2023 North Queensland Cowboys season
Avg. attendance
← 2022 | 2024 → |
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.
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
Top 30 NRL Squad – 2023 season | Development Players | Coaching Staff | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Extended squad
| Head coach Assistant coaches
Updated: 9 May 2023 |
Squad movement
Gains
Player | Signed From | Until End of | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Jack Gosiewski | ![]() | 2023 | [3] |
Sam McIntyre | ![]() | 2024 | [4] |
James Tamou | ![]() | 2023 | [5] |
Semi Valemei | ![]() | 2025 | [6] |
Losses
Player | Signed To | Until End of | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Iosefo Baleiwairiki | ![]() | 2023 | [7] |
Kane Bradley | ![]() | 2023 | [8] |
Brendan Frei | ![]() | 2023 | |
Tom Gilbert | ![]() | 2025 | [9] |
Connelly Lemuelu | ![]() | 2024 | [10] |
Jordan Lipp | ![]() | 2023 | [11] |
Morgan McWhirter | ![]() | 2023 | [8] |
Laitia Moceidreke | ![]() | 2023 | [12] |
Emry Pere | ![]() | 2023 | [13] |
Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow | ![]() | 2024 | [14] |
Tyreece Woods | ![]() | 2023 |
Re-signings
Player | Signed From | Until End of | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Jeremiah Nanai | ![]() | 2027 | [15] |
Ladder
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | ![]() | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 645 | 312 | +333 | 42 |
2 | ![]() | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 639 | 425 | +214 | 42 |
3 | ![]() | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 627 | 459 | +168 | 38 |
4 | ![]() | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 572 | 448 | +124 | 38 |
5 | ![]() | 24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 626 | 451 | +175 | 35 |
6 | ![]() | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 619 | 497 | +122 | 34 |
7 | ![]() | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 472 | 496 | −24 | 32 |
8 | ![]() | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 486 | 623 | −137 | 32 |
9 | ![]() | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 564 | 505 | +59 | 30 |
10 | ![]() | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 587 | 574 | +13 | 30 |
11 | ![]() | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 546 | 542 | +4 | 30 |
12 | ![]() | 24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 3 | 545 | 539 | +6 | 29 |
13 | ![]() | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 3 | 520 | 631 | −111 | 24 |
14 | ![]() | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 3 | 527 | 653 | −126 | 24 |
15 | ![]() | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 3 | 438 | 769 | −331 | 20 |
16 | ![]() | 24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 3 | 474 | 673 | −199 | 16 |
17 | ![]() | 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 | ![]() | Barlow Park | 22 – 22 | Derby (2), Moceidreke (2) | Duffy (3/4), Laybutt (0/1) | 6,922 | |||
Saturday, 18 February | Trial 2 | ![]() | Sunshine Coast Stadium | 18 - 22 | Holmes, Feldt, Nanai | Holmes (3/3) | ||||
Legend: Win Loss Draw Bye |
Regular season
A = Away; H = Home; N = Neutral; B = Bye; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss
Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 4 March | Round 1 | ![]() | QCB Stadium | 19 - 18 | Taulagi, Drinkwater (2) | Holmes (3/5), Townsend (1 FG) | 19,855 | |||
Friday, 10 March | Round 2 | ![]() | Suncorp Stadium | 16 - 28 | Nanai (2) | Holmes (4/4) | 43,162 | |||
Saturday, 18 March | Round 3 | ![]() | QCB Stadium | 12 – 26 | Chester, Robson | Holmes (2/2) | 17,818 | |||
