1996 North Queensland Cowboys season

The 1996 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 2nd in the club's history. Coached by Graham Lowe and captained by Adrian Vowles, they competed in the Optus Cup.

1996 North Queensland Cowboys season
ARL Rank17th
Play-off resultMissed finals
1996 recordWins: 6; draws: 0; losses: 15
Points scoredFor: 288; against: 643
Team information
CoachGraham Lowe
Captain
StadiumStockland Stadium
Avg. attendance19,366
High attendance27,096 (vs. South Sydney Rabbitohs, Round 16)
Top scorers
TriesDavid Bouveng, Kris Tassell (8)
GoalsShane Howarth (21)
PointsShane Howarth (49)
< 1995 1997 >

Season summary

After finishing their debut season in last place, there was nowhere to go but up for the Cowboys in 1996. Under new head coach, former New Zealand, Queensland, Manly and Wigan boss Graham Lowe, the club recruited fairly strongly bringing in first grade regulars Jason Death (from Canberra) and Andrew Dunemann (from Gold Coast), former All Black Shane Howarth and New Zealand representatives Se'e Solomona and Whetu Taewa. Dunemann's signing would see him reunite with his brother Ian, the pair becoming the first siblings to play for the club.

Due to the ongoing Super League war, the clubs affiliated with the breakaway competition refused to participate in their Round 1 games, with the Cowboys' opening fixture, against fellow Super League-aligned club the Canterbury Bulldogs, cancelled. After losing their first game of the year against the Sydney City Roosters, the Cowboys picked up their first win of the season a week later against the Sydney Tigers. Seven straight losses followed until a Round 11 victory over the Newcastle Knights was followed by a win over the Cronulla Sharks, the club's first ever back-to-back wins. After four straight losses, the Cowboys ended the season in their strongest form to date, with three wins from their final six games. That included a win over the St George Dragons at Kogarah Oval in Round 21, the club's first win in Sydney. The club would end their second season in 17th place, with six wins from 21 games, tripling their win total from the year before. Steve Edmed, a long time Balmain Tiger who joined the Cowboys for the 1996 season, was named Player of the Year after playing in all 21 games in his lone season with the club.

The club made headlines during the season when Moranbah junior Josh Hannay was named to make his first grade debut at just 16-years old. The selection was later vetoed by the Australian Rugby League as Hannay was not 16 when the year began. Had he played, he would have been the second youngest player to make his senior debut in Australian rugby league history. Hannay would make his debut two years later and go onto play 150 games for the club over nine seasons.[1][2]

Milestones

Squad list
North Queensland Cowboys ARL Squad 1996
First team squad Coaching staff

Head coach

Assistant coach

Legend:
  • (c) Captain(s)
  • (vc) Vice captain(s)


Squad movement

1996 Gains
Player Signed From
Scott Brown Cronulla Sharks
Jason Death Canberra Raiders
Andrew Dunemann Gold Coast Chargers
Steve Edmed Sydney Tigers
Shane Howarth Auckland RU
Martin Locke South Queensland Crushers
Willie Poching Auckland Warriors
Se'e Solomona Auckland Warriors
Whetu Taewa Auckland Warriors
Kris Tassell Canterbury Bulldogs

1996 Losses
Player Signed To
Martin Bella Gold Coast Chargers
Jonathan Davies Cardiff RFC
Kevin Ellis Gold Coast Chargers
Jason Erba Sheffield Eagles
Michael Hogue Paris Saint-Germain
David Maiden Gateshead Thunder
Andrew Meads Sydney Tigers
Craig Menkins Paris Saint-Germain
Ian Russell Paris Saint-Germain (mid-season)
Laurie SpinaRetired

Ladder
Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles (P) 221804549191+35836
2 Brisbane Broncos 211704607263+34434
3 North Sydney Bears 221525598325+27332
4 Sydney City Roosters 221516521321+20031
5 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 211425399268+13130
6 Canberra Raiders 211317538384+15427
7 St. George Dragons 211218443360+8327
8 Western Suburbs Magpies 221219394434−4025
9 Newcastle Knights 2110110416388+2823
10 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 2111010375378−322
11 Auckland Warriors 2110011412427−1522
12 Sydney Tigers 2211011319459−14022
13 Parramatta Eels 219111404415−1121
14 Illawarra Steelers 228014403444−4116
15 Penrith Panthers 217113363464−10115
16 Western Reds 216114313420−10713
17 North Queensland Cowboys 216015288643−35512
18 Gold Coast Chargers 225116359521−16211
19 South Sydney Rabbitohs 225116314634−32011
20 South Queensland Crushers 213018220496−2768

