2017 North Queensland Cowboys season
| 2017 North Queensland Cowboys season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
1300SMILES Stadium | ||||
| Avg. attendance | 16,512 | |||
| High attendance | 23,321 (vs. Brisbane Broncos, Round 26) | |||
| Top scorers | ||||
| Tries | Kyle Feldt (15) | |||
| Goals | Ethan Lowe (47) | |||
| Points | Ethan Lowe (102) | |||
| ||||
The 2017 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 23rd in the club's history. Coached by Paul Green and co-captained by Johnathan Thurston and Matthew Scott, they competed in the NRL's 2017 Telstra Premiership. The club became just the second 8th-placed side to make the Grand Final, ultimately losing to the Melbourne Storm.
Season summary
Milestones
- Round 1: Ben Hampton made his debut for the club.
- Round 2: Johnathan Thurston scored his 2,000th point.
- Round 3: Shaun Fensom made his debut for the club.
- Round 3: Kane Linnett played his 150th NRL game.
- Round 4: Kyle Feldt played his 50th game for the club.
- Round 4: Gideon Gela-Mosby made his NRL debut.
- Round 4: Gideon Gela-Mosby and Kalyn Ponga scored their first NRL tries.
- Round 5: Shaun Fensom scored his first try for the club.
- Round 7: Corey Jensen made his NRL debut.
- Round 11: Ben Hampton scored his first try for the club.
- Round 15: Kyle Laybutt made his NRL debut.
- Round 16: Gavin Cooper played his 250th NRL game.
- Round 17: Te Maire Martin made his debut for the club.
- Round 17: Te Maire Martin scored his first try for the club.
- Round 17: Shaun Fensom played his 150th NRL game.
- Round 21: Braden Uelemade his NRL debut.
- Round 21: Paul Green coached his 100th NRL game.
- Round 22: Lachlan Coote played his 150th NRL game.
- Round 23: Patrick Mago made his NRL debut.
- Round 23: Michael Morganscored his 50th try for the club.
- Round 24: Scott Bolton played his 200th game for the club.
- Round 24: Shane Wrightmade their NRL debuts.
- Finals Week 2: Kane Linnett played his 150th game for the club.
- Finals Week 2: John Asiata scored his first NRL try.
- Finals Week 3: Antonio Winterstein played his 150th game for the club.
- Finals Week 3: The club qualified for their third Grand Final.
Squad
| First team squad | Coaching staff | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Head coach Assistant coaches
Updated: 6 March 2017 | ||||||
Squad movement
Gains
| Player | Signed From | Until End of | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Hampton |  Melbourne Storm |
2019 |
|
| Shaun Fensom |  Canberra Raiders |
2018 |
|
| Corey Jensen |  Townsville Blackhawks |
2017 |
|
| Blake Leary | Manly Sea Eagles |
2017 |
|
| Te Maire Martin |  Penrith Panthers (mid-season) |
2019 |
|
Shane Wright |
 Gold Coast Titans |
2018 |
Losses
| Player | Signed To | Until End of | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ben Hannant | Retired | - |
|
| Jahrome Hughes | Melbourne Storm |
2018 |
|
| Rory Kostjasyn |  Newcastle Knights |
2018 |
|
| Nick Lui-Toso | Penrith Panthers |
2017 |
|
| Tautau Moga |  Brisbane Broncos |
2018 |
|
| Brandon Smith | Melbourne Storm |
2019 |
|
| James Tamou | Penrith Panthers |
2020 |
Re-signings
| Player | Club | Until End of | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Asiata |  North Queensland Cowboys |
2020 |
|
| Scott Bolton | North Queensland Cowboys |
2019 |
|
| Jake Clifford | North Queensland Cowboys |
2019 |
|
| Gavin Cooper | North Queensland Cowboys |
2019 |
|
| Kyle Feldt | North Queensland Cowboys |
2020 |
|
| Gideon Gela-Mosby | North Queensland Cowboys |
2019 |
|
| Shaun Hudson | North Queensland Cowboys |
2018 |
|
| Corey Jensen | North Queensland Cowboys |
2019 |
|
| Kyle Laybutt | North Queensland Cowboys |
2018 |
|
| Emry Pere | North Queensland Cowboys |
2018 |
|
| Matthew Scott | North Queensland Cowboys |
2019 |
|
| Murray Taulagi | North Queensland Cowboys |
2019 |
|
