2015 North Queensland Cowboys season
The 2015 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 21st in the club's history. Coached by Paul Green and co-captained by Johnathan Thurston and Matthew Scott, they competed in the NRL's 2015 Telstra Premiership. The Cowboys celebrated 20 years as a club in 2015 and played in the first all-Queensland grand final, defeating the Brisbane Broncos 17–16 in golden point to win their first premiership.
| 2015 North Queensland Cowboys season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NRL Rank | 3rd | |||
| Play-off result | Premiers | |||
| 2015 record | Wins: 17; Draws: 0; Losses: 7 | |||
| Points scored | For: 587; Against: 454 | |||
| Team information | ||||
| CEO | Greg Tonner | |||
| Coach | Paul Green | |||
| Captain | ||||
| Stadium | 1300SMILES Stadium | |||
| Avg. Attend. | 16,230 | |||
| High. Attend. | 24,531 (vs. Brisbane Broncos, Round 10) | |||
| Top scorers | ||||
| Tries | Antonio Winterstein (16) | |||
| Goals | Johnathan Thurston (93) | |||
| Points | Johnathan Thurston (208) | |||
| ||||
Season summary
After going through their pre-season trials undefeated, the Cowboys started their 2015 season with three straight losses. The side hit back with three consecutive wins on Monday Night Football over the Melbourne Storm, Penrith Panthers and South Sydney Rabbitohs, on their way to a club record 11 game winning streak. The Cowboys finished in 3rd place, winning 17 games, giving the club their most successful regular season in its history.
Johnathan Thurston & Matt Scott
Milestones
- Round 1: Jake Granville, Ben Hannant and Justin O'Neill made their debut for the club.
- Round 2: Kelepi Tanginoa made his debut for the club.
- Round 3: Lachlan Coote made his debut for the club.
- Round 3: Kane Linnett played his 100th NRL game.
- Round 7: Ben Hannant played his 200th NRL game.
- Round 7: Johnathan Thurston played his 250th NRL game.
- Round 11: The club played their 500th premiership game.
- Round 15: The club recorded their longest winning streak with their 11th straight win.
- Round 15: Rory Kostjasyn played his 50th game for the club.
- Round 16: Patrick Kaufusi made his NRL debut.
- Round 19: Gavin Cooper played his 200th NRL game.
- Round 21: Lachlan Coote played his 100th NRL game.
- Round 21: Matthew Scott played his 200th game for the club.
- Round 22: Antonio Winterstein played his 100th game for the club.
- Round 22: Antonio Winterstein scored his 50th try for the club.
- Round 24: Coen Hess made his NRL debut.
- Round 24: Coen Hess scored his first NRL try.
- Round 25: Antonio Winterstein played his 150th NRL game.
- Round 26: The club won the 2015 NRL Club Championship.
- Round 26: Paul Green coached his 50th NRL game.
- Finals Week 2: Kane Linnett played his 100th game for the club.
- Finals Week 3: Scott Bolton played his 150th game for the club.
- Finals Week 3: The club qualified for their second Grand Final.
- Grand Final: Rory Kostjasyn played his 100th NRL game.
- Grand Final: The club won its first NRL premiership.
