2016 North Queensland Cowboys season

Avg. attendance16,692High attendance25,163 (vs. Brisbane Broncos, Round 11)Top scorersTriesKyle Feldt (15)GoalsJohnathan Thurston (98)PointsJohnathan Thurston (201)

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The 2016 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 22nd in the club's history and their first as defending premiers. Coached by Paul Green and co-captained by Johnathan Thurston and Matthew Scott, they competed in the NRL's 2016 Telstra Premiership. In the pre-season the Cowboys competed in the 2016 Auckland Nines tournament, reaching the quarter-finals. The team finished the regular season in 4th, losing in the preliminary final to the eventual premiers, the Cronulla Sharks.

• Round 1: Johnathan Thurston scored his 1,800th point in the NRL.
• Round 3: Lachlan Coote scored his 50th try in the NRL.
• Round 5: Javid Bowen made his NRL debut.
• Round 5: James Tamou played his 150th game for the club.
• Round 5: Javid Bowen scored his first NRL try.
• Round 7: Justin O'Neill played his 100th NRL game.
• Round 7: Johnathan Thurston scored his 1,000th point at 1300SMILES Stadium.
• Round 9: Kane Linnett scored his 50th NRL try.
• Round 10: Ethan Lowe played his 50th game for the club.
• Round 11: Johnathan Thurston played his 250th game for the club.
• Round 12: Jahrome Hughes made his debut for the club.
• Round 12: Jahrome Hughes scored his first NRL try.
• Round 13: Ray Thompson played his 100th game for the club.
• Round 13: Gavin Cooper scored his 50th try for the club.
• Round 14: Jason Taumalolo played his 100th game for the club.
• Round 17: Gavin Cooper played his 150th game for the club.
• Round 18: Josh Chudleigh made his NRL debut.
• Round 18: Josh Chudleigh scored his first NRL try.
• Round 26: Lachlan Coote and Jake Granville played their 50th games for the club.
• Finals Week 1: Ben Hannant played his 50th game for the club.
• Finals Week 2: Justin O'Neill played his 50th game for the club.
• Finals Week 2: Kalyn Ponga made his NRL debut.
• Finals Week 2: Michael Morgan played his 100th game for the club.
• Finals Week 3: John Asiata played his 50th game for the club.

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First team squad								Coaching staff
John Asiata – LK, SR Scott Bolton – PR, LK Javid Bowen – CE, WG Josh Chudleigh – HK Gavin Cooper – SR Lachlan Coote – FB Kyle Feldt – WG Jake Granville – HK Ben Hannant – PR Coen Hess – SR Sam Hoare – PR		Shaun Hudson – CE, FB Jahrome Hughes – FB, FE Patrick Kaufusi – PR Rory Kostjasyn – HK, LK Kyle Laybutt – FE Kane Linnett – CE Ethan Lowe – SR Patrick Mago – SR Tautau Moga – CE, WG Michael Morgan – FE, FB Justin O'Neill – CE, WG		Kalyn Ponga – FB Matthew Scott (c) – PR Ben Spina – PR, LK James Tamou – PR Jason Taumalolo – LK Ray Thompson – HK, HB Johnathan Thurston (c) – PR Braden Uele – PR Antonio Winterstein – WG, CE				Head coach Paul Green Assistant coaches David Furner Todd Payten Legend: (c) Captain(s) (vc) Vice-captain(s) Updated: 10 October 2015 Source(s): Cowboys Squad 2016

Player	Signed From	Until End of	Notes
Shaun Hudson	Gold Coast Titans	2017	[1]
Jahrome Hughes	Townsville Blackhawks	2016	[2]
Patrick Mago	Canberra Raiders	2016	[3]

Player	Signed To	Until End of	Notes
Glenn Hall	Townsville Blackhawks	2016	[4]
Viliame Kikau	Penrith Panthers	2017	[5]
Cameron King	Parramatta Eels	2016	[6]
Robert Lui	Salford Red Devils	2016	[7]
Hezron Murgha	Townsville Blackhawks	2016	[8]
Zac Santo	Canberra Raiders	2016	[9]
Scott Schulte	Parramatta Eels	2016	[10]
Kelepi Tanginoa	Parramatta Eels	2016	[11]
Matthew Wright	Manly Sea Eagles (mid-season)	2018	[12]