| Jason Taumalolo | North Queensland Cowboys |
2027 |
|
| Johnathan Thurston | North Queensland Cowboys |
2018 |
|
| Enari Tuala | North Queensland Cowboys |
2019 |
Ladder
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Melbourne Storm (P)
|
24 | 20 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 633 | 336 | +297 | 44 |
| 2 |  Sydney Roosters
|
24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 500 | 428 | +72 | 38 |
| 3 | Brisbane Broncos
|
24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 597 | 433 | +164 | 36 |
| 4 |  Parramatta Eels
|
24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 496 | 457 | +39 | 36 |
| 5 |  Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
|
24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 476 | 407 | +69 | 34 |
| 6 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
|
24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 552 | 512 | +40 | 32 |
| 7 | Penrith Panthers
|
24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 504 | 459 | +45 | 30 |
| 8 | North Queensland Cowboys
|
24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 467 | 443 | +24 | 30 |
| 9 |  St. George Illawarra Dragons
|
24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 533 | 450 | +83 | 28 |
| 10 | Canberra Raiders
|
24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 558 | 497 | +61 | 26 |
| 11 |  Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
|
24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 360 | 455 | −95 | 24 |
| 12 |  South Sydney Rabbitohs
|
24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 464 | 564 | −100 | 22 |
| 13 |  New Zealand Warriors
|
24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 444 | 575 | −131 | 18 |
| 14 |  Wests Tigers
|
24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 413 | 571 | −158 | 18 |
| 15 | Gold Coast Titans
|
24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 448 | 638 | −190 | 18 |
| 16 | Newcastle Knights
|
24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 428 | 648 | −220 | 14 |
Fixtures
NRL Auckland Nines
The
NRL Auckland Nines is a pre-season rugby league nines competition featuring all 16 NRL
clubs.
Pool Play
| Date | Time (Local) | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 4 February | 2:40 pm | Round 1 | Sydney Roosters |
Eden Park | 27 – 15 | Thurston (1) | |||||
| Saturday, 4 February | 4:35 pm | Round 2 | Canberra Raiders |
Eden Park | 35 – 6 | Gela-Mosby (2), Ponga (2), Bowen, Feldt | (1) | ||||
| Sunday, 5 February | 11:05 am | Round 3 | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
Eden Park | 19 – 8 | Bowen (2), Hudson, Ponga | Ponga (1) | ||||
| Sunday, 7 February | 2:30 pm | Quarter-final | Melbourne Storm |
Eden Park | 12 – 25 | Bowen, Gela-Mosby, Ponga | |||||
| Legend: Win Loss | |||||||||||
Pre-season
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 11 February | Trial 1 | Sydney Roosters |
BB Print Stadium | 11 – 10 | Leary, Tuala | Laybutt (1/2, 1 FG) | ||||
| Friday, 17 February | Trial 2 | Wests Tigers |
Campbelltown Stadium |
18 – 16 | Morgan |
Thurston (3/3) | ||||
| Friday, 17 February | Trial 3 | Townsville Blackhawks |
Jack Manski Oval | 44 – 8 | Ponga (3), Traill (2), Gahan, Slade-Roycroft, Pere | - | ||||
| Legend: Win Loss Draw | ||||||||||
Regular season
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 4 March | Round 1 | Canberra Raiders |
1300SMILES Stadium |
20 – 16 | Bowen, Cooper, Coote, Hess | Thurston (2/4) | 17,548[26] | |||
| Friday, 10 March | Round 2 | Brisbane Broncos |
Suncorp Stadium | 21 – 20 | Morgan |
Thurston (4/4, 1 FG) | 47,703 | |||
| Saturday, 18 March | Round 3 | Manly Sea Eagles |
1300SMILES Stadium |
8 – 30 | Granville | Thurston (2/2) | 14,763 | |||
| Saturday, 25 March | Round 4 | Gold Coast Titans |
Cbus Super Stadium |
32 – 26 | Hess (2), Gela-Mosby, Ponga, Thurston | Thurston (6/7) | 17,647[27] | |||