Squad List
2015 NRL Squad
| First team squad | Coaching staff | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Head coach Assistant coaches
Updated: 16 February 2015 | ||||||
Squad Movement
2015 Gains
| Player | Signed From | Until End of | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jake Granville |  | ||
| Ben Hannant | | ||
| Justin O'Neill |  | ||
| Kelepi Tanginoa |  |
2015 losses
| Player | Signed to | Until end of | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anthony Mitchell |  | ||
| Curtis Rona |  | ||
| Ashton Sims |  | ||
| Tariq Sims |  | ||
| Brent Tate | Retired | ||
| Ricky Thorby | | ||
| Joel Riethmuller | Released |
Re-signings
| Player | Club | Until End of | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Asiata |  | ||
| Scott Bolton | | ||
| Josh Chudleigh | | ||
| Ben Hannant | | ||
| Coen Hess | | ||
| Kyle Laybutt | | ||
| Ethan Lowe | | ||
| Michael Morgan | | ||
| Gideon Gela-Mosby | | ||
| Ben Spina | | ||
| Jason Taumalolo | | ||
| Ray Thompson | |
Ladder
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 591 | 300 | +291 | 40 |
| 2 | |
24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 574 | 379 | +195 | 38 |
| 3 | |
24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 587 | 454 | +133 | 38 |
| 4 | |
24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 467 | 348 | +119 | 32 |
| 5 | |
24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 522 | 480 | +42 | 32 |
| 6 |  |
24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 469 | 476 | −7 | 32 |
| 7 |  |
24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 465 | 467 | −2 | 30 |
| 8 |  |
24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 435 | 408 | +27 | 28 |
| 9 |  |
24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 458 | 492 | −34 | 26 |
| 10 |  |
24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 577 | 569 | +8 | 24 |
| 11 |  |
24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 399 | 477 | −78 | 22 |
| 12 | |
24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 448 | 573 | −125 | 22 |
| 13 |  |
24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 445 | 588 | −143 | 22 |
| 14 |  |
24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 439 | 636 | −197 | 22 |
| 15 |  |
24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 487 | 562 | −75 | 20 |
| 16 | |
24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 458 | 612 | −154 | 20 |
Fixtures
NRL Auckland Nines
The NRL Auckland Nines is a pre-season rugby league nines competition featuring all 16 NRL clubs. The 2015 competition was played over two days on January 31 and February 1 at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand. The Cowboys featured in the Waiheke pool and played Melbourne, Penrith and South Sydney. The top two teams of each pool qualified for the quarter finals. The Cowboys, who were the defending champions, were knocked out in the quarter-finals.
Pool Play
| Waiheke pool | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 54 | 20 | +34 | 6 |
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 43 | 35 | +8 | 4 |
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 32 | 45 | -13 | 2 |
 |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 16 | 45 | -29 | 0 |
| Date | Time (Local) | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 31 January | 1:20pm | Round 1 | | Eden Park | 17 – 8 | Lowe (bonus try), O'Neill, Wright | Wright (2) | ||||
