2023 North Queensland Cowboys season
The 2023 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 29th in the club's history. Coached by Todd Payten and captained by Jason Taumalolo and Chad Townsend, they competed in the NRL's 2023 Telstra Premiership but did not qualify for the finals.
| 2023 North Queensland Cowboys season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NRL Rank | 11th | |||
| Play-off result | Missed finals | |||
| 2023 record | Wins: 12; draws: 0; losses: 12 | |||
| Points scored | For: 546; against: 542 | |||
| Team information | ||||
| CEO | Jeff Reibel | |||
| Coach | Todd Payten | |||
| Captain | ||||
| Stadium | Queensland Country Bank Stadium | |||
| Avg. attendance | 19,175 | |||
| High attendance | 22,811 (vs. Dolphins Round 6) | |||
| Top scorers | ||||
| Tries | Kyle Feldt (13) | |||
| Goals | Valentine Holmes (68) | |||
| Points | Valentine Holmes (170) | |||
| ||||
Season summary
Milestones
- Round 1: Jamayne Taunoa-Brown played his 50th NRL game.
- Round 3: Tom Chester scored his first NRL try.
- Round 3: Gehamat Shibasaki made his debut for the club.
- Round 5: Riley Price made his NRL debut.
- Round 7: Jack Gosiewski made his debut for the club.
- Round 10: Kulikefu Finefeuiaki made his NRL debut.
- Round 10: Jack Gosiewski scored his first try for the club.
- Round 13: Robert Derby and Zac Laybutt made their NRL debuts.
Squad
Squad movement
Gains
| Player | Signed From | Until End of | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jack Gosiewski |  St George Illawarra Dragons | 2023 | |
| Sam McIntyre |  Gold Coast Titans (mid-season) | 2024 | |
| James Tamou |  Wests Tigers | 2023 | |
| Semi Valemei |  Canberra Raiders (mid-season) | 2025 |
Losses
| Player | Signed To | Until End of | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iosefo Baleiwairiki |  Fijian Drua | 2023 | |
| Kane Bradley |  Brisbane Tigers | 2023 | |
| Brendan Frei |  Wynnum Manly Seagulls | 2023 | |
| Tom Gilbert |  Dolphins | 2025 | |
| Connelly Lemuelu | Dolphins | 2024 | |
| Jordan Lipp |  Western Clydesdales (mid-season) | 2023 | |
| Morgan McWhirter |  North Sydney Bears | 2023 | |
| Laitia Moceidreke |  Newcastle Knights (mid-season) | 2023 | |
| Emry Pere |  Burleigh Bears | 2023 | |
| Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow | Dolphins | 2024 | |
| Tyreece Woods | Newcastle Knights | 2023 |
Re-signings
| Player | Signed From | Until End of | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jeremiah Nanai |  North Queensland Cowboys | 2027 |
Ladder
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Penrith Panthers (P) |
24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 645 | 312 | +333 | 42 |
| 2 |  Brisbane Broncos |
24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 639 | 425 | +214 | 42 |
| 3 |  Melbourne Storm |
24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 627 | 459 | +168 | 38 |
| 4 |  New Zealand Warriors |
24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 572 | 448 | +124 | 38 |
| 5 | Newcastle Knights |
24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 626 | 451 | +175 | 35 |
| 6 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks |
24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 619 | 497 | +122 | 34 |
| 7 |  Sydney Roosters |
24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 472 | 496 | −24 | 32 |
| 8 | Canberra Raiders |
24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 486 | 623 | −137 | 32 |
| 9 |  South Sydney Rabbitohs |
24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 564 | 505 | +59 | 30 |
| 10 |  Parramatta Eels |
24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 587 | 574 | +13 | 30 |
| 11 | North Queensland Cowboys |
24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 546 | 542 | +4 | 30 |
| 12 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles |
24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 3 | 545 | 539 | +6 | 29 |
| 13 | Dolphins |
24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 3 | 520 | 631 | −111 | 24 |
| 14 | Gold Coast Titans |
24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 3 | 527 | 653 | −126 | 24 |
| 15 |  Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs |
24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 3 | 438 | 769 | −331 | 20 |
| 16 | St. George Illawarra Dragons |
24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 3 | 474 | 673 | −199 | 16 |
| 17 | Wests Tigers |
24 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 3 | 385 | 675 | −290 | 14 |
Fixtures
Pre-season
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 12 February | Trial 1 | Dolphins | Barlow Park | 22 – 22 | Derby (2), Moceidreke (2) | Duffy (3/4), Laybutt (0/1) | 6,922 | |||
| Saturday, 18 February | Trial 2 | Brisbane Broncos | Sunshine Coast Stadium | 18 - 22 | Holmes, Feldt, Nanai | Holmes (3/3) | ||||
| Legend: Win Loss Draw Bye | ||||||||||
Regular season
Statistics
