big impression on their debut for the Goannas. Brett Whyborn was a force in the middle and up front, while Chris Murray made an impact with strong play at fullback and surging runs out of defense. Other players adjusted well to new positions, including Doug Bonham and Dean Dowie taking turns in the ruck, and Alex Wyatt, Jarrod Woodward and Steven Palmer in the forward line. Oceans Huynh put in the usual tough shift in the midfield, matched by Pete Chalmers’ energy on the wing. Experienced campaigners Ev Hitchman and Travis Wilson returned to the fold, too. One Goanna regular lined up for the Samurais, too – all-rounder Yuji Yamamoto put in a shift in the ruck for the nascent national side, and was certainly worthy of selection among the Samurais' best on the day.


Encouraging to see was the interchange on the field between Goannas, Hawks and Suns players who in some cases didn’t know the name of their new teammates for the day during warmups. Although it’s easy to shake the wintertime rust off with players you train with week-in and out, it’s tougher to re-adapt to the speed of the game while also playing alongside people for the first time. Suns and Hawks regulars alike slotted in, and by the 3rd and 4th fifth every player wearing Goannas colors was operating together. 
With a month and a half until Round 1 of the 2016 JAFL season, there are many reasons to be excited for the Goannas’ prospects this year. “It was a huge effort against a quality opposition and a great sign of what’s to come for the Goannas this season,” Ghirardello said.
  
Match report by Doug Bonham

For video footage of the entire match, head here.
And be sure to check out the 2016 Season Fixture and plan your holidays accordingly!