| Saturday, 31 January | 5:40pm | Round 2 | | Eden Park | 12 – 19 | O'Neill (2), Cooper | - | ||||
| Sunday, 1 February | 12:25pm | Round 3 | | Eden Park | 14 – 8 | Feldt, Moga, Taumalolo | Lui (1) | ||||
| Sunday, 1 February | 2:30pm | Quarter-final | | Eden Park | 11 – 17 | Granville (bonus try), O'Neill | Morgan (1) | ||||
| Legend: Win Loss | |||||||||||
Pre-season
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 7 February | Trial 1 | | Stadium Mackay | 18 – 6 | Feldt, Granville, Lui | Feldt (3) | - | |||
| Saturday, 14 February | Trial 2 | | Jack Manski Oval | 24 – 12 | Bowen, Feldt, Kikau, King, Niemoeller | Bambling (1), Feldt (1) | - | |||
| Saturday, 21 February | Trial 3 | | Barlow Park | 30 – 10 | Moga (2), Cooper, Granville, Tanginoa, Wright | Thurston (3) | - | |||
| Legend: Win Loss Draw | ||||||||||
Regular season
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 7 March | Round 1 | | 1300SMILES Stadium | 4 – 28 | O'Neill | Thurston (0/1) | 17,123 | |||
| Saturday, 14 March | Round 2 | | 1300SMILES Stadium | 14 – 16 | Lowe, Scott | Thurston (3/3), Feldt (0/1) | 13,006 | |||
| Friday, 20 March | Round 3 | | Suncorp Stadium | 22 – 44 | Feldt (2), Morgan, O'Neill | Thurston (3/4) | 40,047 | |||
| Monday, 30 March | Round 4 | | 1300SMILES Stadium | 18 – 17 | Winterstein (2), Wright | Thurston (2/3, 2 FG) | 11,609 | |||
| Monday, 6 April | Round 5 | | Sportingbet Stadium | 30 – 10 | Wright (3), Coote, Lowe | Thurston (5/6) | 8,409 | |||
| Monday, 13 April | Round 6 | | ANZ Stadium | 30 – 12 | Thurston (2) Granville, O'Neill, Winterstein | Thurston (5/6) | 13,866 | |||
| Saturday, 18 April | Round 7 | | 1300SMILES Stadium | 28 – 24 | Granville (3), Coote, Linnett | Thurston (4/5) | 16,038 | |||
| Saturday, 25 April | Round 8 | | Hunter Stadium | 26 – 24 | O'Neill (2), Bolton, Coote, Morgan | Thurston (3/5) | 15,518 | |||
| Saturday, 9 May | Round 9 | | 1300SMILES Stadium | 23 – 16 | Morgan (2), Cooper, Wright | Thurston (3/5, 1 FG) | 15,794 | |||
| Friday, 15 May | Round 10 | | 1300SMILES Stadium | 31 – 20 | Morgan (3), Cooper, Lowe | Thurston (4/5), Coote (1 FG) | 24,531 | |||
| Saturday, 23 May | Round 11 | | Campbelltown Stadium | 8 – 0 | Winterstein | Lowe (2/2) | 8267 | |||
| Saturday, 30 May | Round 12 | | 1300SMILES Stadium | 18 – 14 | Scott (2), Cooper | Thurston (3/3) | 14,196 | |||
| Monday, 8 June | Round 13 | | Pirtek Stadium | 36 – 30 | Cooper (3), Linnett, Morgan, Wright | Thurston (6/6) | 9812 | |||
| Round 14 | Bye | |||||||||
| Saturday, 20 June | Round 15 | | GIO Stadium | 21 – 20 | Cooper, Winterstein, Wright | Thurston (4/5, 1 FG) | 10,170 | |||
| Saturday, 27 June | Round 16 | | 1300SMILES Stadium | 18 – 24 | Granville, O'Neill, Winterstein | Lowe (3/4) | 18,826 | |||
| Saturday, 4 July | Round 17 | | WIN Stadium | 18 – 12 | Linnett (2), Granville | Lowe (3/4) | 11,183 | |||
| Round 18 | Bye | |||||||||
| Monday, 20 July | Round 19 | | Brookvale Oval | 30 – 12 | Winterstein (2), Granville, Linnett, Morgan | Thurston (5/6) | 7,643 | |||
| Monday, 27 July | Round 20 | | 1300SMILES Stadium | 46 – 4 | Taumalolo (2), Coote, Kostjasyn, Linnett, Winterstein, Wright | Thurston (7/8) | 13,767 | |||
| Saturday, 1 August | Round 21 | | 1300SMILES Stadium | 32 – 24 | Winterstein (2), Cooper, Granville, Morgan | Thurston (6/7) | 16,207 | |||
| Saturday, 8 August | Round 22 | | Remondis Stadium | 18 – 30 | Linnett, Winterstein, Wright | Thurston (3/4) | 13,878 | |||
| Thursday, 13 August | Round 23 | | 1300SMILES Stadium | 18 – 31 | Coote, Morgan, O'Neill | Thurston (3/3) | 16,685 | |||
