2013 North Queensland Cowboys season
The 2013 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 19th in the club's history. Coached by Neil Henry and co-captained by Johnathan Thurston and Matthew Scott, they competed in the NRL's 2013 Telstra Premiership. The Cowboys finished the season in 8th place and were knocked out in the first week of the finals by the Cronulla Sharks.
| 2013 North Queensland Cowboys season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NRL Rank | 8th | |||
| Play-off result | Lost Qualifying Final (v Cronulla Sharks, 18-20) | |||
| 2013 record | Wins: 12; draws: 0; losses: 12 | |||
| Points scored | For: 507; against: 431 | |||
| Team information | ||||
| CEO | Peter Jourdain | |||
| Coach | Neil Henry | |||
| Captain | ||||
| Stadium | 1300SMILES Stadium | |||
| Avg. attendance | 14,112 | |||
| High attendance | 19.510 (vs. Wests Tigers, Round 26) | |||
| Top scorers | ||||
| Tries | Antonio Winterstein (13) | |||
| Goals | Johnathan Thurston (71) | |||
| Points | Johnathan Thurston (151) | |||
| ||||
Season summary
The Cowboys entered the 2013 NRL season with high expectations and without their long time hooker and club legend Aaron Payne, who retired at the end of 2012. The side won their Round 1 game against the Canterbury Bulldogs but would only win five of their next 19 games, leaving them sitting in 15th place after 20 rounds. Tragedy struck the club on 29 April, when talented rookie Alex Elisala died at age 20. The Cowboys defeated the Parramatta Eels five days later, dedicating the game and the rest of the season to Elisala.
On 29 July, coach Neil Henry had his contract terminated after re-signing until the end of 2014 in March.[1][2] Henry stayed on as head coach until the end of 2013, as the Cowboys went on a six-game winning streak to finish in 8th place and qualify for the finals series. They were defeated 20-18 by the Cronulla Sharks in week 1 of the finals, in a game in which the Sharks scored a try on the 7th tackle of a set.[3]
On 1 October the club appointed former player Paul Green as their head coach for the 2014 and 2015 seasons.[4]
At the end of the season, the Cowboys' had 13 players selected for the 2013 Rugby League World Cup.
Milestones
- Round 1: Ashton Sims played his 50th game for the club.
- Round 1: Rory Kostjasyn and Scott Moore made their debuts for the club.
- Round 2: Ray Thompson played his 50th game for the club.
- Round 3: Ashley Graham played his 150th game for the club.
- Round 3: Johnathan Thurston played his 200th NRL game.
- Round 4: Glenn Hall played his 50th game for the club.
- Round 6: Clint Greenshields made his debut for the club.
- Round 7: Brent Tate played his 200th NRL game.
- Round 9: Matthew Scott played his 150th game for the club.
- Round 10: Glenn Hall played his 150th NRL game.
- Round 12: Ethan Lowe made his NRL debut.
- Round 17: Antonio Winterstein played his 50th game for the club.
- Round 17: Scott Bolton played his 100th game for the club.
- Round 21: Kyle Feldt made his NRL debut.
- Round 21: Ashton Sims played his 200th NRL game.
- Round 22: Brent Tate played his 50th game for the club.
- Round 24: Wayne Ulugia made his NRL debut.
- Round 25: Jayden Hodges made his NRL debut.
- Finals Week 1: Tariq Sims played his 50th game for the club.
- Finals Week 1: James Tamou played his 100th NRL game.
Squad List
Squad Movement
2013 Gains
| Player | Signed From | Until End of |
|---|---|---|
| Clint Greenshields |  Catalans Dragons | 2013 |
| Rory Kostjasyn |  Melbourne Storm | 2014 |
| Ethan Lowe |  Northern Pride | 2013 |
| Scott Moore |  Huddersfield Giants | 2014 |
| Curtis Rona |  Sydney Roosters | 2014 |
2013 Losses
| Player | Signed To | Until End of |
|---|---|---|
| Luke Harlen | Released | - |
| Dane Hogan |  Easts Tigers | 2014 |
| Ben Jones |  Newtown Jets | 2013 |
| Aaron Payne | Retired | - |
| Cory Paterson |  Hull Kingston Rovers | 2014 |
| Mosese Pangai |  Penrith Panthers | 2014 |
| James Segeyaro | Penrith Panthers | 2015 |
Ladder
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sydney Roosters (P) |
24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 640 | 325 | +315 | 40 |
| 2 |  South Sydney Rabbitohs |
24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 588 | 384 | +204 | 40 |
| 3 | Melbourne Storm |
24 | 16 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 589 | 373 | +216 | 37 |
| 4 |  Manly Warringah Sea Eagles |
24 | 15 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 588 | 366 | +222 | 35 |
| 5 |  Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks |
24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 468 | 460 | +8 | 32 |
| 6 |  Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs |
24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 529 | 463 | +66 | 30 |
| 7 |  Newcastle Knights |
24 | 12 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 528 | 422 | +106 | 29 |
| 8 |  North Queensland Cowboys |
24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 507 | 431 | +76 | 28 |
| 9 |  Gold Coast Titans |
24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 500 | 518 | −18 | 26 |
| 10 |  Penrith Panthers |
24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 495 | 532 | −37 | 26 |
| 11 |  New Zealand Warriors |
24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 495 | 554 | −59 | 26 |
| 12 |  Brisbane Broncos |
24 | 10 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 434 | 477 | −43 | 25 |