Player	Club	Until End of	Notes
Javid Bowen	North Queensland Cowboys	2018	[13]
Josh Chudleigh	North Queensland Cowboys	2018	[14]
Lachlan Coote	North Queensland Cowboys	2018	[15]
Jake Granville	North Queensland Cowboys	2018	[16]
Sam Hoare	North Queensland Cowboys	2018	[17]
Patrick Kaufusi	North Queensland Cowboys	2017	[18]
Kane Linnett	North Queensland Cowboys	2018	[19]
Ethan Lowe	North Queensland Cowboys	2018	[20]
Justin O'Neill	North Queensland Cowboys	2018	[21]
Antonio Winterstein	North Queensland Cowboys	2018	[22]

2016 NRL season v t e
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	B	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	Melbourne Storm	24	19	0	5	2	563	302	+261	42
2	Canberra Raiders	24	17	1	6	2	688	456	+232	39
3	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks (P)	24	17	1	6	2	580	404	+176	39
4	North Queensland Cowboys	24	15	0	9	2	584	355	+229	34
5	Brisbane Broncos	24	15	0	9	2	554	434	+120	34
6	Penrith Panthers	24	14	0	10	2	563	463	+100	32
7	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	24	14	0	10	2	506	448	+58	32
8	Gold Coast Titans	24	11	1	12	2	508	497	+11	27
9	Wests Tigers	24	11	0	13	2	499	607	−108	26
10	New Zealand Warriors	24	10	0	14	2	513	601	−88	24
11	St. George Illawarra Dragons	24	10	0	14	2	341	538	−197	24
12	South Sydney Rabbitohs	24	9	0	15	2	473	549	−76	22
13	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	24	8	0	16	2	454	563	−109	20
14	Parramatta Eels	24	13	0	11	2	298	324	−26	181
15	Sydney Roosters	24	6	0	18	2	443	576	−133	16
16	Newcastle Knights	24	1	1	22	2	305	800	−495	7

¹ Parramatta were deducted 12 competition points and their for/against tally accumulated between rounds 1-9 for gross long-term salary cap breaches.

The NRL Auckland Nines is a pre-season rugby league nines competition featuring all 16 NRL clubs. The Cowboys, whose side featured a returning Matthew Bowen, finished first in their pool before being eliminated by the Melbourne Storm in the quarter-finals.

Rangitoto Pool

Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
North Queensland Cowboys	3	2	0	1	55	36	+19	4
Newcastle Knights	3	2	0	1	48	58	−10	4
Penrith Panthers	3	1	0	2	48	37	+11	2
Wests Tigers	3	1	0	2	36	56	−20	2

Date	Time (Local)	Round	Opponent	Venue	Score	Tries	Goals
Saturday, 6 February	1:20pm	Round 1	Newcastle Knights	Eden Park	28 – 12	Cooper (3), Gela-Mosby (2), O'Neill	M. Bowen (1), Morgan (1)
Saturday, 6 February	5:40pm	Round 2	Wests Tigers	Eden Park	12 – 13	Gela-Mosby (2), Winterstein	-
Sunday, 7 February	11:50am	Round 3	Penrith Panthers	Eden Park	15 – 11	Cooper, Hess, Lowe	Coote (1)
Sunday, 7 February	2:30pm	Quarter-final	Melbourne Storm	Eden Park	6 – 14	Kostjasyn	Coote (1)
Legend:   Win   Loss

