Bowen could cash in on discount
North Queensland may take advantage of a good behaviour discount to challenge a grade one dangerous contact charge against star fullback Matt Bowen.
Players who have gone seven years without a judiciary appearance can apply for a 20 per cent discount which in Bowen's case would allow him to fight the charge and still play against Newcastle on Saturday night if he lost.
Bowen would also be free to play if he entered an early guilty plea to the charge of leading with a foot when trying to stop Matt Gillett from scoring in the 56th minute of Friday night's 16-14 victory over the Broncos.
If Bowen does take the plea it would leave him with 75 carry-over points which could come back to haunt him later in the season.
The Cowboys were seeking clarification from the NRL late on Monday to make sure Bowen, who made his debut in 2001, is qualified for the incident free discount.
They were also looking at vision of the incident and planned to talk to Bowen about their options after training.
Meanwhile brothers Ashton and Tariq Sims could play their first NRL game together against Newcastle,
Little brother Tariq, 21, watched from the bench at Suncorp last Friday night while brother Ashton helped the Cowboys upset their former club in the opening round of the 2011 season.
But a calf injury to wide-running back-rower Scott Bolton could see the Sims brothers fulfil a dream with Tariq set to make his NRL debut alongside Ashton who has already played 138 games.
Tariq is on the verge of breaking into the NRL following an outstanding Toyota Cup season for the Broncos last year.
Bolton was booked for scans late on Monday with officials not expecting to know the results of his injury until Tuesday morning.
Bribie Island Warrigals' product Dane Hogan or Kiwi Ricky Thorby are other possibilities to replace Bolton whose best case scenario appears to be two or three weeks with revised predictions suggesting he could miss up to six weeks if the tear is worse than first thought.
A six week stretch would be harsh news for the Cowboys and a serious blow to Bolton's chances of forcing his way into Mal Meninga's Queensland Origin side after he was considered an outside chance for last year's series.
There's been speculation royalty could be present at Saturday night's game with Prince William a chance of attending the clash as part of his pre-wedding tour of Australia.
Cowboys boss Peter Jourdain said the club had been "in discussion" about the Prince attending the game and becoming part of team's support group.
"It would be great to get him to a game but we're a long way from confirming that," Jourdain told the Townsville Bulletin.
The club confirmed on Monday night that Bowen was eligible for the discount and strong consideration would be given to challenging the charge to avoid a situation similar to that which cost Melbourne's Cameron Smith a place in a grand final in 2008.
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