| Friday, 31 March | Round 5 | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
1300SMILES Stadium |
20 – 6 | Morgan |
Thurston (4/4) | 13,671 | |||
| Saturday, 8 April | Round 6 | Wests Tigers |
1300SMILES Stadium |
16 – 26 | Hess (2), Taumalolo | Thurston (2/3) | 15,424 | |||
| Saturday, 15 April | Round 7 | St George Illawarra Dragons |
WIN Stadium |
22 – 28 | Morgan, Spina |
Feldt (3/4) | 13,886 | |||
| Saturday, 22 April | Round 8 | Newcastle Knights |
1300SMILES Stadium |
24 – 12 | Ponga (2), Cooper, Linnett | Lowe (2/2), Feldt (2/4) | 13,678 | |||
| Friday, 28 April | Round 9 | Parramatta Eels |
1300SMILES Stadium |
6 – 26 | Winterstein | Feldt (1/1) | 14,247 | |||
| Thursday, 11 May | Round 10 | Canterbury Bulldogs |
ANZ Stadium |
30 –14 | Morgan, Spina |
Lowe (4/5), Feldt (1/1) | 8,122 | |||
| Thursday, 18 May | Round 11 | Cronulla Sharks |
Southern Cross Group Stadium |
14 – 18 | Feldt, Hampton, Winterstein | Feldt (1/2), Lowe (0/2) | 8,557 | |||
| Round 12 | Bye | |||||||||
| Saturday, 3 June | Round 13 | Gold Coast Titans |
1300SMILES Stadium |
20 – 8 | Morgan |
Feldt (4/6) | 14,612[28] | |||
| Saturday, 10 June | Round 14 | Parramatta Eels |
TIO Stadium |
32 – 6 | Feldt (2), Hess, Thurston, Winterstein | Thurston (6/7) | 11,968 | |||
| Saturday, 17 June | Round 15 | Melbourne Storm |
AAMI Park |
22 – 23 | Coote, Feldt, Linnett | Feldt (5/6) | 17,124 | |||
| Saturday, 24 June | Round 16 | Penrith Panthers |
1300SMILES Stadium |
14 – 12 | Feldt, Jensen | Lowe (3/3) | 17,876 | |||
| Saturday, 1 July | Round 17 | Canberra Raiders |
GIO Stadium |
31 – 18 | Morgan (2), Winterstein |
Lowe (5/6), Coote (1 FG) | 10,266 | |||
| Round 18 | Bye | |||||||||
| Sunday, 16 July | Round 19 | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
Barlow Park | 23 – 10 | Feldt, Granville, Hess, Taumalolo | Lowe (3/4), Coote (1 FG) | 11,217 | |||
| Saturday, 22 July | Round 20 | Warriors |
1300SMILES Stadium |
24 – 12 | Bowen (2), Lowe, O'Neill | Lowe (4/5) | 16,080 | |||
| Saturday, 29 July | Round 21 | Sydney Roosters |
Allianz Stadium | 16 – 22 | Feldt, Hess, Linnett | Lowe (2/3) | 9,476 | |||
| Friday, 4 August | Round 22 | Melbourne Storm |
1300SMILES Stadium |
8 – 26 | Granville | Lowe (2/2) | 21,380 | |||
| Saturday, 12 August | Round 23 | Penrith Panthers |
Pepper Stadium |
16 – 24 | Morgan, Taumalolo |
Lowe (2/3) | 12,357 | |||
| Saturday, 19 August | Round 24 | Cronulla Sharks |
1300SMILES Stadium |
16 – 26 | Morgan |
Lowe (2/3) | 15,539 | |||
| Friday, 25 August | Round 25 | Wests Tigers |
Campbelltown Stadium |
22 – 14 | Morgan |
Lowe (3/4) | 9,436 | |||
| Thursday, 31 August | Round 26 | Brisbane Broncos |
1300SMILES Stadium |
10 – 20 | Cooper, Feldt | Lowe (1/2) | 23,321 | |||
| Legend: Win Loss Draw Bye | ||||||||||
Finals
| Qualifying and elimination finals | Semi-finals | Preliminary finals | Grand Final | ||||||||||||||||
| 9 September – Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 10 | Sydney Roosters | 16 | ||||||||||||||||
| 7 | Penrith Panthers | 22 | 15 September – Brisbane | North Queensland Cowboys | 29 | ||||||||||||||
| Brisbane Broncos | 13 | ||||||||||||||||||
| 8 September – Sydney | Penrith Panthers | 6 | |||||||||||||||||
| 2 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | |||||||||||||||||
| 3 | Brisbane Broncos | 22 | |||||||||||||||||
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, 10 September | Elimination Final | Cronulla Sharks |
Allianz Stadium | 15 – 14 | Feldt, Taumalolo | Morgan (1 FG) |
16,115 |
| Saturday, 16 September | Semi Final | Parramatta Eels |
ANZ Stadium |
24 – 16 | Morgan |
Lowe (4/4) | 41,287 |
| Saturday, 23 September | Preliminary Final | Sydney Roosters |
Allianz Stadium | 29 – 16 | Bolton, Feldt, Linnett, Martin | Morgan (1 FG) |
28,108 |
| Sunday, 1 October | Grand Final | Melbourne Storm |
ANZ Stadium |