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Score	Tries	Goals	Attendance
Saturday, 6 February	Trial 1	Brisbane Broncos	Salter Oval	26 – 48	Chudleigh, Creith, Hughes, Mago, Ponga	Laybutt (3/5)	8,122
Thursday, 11 February	Trial 2	Townsville Blackhawks	Jack Manski Oval	18 – 16	Cooper, Morgan, O'Neill	Thurston (3/3)	-
Sunday, 21 February	Trial 3	Leeds Rhinos	Headingley Stadium	38 – 4	O'Neill (2), Coote, Feldt, Linnett, Morgan, Thurston	Thurston (5/7)	19,778
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Score	Tries	Goals	Attendance
Saturday, 5 March	Round 1	Cronulla Sharks	1300SMILES Stadium	20 – 14	Linnett, Lowe, O'Neill	Thurston (4/4)	15,519
Saturday, 12 March	Round 2	Parramatta Eels	Pirtek Stadium	16 – 20	Lowe, O'Neill, Taumalolo	Thurston (2/3)	12,194
Thursday, 17 March	Round 3	Sydney Roosters	1300SMILES Stadium	40 – 0	Bolton, Coote, Feldt, Linnett, Morgan, Taumalolo, Winterstein	Thurston (6/7)	8,099
Friday, 25 March	Round 4	Brisbane Broncos	Suncorp Stadium	20 – 21	Granville, Morgan, Lowe	Thurston (4/4)	46,176
Saturday, 2 April	Round 5	St George Illawarra Dragons	1300SMILES Stadium	36 – 0	Feldt (2), Bolton, Bowen, Cooper, O'Neill	Thurston (6/6)	17,444
Saturday, 9 April	Round 6	Penrith Panthers	Pepper Stadium	23 – 18	Bowen, Cooper, Feldt, O'Neill	Thurston (3/4), Coote (1 FG)	13,725
Friday, 15 April	Round 7	South Sydney Rabbitohs	1300SMILES Stadium	44 – 18	O'Neill (2), Cooper, Feldt, Lowe, Morgan, Thurston, Winterstein	Thurston (6/8)	15,487
Saturday, 23 April	Round 8	Parramatta Eels	1300SMILES Stadium	32 – 16	Morgan (2), Cooper, Coote, Winterstein	Thurston (6/7)	19,308
Saturday, 30 April	Round 9	Manly Sea Eagles	Brookvale Oval	34 – 18	Feldt (2), Cooper, Linnett, Morgan, Winterstein	Thurston (5/6)	11,734
Saturday, 14 May	Round 10	Melbourne Storm	Suncorp Stadium	14 – 15	Cooper, Morgan	Thurston (3/3)	52,347
Friday, 20 May	Round 11	Brisbane Broncos	1300SMILES Stadium	19 – 18	Coote, O'Neill, Scott	Thurston (3/3, 1 FG)	25,163
Saturday, 28 May	Round 12	St George Illawarra Dragons	WIN Stadium	10 – 14	Feldt, Hughes	Lowe (1/2)	10,032
Saturday, 4 June	Round 13	Newcastle Knights	1300SMILES Stadium	46 – 16	Feldt (2), Ray Thompson (2), Cooper, Granville, Kostjasyn, Winterstein	Thurston (7/8)	14,651
Monday, 13 June	Round 14	Cronulla Sharks	Southern Cross Group Stadium	10 – 13	Winterstein	Thurston (3/3)	13,119
	Round 15	Bye
Monday, 27 June	Round 16	Manly Sea Eagles	1300SMILES Stadium	30 – 26	Taumalolo (2), Coote, Tamou, Winterstein	Thurston (5/5)	15,584
Sunday, 3 July	Round 17	South Sydney Rabbitohs	Barlow Park	20 – 0	Bowen, Scott, Thurston	Thurston (4/5)	14,923
Monday, 11 July	Round 18	Canberra Raiders	GIO Stadium	12 – 26	Chudleigh, Hess	Lowe (2/2)	8,328
	Round 19	Bye
Thursday, 21 July	Round 20	Canterbury Bulldogs	1300SMILES Stadium	36 – 0	Winterstein (3), O'Neill (2), Bowen, Lowe	Lowe (2/3), Thurston (2/4)	11,260
Saturday, 30 July	Round 21	Melbourne Storm	1300SMILES Stadium	8 – 16	Winterstein	Lowe (2/2)	20,256
Sunday, 7 August	Round 22	Wests Tigers	Leichhardt Oval	14 – 26	Linnett, Lowe	Thurston (3/3)	14,246
Sunday, 14 August	Round 23	Sydney Roosters	Allianz Stadium	10 – 22	Linnett, Lowe	Thurston (1/2)	8,760
Saturday, 20 August	Round 24	New Zealand Warriors	1300SMILES Stadium	34 – 6	Feldt (2), Morgan, O'Neill, Taumalolo, Ray Thompson	Thurston (5/6)	15,676
Thursday, 25 August	Round 25	Canterbury Bulldogs	Belmore Sports Ground	24 – 16	Lowe (2), Hess, Taumalolo	Thurston (4/5)	10,144
Saturday, 3 September	Round 26	Gold Coast Titans	1300SMILES Stadium	32 – 16	Cooper (2), O'Neill, Tamou, Winterstein	Thurston (6/6)	21,495
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw   Bye