Saturday, 25 March | Round 4 | ![]() | QCB Stadium | 24 – 12 | Chester, Holmes, Nanai, Tamou | Holmes (4/4) | 16,426 | |||
Sunday, 2 April | Round 5 | ![]() | Accor Stadium | 14 – 15 | Chester, Dearden | Holmes (3/4) | 9,626 | |||
Friday, 7 April | Round 6 | ![]() | QCB Stadium | 22 – 32 | Feldt (2), Hess, Holmes | Holmes (3/4) | 22,811 | |||
Saturday, 15 April | Round 7 | ![]() | Mount Smart Stadium | 14 – 22 | Cotter, Holmes, Taulagi | Holmes (1/3) | 23,695 | |||
Saturday, 22 April | Round 8 | ![]() | QCB Stadium | 18 – 16 | Dearden, Feldt, Robson | Holmes (3/3) | 17,970 | |||
Thursday, 27 April | Round 9 | ![]() | PointsBet Stadium | 6 – 44 | Feldt | Holmes (1/1) | 8,148 | |||
Sunday, 7 May | Round 10 | ![]() | Suncorp Stadium | 20 – 6 | Cotter, Gosiewski, Townsend | Holmes (4/4) | 45,085 | |||
Saturday, 13 May | Round 11 | ![]() | QCB Stadium | 46 – 26 | Feldt (2), Gosiewski, Luki (2), Dearden (2) | Holmes (6/7, 1 2pt FG) | 17,852 | |||
Saturday, 20 May | Round 12 | ![]() | Leichhardt Oval | 18 – 66 | Cotter, Feldt, Leilua | Holmes (3/3) | 12,247 | |||
Friday, 26 May | Round 13 | ![]() | CommBank Stadium | 16 – 24 | Feldt (2), Drinkwater | Townsend (2/3) | 14,810 | |||
Sunday, 4 June | Round 14 | ![]() | QCB Stadium | 45 – 20 | Valemei (3), Holmes, Taulagi (2), Nanai, Townsend | Holmes (6/8), Townsend (1 FG) | 18,867 | |||
Round 15 | Bye | |||||||||
Friday, 16 June | Round 16 | ![]() | QCB Stadium | 27 – 23 | Drinkwater (2), Dearden, Finefeuiaki, Feldt | Townsend (3/4, 1 FG) | 17,277 | |||
Sunday, 25 June | Round 17 | ![]() | Accor Stadium | 31 – 6 | Taulagi, Holmes (2), Finefeuiaki, Dearden | Drinkwater (1 FG), Holmes (5/6) | 11,262 | |||
Saturday, 1 July | Round 18 | ![]() | QCB Stadium | 74 – 0 | Taulagi (3), Drinkwater (2), Holmes (2), Valemei (2), Dearden, Leilua, McLean, Nanai | Holmes (11/13) | 30,606 | |||
Round 19 | Bye | |||||||||
Saturday, 15 July | Round 20 | ![]() | 4 Pines Park | 19 – 8 | Cotter, Nanai, Drinkwater | Holmes (3/3) | 13,240 | |||
Saturday, 22 July | Round 21 | ![]() | QCB Stadium | 24 - 16 | Hiku, Valemei (2), Drinkwater | Holmes (4/5) | 20,710 | |||
Sunday, 30 July | Round 22 | ![]() | Cbus Super Stadium | 13 – 22 | Hess, Valemei | Holmes (2/2), Townsend (1 FG) | 16,516 | |||
Saturday, 5 August | Round 23 | ![]() | QCB Stadium | 14 – 30 | Feldt (2), Luki | Townsend (1/4) | 22,659 | |||
Round 24 | Bye | |||||||||
Thursday, 17 August | Round 25 | ![]() | QCB Stadium | 12 – 32 | Drinkwater, Valemei | Drinkwater (2/2) | 17,318 | |||
Friday, 25 August | Round 26 | ![]() | Suncorp Stadium | 34 – 10 | Laybutt (2), Drinkwater, Feldt, Hiku, Taulagi | Drinkwater (5/6) | 33,449 | |||
Saturday, 2 September | Round 27 | ![]() | BlueBet Stadium | 12 – 44 | Laybutt, Neame | Drinkwater (2/2) | 21,525 | |||
Legend: Win Loss Draw Bye |
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:[16]
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[17]
- Players' Player: Scott Drinkwater[17]
- The Cowboys Way Award: Jordan McLean[17]
- Rookie of the Year: Kulikefu Finefeuiaki[17]
- JCU Education Award: Reuben Cotter[17]
- Young Guns Cowboys Way Award: Wil Sullivan[17]
- Club Person of the Year: James Tamou[17]
- Fans Choice Player of the Year: Reuben Cotter[17]
Feeder Clubs
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.[18]
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.
- ^ a b "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.
- ^ "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.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "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.