6 – 34 | Martin | Lowe (1/1) | 79,722 |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw | |||||||
Statistics
| Name | App | T | G |
FG | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Asiata | 28 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Scott Bolton | 28 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Javid Bowen | 13 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Gavin Cooper | 25 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Lachlan Coote | 21 | 2 | - | 2 | 10 |
| Kyle Feldt | 28 | 15 | 17 | - | 94 |
| Shaun Fensom | 21 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Gideon Gela-Mosby | 4 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Jake Granville | 24 | 4 | - | - | 16 |
| Ben Hampton | 26 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Coen Hess | 27 | 13 | - | - | 52 |
Sam Hoare |
4 | - | - | - | - |
| Corey Jensen | 18 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Patrick Kaufusi | 9 | - | - | - | - |
| Kyle Laybutt | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| Blake Leary | 3 | - | - | - | - |
| Kane Linnett | 28 | 5 | - | - | 20 |
| Ethan Lowe | 28 | 2 | 47 | - | 102 |
| Patrick Mago | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| Te Maire Martin | 12 | 6 | - | - | 24 |
Michael Morgan |
27 | 11 | - | 2 | 46 |
| Justin O'Neill | 20 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Kalyn Ponga | 7 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Matthew Scott | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| Ben Spina | 8 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Jason Taumalolo | 26 | 4 | - | - | 16 |
| Ray Thompson | 6 | - | - | - | - |
| Johnathan Thurston | 7 | 2 | 26 | 1 | 61 |
| Enari Tuala | 1 | - | - | - | - |
Braden Uele |
1 | - | - | - | - |
| Antonio Winterstein | 19 | 4 | - | - | 16 |
Shane Wright |
1 | - | - | - | - |
| Totals | 89 | 90 | 3 | 541 |
Representatives
The following players have played a representative match in 2017.
| All Stars match | ANZAC Test | Pacific Tests |
Residents match | State of Origin 1 | State Of Origin 2 | State of Origin 3 | World Cup | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Asiata | - |
- |
Samoa |
- |
- |
- |
- |
-
|
| Gavin Cooper | World All Stars |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Queensland |
Queensland |
-
|
| Coen Hess | - |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Queensland |
Queensland |
-
|
| Patrick Kaufusi | - |
- |
Tonga |
- |
- |
- |
- |
-
|
| Kyle Laybutt | - |
- |
- |
Queensland |
- |
- |
- |
-
|
| Blake Leary | - |
- |
- |
Queensland |
- |
- |
- |
-
|
| Te Maire Martin | - |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
New Zealand
|
Michael Morgan |
- |
Australia |
- |
- |
Queensland |
Queensland |
Queensland |
Australia
|
| Justin O'Neill | - |
- |
- |
- |
Queensland |
- |
- |
-
|
| Jason Taumalolo | - |
New Zealand |
- |
- |
- |
- |
- |
Tonga
|
| Johnathan Thurston | Indigenous All Stars |
Australia |
- |
- |
- |
Queensland |
- |
-
|
| Antonio Winterstein | - |
- |
Samoa |
- |
- |
- |
- |
-
|
Honours
League
- Michael Morgan
- Dally M Try of the Year: Kyle Feldt
- Dally M NYC Player of the Year: Jake Clifford
- NYC Team of the Year: Jake Clifford, Kalyn Ponga
Club
- Paul Bowman Medal: Jason Taumalolo
- Players' Player: Michael Morgan and Jason Taumalolo
- Coach's Award: Michael Morgan
- Member's Player of the Year: Michael Morgan
- Club Person of the Year: Scott Bolton and Ray Thompson
- Rookie of the Year: Corey Jensen
- NYC Player of the Year: Kurt Wiltshire
- Townsville Bulletins' Fan Choice Award: Michael Morgan
Feeder clubs
National Youth Competition
North Queensland Cowboys - 5th, lost elimination final
Queensland Cup
Mackay Cutters - 8th, missed finals
Northern Pride - 12th, missed finals
Townsville Blackhawks - 6th, lost elimination final
References
- ^ Tackle, Zero (19 September 2015). "Cowboys sign Ben Hampton". Zero Tackle.