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Score	Tries	Goals	Attendance
Saturday, 10 September	Qualifying Final	Melbourne Storm	AAMI Park	16 – 10	Feldt, Winterstein	Thurston (1/2)	21,233
Friday, 16 September	Semi-final	Brisbane Broncos	1300SMILES Stadium	26 – 20	O'Neill (2), Hess, Morgan	Thurston (5/6)	23,804
Friday, 23 September	Preliminary Final	Cronulla Sharks	Allianz Stadium	32 –20	Feldt (2), Coote, Hess	Thurston (2/4)	36,717
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw

Name	App	T	G	FG	Pts
John Asiata	19	-	-	-	-
Scott Bolton	27	2	-	-	8
Javid Bowen	10	4	-	-	16
Josh Chudleigh	1	1	-	-	4
Gavin Cooper	26	9	-	-	36
Lachlan Coote	27	5	-	1	21
Kyle Feldt	24	15	-	-	60
Jake Granville	25	2	-	-	8
Ben Hannant	24	-	-	-	-
Coen Hess	8	4	-	-	16
Jahrome Hughes	1	1	-	-	4
Patrick Kaufusi	12	-	-	-	-
Rory Kostjasyn	26	1	-	-	4
Kane Linnett	22	5	-	-	20
Ethan Lowe	25	9	7	-	50
Tautau Moga	1	-	-	-	-
Michael Morgan	22	9	-	-	36
Justin O'Neill	25	13	-	-	52
Kalyn Ponga	2	-	-	-	-
Matthew Scott	23	2	-	-	8
Ben Spina	2	-	-	-	-
James Tamou	25	2	-	-	8
Jason Taumalolo	27	6	-	-	24
Ray Thompson	7	3	-	-	12
Johnathan Thurston	24	2	96	1	201
Antonio Winterstein	24	13	-	-	52
Totals		108	103	2	640

The following players have played a representative match in 2016.

	All Stars match	ANZAC Test	Polynesian Cup	City vs Country	Residents match	State of Origin 1	State Of Origin 2	State of Origin 3	Four Nations
John Asiata	-	-	Samoa	-	-	-	-	-	-
Gavin Cooper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	Queensland	-
Jahrome Hughes	-	-	-	-	Queensland	-	-	-	-
Patrick Kaufusi	-	-	Tonga	-	-	-	-	-	-
Rory Kostjasyn	-	-	-	Country	-	-	-	-	-
Kane Linnett	-	-	-	Country	-	-	-	-	-
Michael Morgan	-	Australia	-	-	-	Queensland	Queensland	-	Australia
Justin O'Neill	-	-	-	-	-	Queensland	Queensland	Queensland	Australia
Matthew Scott	-	Australia	-	-	-	Queensland	Queensland	Queensland	Australia
James Tamou	-	Australia	-	-	-	New South Wales	New South Wales	New South Wales	-
Jason Taumalolo	-	New Zealand	-	-	-	-	-	-	New Zealand
Johnathan Thurston	-	Australia	-	-	-	Queensland	Queensland	Queensland	Australia
Antonio Winterstein	-	-	Samoa	-	-	-	-	-	-
Matthew Wright	World All Stars	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

• Dally M Medal: Jason Taumalolo
• Dally M Lock of the Year: Jason Taumalolo
• Rugby League Players Association Player of the Year: Jason Taumalolo
• NYC Team of the Year: Gideon Gela-Mosby, Kalyn Ponga, Brandon Smith

• Paul Bowman Medal: Jason Taumalolo
• Players' Player: Jason Taumalolo
• Member's Player of the Year: Jason Taumalolo
• Club Person of the Year: John Asiata
• Most Improved: Ethan Lowe
• Rookie of the Year: Javid Bowen
• NYC Player of the Year: Brandon Smith
• Townsville Bulletins' Fan Choice Award: Michael Morgan

• North Queensland Cowboys - 2nd, lost preliminary final

• Mackay Cutters - 14th, missed finals
• Northern Pride - 8th, missed finals
• Townsville Blackhawks - 3rd, lost semi final

27°27′53″S 153°0′34″E / 27.46472°S 153.00944°E / -27.46472; 153.00944