Tiwi Bombers have turned to one of the Territory's most decorated football families to arrest their flagging fortunes.
But rather appoint another Rioli or a Long, again, the Indigenous club named Patrick Bowden its new senior coach for the 2023-24 NTFL season.
The former Western Bulldogs and Richmond utility will be attempting to lift the Tiwis off the bottom of the Premier division ladder for a third year running.
The Bombers received last season's wooden spoon, collecting just one win and a draw from their 18 games, while falling three and half wins behind second-last Wanderers.
But the recent season displayed steady progress on two other winless years, in which the rise of Covid-19 in the Northern Territory also forced the club to withdraw from the 2021-22 competition in its final month.
It took 987 days to finally claim a first win – by 15 points over PINT – since walking off triumphant last ahead of the finals series in February 2020.
The Bombers also suffered the indignity of a suspended $10,000 fine for the rest of the season, just three months later, after forfeiting its match with Waratah over "unrest" and "illness".
None of the recent turmoil has deterred Bowden from the monumental task at hand.
"I feel my playing, coaching and professional experience, teamed with my personable nature and love of football makes me a strong fit for the senior coach of the Bombers – everyone in the country loves watching Tiwi at their best and I can't wait to bring us back to that level," Bowden said in a statement.
The club advertised for expressions of interest on May 9 for the head coaching job, and its seven-week search ended following Bowden's signature.
The 41-year-old coach will take the reins from Brenton Toy, who had returned to the club for a second stint before stepping aside within 12 months of his appointment.
But bringing a wealth of senior coaching expertise that Bowden spent at Norwood in the SANFL and South Fremantle in the WAFL has left the club hopeful of returning to the halcyon days of three grand finals in four years including its 2011-12 premiership.
Bowden was also employed with Clontarf Aboriginal College and will soon be leaving the Melbourne Indigenous Transition School to bring key credentials to new role.
"The committee are delighted to have Paddy and his family join the Tiwi Bombers, as the club continues to build for sustainability and success," Bombers president Lindsay Whiting said.
Bowden, who played 50 games for the Bulldogs and a further 25 for the Tigers, is the youngest brother to Sean and Joel, the latter appearing 265 times for Richmond.
The Bowdens under their late father Michael, who also played in the Richmond 1969 premiership side, grew up in Central Australia and have gone onto be revered figures on Country.
The former teacher was awarded an Order of Australia medal in 2020, just before his death, for his service to the Indigenous Community.
Sean, a lawyer, is currently a director of AFL Northern Territory, while Joel, a former NT union secretary, is a member of the Northern Territory Legislative Assembly.