- ^ "Club secures back-rower Fensom". NQ Cowboys. 24 February 2017.
- ^ "Cowboys announce three singings ahead of Bulldogs clash". Townsville Bulletin. 21 July 2016.
- ^ "Team list: Cowboys v Tigers". North Queensland Cowboys. 8 April 2017.
- ^ "Te Maire Martin Cowboys signing, Penrith Panthers playmaker moves mid-season as JT successor". Fox Sports Australia. 16 June 2017.
- ^ "2017 Cowboys taking shape". NQ Cowboys. 7 November 2016. Archived from the original on 13 August 2017. Retrieved 7 November 2016.
- ^ "NRL 2017: Chronic knee injury forces North Queensland Cowboys Ben Hannant into retirement". Fox Sports. 16 November 2016.
- ^ Badel, Peter (30 June 2016). "Storm trump Titans to sign youngster Hughes". The Courier Mail.
- ^ Ryan, Nathan (14 September 2016). "Storm sign half, rookies land deals, Cowboys hooker leaves — NRL Market Watch".
- ^ "Nick Lui-Toso - Panthers". Archived from the original on 2 December 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
- ^ Long, David (29 June 2016). "Storm sign Cameron Smith's replacement". Stuff.
- ^ "Penrith sign Tamou until the end of 2020". NRL. 16 June 2016.
- ^ a b "Signing news for Asiata, Clifford". NQ Cowboys. 16 May 2017.
- ^ "Bolton to remain a one-club man". NQ Cowboys. 8 June 2017.
- ^ "Cooper re-signs with the Cowboys". NQ Cowboys. 25 May 2017.
- ^ "Feldt extends time with Cowboys". NQ Cowboys. 15 May 2017.
- ^ "Gideon Gela-Mosby signs two year contract extension with Cowboys". Townsville Bulletin. 30 August 2017.
- ^ a b "Future bright with re-signings". NQ Cowboys. 28 July 2017.
- ^ @nthqldcowboys (5 September 2017). "KYLE LAYBUTT: Back on board for another season in Cowboys colours. We done mate! #ridemcowboys" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Another one locked in". NQ Cowboys. 21 August 2017.
- ^ "Matt Scott a Cowboy for life after signing two-year extension". Fox Sports Australia. 30 March 2017.
- ^ "Congrats to current NYC Cowboys player Murray Taulagi". NQ Cowboys. 17 July 2017.
- ^ "Taumalolo to be a Cowboy for life". NQ Cowboys. 22 March 2017. Archived from the original on 26 March 2017. Retrieved 1 June 2017.
- ^ "Thurston recommits to the North". NQ Cowboys. 19 May 2017.
- ^ "Tuala moving up to Cowboys NRL". NQ Cowboys. 17 May 2017.
- ^ "NRL: Cowboys v Raiders". Austadiums. Retrieved 15 October 2017.
- ^ "NRL: Titans v Cowboys". Austadiums. Retrieved 22 October 2017.
- ^ "NRL: Cowboys v Titans". Austadiums. Retrieved 22 October 2017.