| 13 |  Canberra Raiders |
24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 434 | 624 | −190 | 24 |
| 14 |  St. George Illawarra Dragons |
24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 379 | 530 | −151 | 18 |
| 15 |  Wests Tigers |
24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 386 | 687 | −301 | 18 |
| 16 |  Parramatta Eels |
24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 326 | 740 | −414 | 14 |
Fixtures
Pre-season
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 February | Trial 1 | Brisbane Broncos | Alex Inch Oval | 28 – 24 | Leary, Morgan, Munns, Thorby, Ulugia | Feldt (2), Faifai Loa (1), Lowe (1) | 4,000 | |||
| 16 February | Trial 2 | St George Illawarra Dragons | Barlow Park | 28 – 22 | J Bowen, Greenshields, Morgan, Riethmuller, Taumalolo | Morgan (3), Feldt (1) | - | |||
| 23 February | Trial 3 | Gold Coast Titans | Virgin Australia Stadium | 10 – 28 | Faifai Loa, A Sims | Lui (1) | - | |||
| Legend: Win Loss Draw | ||||||||||
Regular season
Finals
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 September | Qualifying Final | Cronulla Sharks | Allianz Stadium | 18 – 20 | Tate, Taumalolo, Ulugia | Thurston (3/4) | 32,747 | |||
| Legend: Win Loss Draw Bye | ||||||||||
Statistics
| Name | App | T | G | FG | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scott Bolton | 18 | - | - | - | - |
| Matthew Bowen | 19 | 6 | 1 | - | 26 |
| Gavin Cooper | 22 | 7 | - | - | 28 |
| Kalifa Faifai Loa | 7 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Kyle Feldt | 3 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Ashley Graham | 14 | 7 | - | - | 28 |
| Clint Greenshields | 6 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Glenn Hall | 25 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Jayden Hodges | 3 | - | - | - | - |
| Dallas Johnson | 15 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Rory Kostjasyn | 20 | - | - | - | - |
| Blake Leary | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Kane Linnett | 25 | 9 | - | - | 36 |
| Ethan Lowe | 2 | 1 | 3 | - | 10 |
| Robert Lui | 16 | 7 | 5 | - | 38 |
| Anthony Mitchell | 4 | - | - | - | - |
| Scott Moore | 6 | - | - | - | - |
| Michael Morgan | 9 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Joel Riethmuller | 12 | - | - | - | - |
| Matthew Scott | 22 | - | - | - | - |
| Ashton Sims | 17 | - | - | - | - |
| Tariq Sims | 23 | 4 | - | - | 16 |
| James Tamou | 22 | - | - | - | - |
| Brent Tate | 23 | 10 | - | - | 40 |
| Jason Taumalolo | 14 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Ray Thompson | 19 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Ricky Thorby | 8 | - | - | - | - |
| Johnathan Thurston | 22 | 2 | 71 | 1 | 151 |
| Wayne Ulugia | 4 | 6 | - | - | 24 |
| Antonio Winterstein | 24 | 13 | - | - | 52 |
| Totals | 91 | 80 | 1 | 525 |
Source:[5]
Representatives
The following players have played a representative match in 2013
| All Stars match | City vs Country | ANZAC Test | Pacific Test | State of Origin 1 | State of Origin 2 | State of Origin 3 | Prime Minister's XIII | World Cup | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gavin Cooper | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Prime Minister's XIII | - |
| Alex Elisala | - | - | - | Samoa | - | - | - | - | - |
| Kalifa Faifai Loa | - | - | - | Samoa | - | - | - | - | - |
| Clint Greenshields | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | France |
| Rory Kostjasyn | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Ireland |
| Kane Linnett | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Scotland |
| Joel Riethmuller | - | - | - | Samoa | - | - | - | - | Italy |
| Matthew Scott | - | - | Australia | - | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | - | Australia |
| Ashton Sims | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Fiji |
| Tariq Sims | - | Country | - | - | - | - | - | - | Fiji |
| James Tamou | NRL All Stars | - | Australia | - | New South Wales | - | New South Wales | Prime Minister's XIII | Australia |
| Brent Tate | - | - | - | - | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | Prime Minister's XIII | Australia |
| Jason Taumalolo | - | - | - | Tonga | - | - | - | - | Tonga |
| Ray Thompson | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Papua New Guinea |
| Johnathan Thurston | Indigenous All Stars | - | Australia | - | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | - | Australia |
| Antonio Winterstein | - | - | - | Samoa | - | - | - | - | Samoa |
Honours
League
- Dally M Five-Eighth of the Year: Johnathan Thurston
Club
- Paul Bowman Medal: Matthew Scott
- Player's Player: Matthew Scott
- Club Person of the Year: Kevin Marty
- Rookie of the Year: Kyle Feldt
- Most Improved: Joel Riethmuller
- NYC Player of the Year: Jayden Hodges
Feeder Clubs
National Youth Competition
- North Queensland Cowboys - 10th, missed finals
Queensland Cup
Mackay Cutters - 2nd, won Grand Final- Northern Pride - 1st, lost Preliminary Final
References
- "Neil Henry has been sacked as coach of the North Queensland Cowboys | thetelegraph.com.au". Archived from the original on 29 July 2013.
- "Motorsport Video |Motorsport Highlights, Replays, News, Clips".
- "Motorsport Video |Motorsport Highlights, Replays, News, Clips".
- "Cowboys appoint Paul Green as head coach | NRL | Zero Tackle". www.zerotackle.com. Archived from the original on 4 October 2013.
- "NRL 2013 - North Queensland Cowboys - Rugby League Project".