The well-documented action was debated for days, with rule changes mooted, hysterical outbursts about "what if this was a grand final?" and even comparisons to the infamous Trevor Chappell underarm cricket incident of 1981.
"Perhaps a lot's been made out of it when there wasn't much there," Bowden said on Thursday.
"I can talk you through it – I got the ball, and there were absolutely no options. Everyone was pretty much out on their feet, and the umpire called me to play on, so I had to play on, and then there was no-one to kick it to.
"My view is that my hand was forced. I only did it once - as soon as we had a player (free), I kicked it to him.
"I actually did one in the first quarter, and I've done them before. Teams are averaging four or five or six rushed behinds a game, it just came at the right time for a bit of a headline, I guess."
The underarm comparison was drawing a very long bow, the 30-year-old said.
"If that was going to be the case, if you wanted to do that, it would have been better if (brother) Patrick was playing, and he was kicking out, and I went and told him to do it.
"Other than that, perhaps it's a bit far-fetched, maybe."