Fixtures

Regular season
Date Round Opponent Venue Score Tries Goals Attendance
23 MarchRound 1 Canterbury BulldogsStockland StadiumCancelled due to Super League clubs refusing to play
30 MarchRound 2 Sydney City RoostersStockland Stadium2 – 40Howarth (1/1)16,186
6 AprilRound 3 Sydney TigersStockland Stadium17 – 2Tassell (2), Peter JonesCressbrook (2/4), Howarth (1 FG)15,912
14 AprilRound 4 Canberra RaidersBruce Stadium10 – 66Bartlett, TaewaHowarth (1/2)9,115
21 AprilRound 5 Brisbane BroncosANZ Stadium14 – 58Skardon, Tassell, VowlesHowarth (1/3)18,609
27 AprilRound 6 North Sydney BearsStockland Stadium6 – 50SkardonHowarth (1/2)20,864
5 MayRound 7 Manly Sea EaglesBrookvale Oval4 – 46EdmedCressbrook (0/1)5,227
11 MayRound 8 Illawarra SteelersStockland Stadium8 – 24Tassell (2)Cressbrook (0/2)15,289
25 MayRound 9 Parramatta EelsStockland Stadium12 – 26Loomans, TassellCressbrook (1/2), Poching (1/1)12,088
9 JuneRound 10 Sydney City RoostersSFS14 – 38I. Dunemann, Tassell, VowlesPoching (1/3)9,287
15 JuneRound 11 Newcastle KnightsStockland Stadium26 – 10Loomans (2), Death, Murphy, TassellCressbrook (3/3), I. Dunemann (0/1), Poching (0/2)14,153
22 JuneRound 12 Cronulla SharksStockland Stadium16 – 10Bouveng, Cressbrook, GibsonCressbrook (2/3)22,014
29 JuneRound 13 Sydney TigersParramatta Stadium16 – 18Coorey, A. Dunemann, GibsonCressbrook (2/2), Poching (0/1)4,257
6 JulyRound 14 Penrith PanthersStockland Stadium0 – 2125,068
14 JulyRound 15 Western Suburbs MagpiesCampbelltown Stadium32 – 40Miller (2), Cressbrook, A. Dunemann, Loomans, MorgansonCressbrook (2/3), Vowles (2/2), Poching (0/1)5,281
20 JulyRound 16 South Sydney RabbitohsStockland Stadium20 – 22Bowman, I. Dunemann, LoomansHowarth (3/3), Vowles (1/1)27,096
26 JulyRound 17 Gold Coast ChargersCarrara Stadium24 – 14Bowman, Howarth, LoomansHowarth (6/6)5,777
3 AugustRound 18 Auckland WarriorsEricsson Stadium6 – 52DeathHowarth (1/1)14,600
9 AugustRound 19 South Queensland CrushersStockland Stadium11 – 6Miller (2)Howarth (1/3, 1 FG)24,989
17 AugustRound 20 Western RedsWACA4 – 30TaewaHowarth (0/1)5,889
25 AugustRound 21 St George DragonsKogarah Oval24 – 20Gibson (2), Johnson, LoomansHowarth (3/4, 1 FG), A. Dunemann (1 FG)9,062
1 SeptemberRound 22 Canterbury BulldogsBelmore Oval22 – 50Death, Locke, Loomans, MorgansonHowarth (3/4)6,595
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw   Bye

Statistics
NameAppTGFGPts
Faron Anderson1----
George Bartlett61--4
David Bouveng51--4
Paul Bowman62--8
Scott Brown6----
Andrew Bulmer1----
John Buttigieg9----
Michael Coorey111--4
Reggie Cressbrook15212-32
Jason Death203--12
Andrew Dunemann162-19
Ian Dunemann132--8
Steve Edmed211--4
Paul Galea5----
Damian Gibson114--16
Leigh Groves2----
Shane Howarth12121349
Liam Johnson61--4
Peter Jones191--4
Aaron Ketchell6----
Martin Locke111--4
Justin Loomans218--32
Jason Martin12----
Jamie Mathiou4----
Marshall Miller64--16
Willie Morganson42--8
Glen Murphy151--4
Willie Poching16-2-4
Ian Russell1----
Dean Schifilliti10----
Wayne Sing15----
John Skardon32--8
Se'e Solomona4----
Whetu Taewa122--8
Kris Tassell98--32
Adrian Vowles2123-14
Graham White1----
Totals52384288

Source:[3]

Honours

Club

References
  1. "Where Are They Now: Josh Hannay". 24 August 2011.
  2. "Year 2 - 1996 - Cowboys". Archived from the original on 20 August 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
  3. "ARL 1996 - North Queensland Cowboys - Rugby League Project".

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