| Name | App | T | G | FG | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Chester | 7 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Reuben Cotter | 20 | 4 | - | - | 16 |
| Tom Dearden | 23 | 7 | - | - | 28 |
| Robert Derby | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Scott Drinkwater | 21 | 11 | 9 | 1 | 63 |
| Mitchell Dunn | 8 | – | - | - | - |
| Brendan Elliot | 2 | – | - | - | - |
| Kyle Feldt | 18 | 13 | - | - | 52 |
| Kulikefu Finefeuiaki | 12 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Jack Gosiewski | 7 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Jake Granville | 24 | – | - | - | - |
| Ben Hampton | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Coen Hess | 24 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Peta Hiku | 22 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Valentine Holmes | 18 | 8 | 68 | 1 | 170 |
| Zac Laybutt | 4 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Luciano Leilua | 13 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Heilum Luki | 13 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Sam McIntyre | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| Jordan McLean | 22 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Jeremiah Nanai | 13 | 6 | - | - | 24 |
| Griffin Neame | 17 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Riley Price | 2 | – | - | - | - |
| Reece Robson | 23 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Gehamat Shibasaki | 2 | – | - | - | - |
| James Tamou | 3 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Murray Taulagi | 20 | 9 | - | - | 36 |
| Jason Taumalolo | 16 | – | - | - | - |
| Jamayne Taunoa-Brown | 17 | - | - | - | - |
| Chad Townsend | 24 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 25 |
| Semi Valemei | 9 | 9 | - | - | 36 |
| Totals | 93 | 87 | 7 | 546 |
Source:[17]
Representatives
The following players played a representative match in 2023.
| All Stars match | State of Origin 1 | State of Origin 2 | State of Origin 3 | Prime Minister's XIII | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reuben Cotter | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | Australia | |
| Robert Derby | Papua New Guinea | ||||
| Valentine Holmes | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | ||
| Zac Laybutt | Papua New Guinea | ||||
| Jeremiah Nanai | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | ||
| Murray Taulagi | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | Australia | |
| Reece Robson | New South Wales | New South Wales | Australia | ||
| Jamayne Taunoa-Brown | Indigenous All Stars |
Honours
Club
- Paul Bowman Medal: Scott Drinkwater[18]
- Players' Player: Scott Drinkwater[18]
- The Cowboys Way Award: Jordan McLean[18]
- Rookie of the Year: Kulikefu Finefeuiaki[18]
- JCU Education Award: Reuben Cotter[18]
- Young Guns Cowboys Way Award: Wil Sullivan[18]
- Club Person of the Year: James Tamou[18]
- Fans Choice Player of the Year: Reuben Cotter[18]
Feeder Clubs
Queensland Cup
While still affiliated with the Cutters and Pride, the Cowboys used the Blackhawks as their sole feeder club for their NRL players in 2023.
Mackay Cutters – 14th, missed finals
Northern Pride – 7th, lost elimination final
Townsville Blackhawks – 12th, missed finals
Women's team
The North Queensland Cowboys Women's team competed in their first season of the NRL Women's Premiership in 2023. They finished 9th, winning two games and losing seven. They were coached by Ben Jeffries and captained by Kirra Dibb and Tallisha Harden.[19]
References
- Development players train with the Top 30 squad but cannot play NRL until after Round 10
- Players in the extended squad train with the Top 30 squad but are on train and trial or junior contracts
- "Cowboys sign Gosiewski". NQ Cowboys. 25 October 2022.
- "Cowboys sign McIntyre". NQ Cowboys. 16 May 2023.
- "Tamou returns to North Queensland". NQ Cowboys. 27 October 2022.
- "Cowboys sign Valemei". NQ Cowboys. 12 May 2023.
- "Iosefo Masi returns to the 7s team". Fiji Village. 22 August 2022.
- "Rabbitohs re-sign 'impressive' young gun; Newcastle lock in Broncos half: Transfer Centre". Fox Sports Australia. 6 September 2022.
- "Gilbert puts family first". Dolphins. 13 July 2022.
- "Back-row convert signs with Dolphins". Dolphins. 11 May 2022.
- "Round 8 Hostplus Cup team lists". QRL. 2 May 2023.
- "Rabbitohs re-sign 'impressive' young gun; Newcastle lock in Broncos half: Transfer Centre". Fox Sports Australia. 6 September 2022.
- "Senior Reps team lists: Round 11". Newcastle Knights. 9 May 2023.
- "The players who'll train and trial with Titans this pre-season". Gold Coast Titans. 25 October 2022.
- "Excitement machine 'the Hammer' joins the Dolphins". Dolphins. 5 October 2022.
- "Nanai signs long-term extension". NQ Cowboys. 15 February 2023.
- "2023 North Queensland Cowboys season". www.rugbyleagueproject.org.
- "Full list of winners from the Cowboys 2023 Presentation Night". NQ Cowboys. 20 September 2023.
- "Roosters overpower Cowboys to lock in home semi-final". NRL.com. 16 September 2023.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.