| Saturday, 22 August | Round 24 | | Mt Smart Stadium | 50 – 16 | Feldt (3), O'Neill (2), Hess, Linnett, Spina, Thurston | Thurston (7/9) | 14,412 | |||
| Saturday, 29 August | Round 25 | | AAMI Park | 6 – 14 | Feldt | Thurston (1/1) | 15,214 | |||
| Saturday, 5 September | Round 26 | | 1300SMILES Stadium | 42 – 12 | Linnett (2), Winterstein (2), Cooper, Coote, Granville, Tamou, Thompson | Thurston (2/4), Feldt (1/3), Lowe (0/2) | 16,977 | |||
| Legend: Win Loss Draw Bye | ||||||||||
Finals
| Qualifying / Elimination finals | Semi-finals | Preliminary finals | Grand final | ||||||||||||||
| QF1: 11 Sept, Allianz Stadium | |||||||||||||||||
| 1 | |
18 | |||||||||||||||
| 4 | |
20 | SF1: 18 Sept, Allianz Stadium | ||||||||||||||
| |
38 | ||||||||||||||||
| EF1: 12 Sept, ANZ Stadium | |
12 | PF1: 26 Sept, AAMI Park | ||||||||||||||
| 5 | |
11 | |
12 | |||||||||||||
| 8 | |
10 | |
32 | GF: 4 Oct, ANZ Stadium | ||||||||||||
| |
16 | ||||||||||||||||
| EF2: 13 Sept, Allianz Stadium | PF2: 25 Sept, Suncorp Stadium | |
17 | ||||||||||||||
| 6 | |
28 | |
31 | |||||||||||||
| 7 | |
12 | SF2: 19 Sept, 1300SMILES Stadium | |
12 | ||||||||||||
| |
39 | ||||||||||||||||
| QF2: 12 Sept, Suncorp Stadium | |
0 | |||||||||||||||
| 2 | |
16 | |||||||||||||||
| 3 | |
12 | |||||||||||||||
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 12 September | Qualifying Final | | Suncorp Stadium | 16 – 12 | Thurston, Winterstein | Thurston (2/3) | 50,388 |
| Saturday, 19 September | Semi Final | | 1300SMILES Stadium | 39 – 0 | Michael Morgan (2), Bolton, Feldt, Lowe, O'Neill, Winterstein | Thurston (5/8, 1 FG) | 21,683 |
| Saturday, 26 September | Preliminary Final | | AAMI Park | 32 –12 | Cooper (2), Michael Morgan (2), O'Neill (2) | Thurston (4/6) | 29,315 |
| Sunday, 4 October | Grand Final | | ANZ Staidum | 17 – 16 | Feldt, O'Neill, Tamou | Thurston (2/3, 1 FG) | 82,758 |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw | |||||||
Statistics
| Name | App | T | G | FG | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Asiata | 25 | - | - | - | - |
| Scott Bolton | 20 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Gavin Cooper | 27 | 11 | - | - | 44 |
| Lachlan Coote | 26 | 6 | - | 1 | 25 |
| Kyle Feldt | 9 | 8 | 1 | - | 34 |
| Jake Granville | 28 | 10 | - | - | 40 |
| Glenn Hall | 3 | - | - | - | - |
| Ben Hannant | 28 | - | - | - | - |
| Coen Hess | 1 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Sam Hoare | 9 | - | - | - | - |
| Patrick Kaufusi | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Cameron King | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| Rory Kostjasyn | 23 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Kane Linnett | 28 | 10 | - | - | 40 |
| Ethan Lowe | 28 | 4 | 8 | - | 32 |
| Robert Lui | 4 | - | - | - | - |
| Tautau Moga | 6 | - | - | - | - |
| Michael Morgan | 23 | 15 | - | - | 60 |
| Justin O'Neill | 26 | 13 | - | - | 52 |
| Matthew Scott | 25 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Ben Spina | 5 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| James Tamou | 24 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Kelepi Tanginoa | 3 | - | - | - | - |
| Jason Taumalolo | 26 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Ray Thompson | 9 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Johnathan Thurston | 25 | 4 | 93 | 6 | 208 |
| Antonio Winterstein | 26 | 16 | - | - | 64 |
| Matthew Wright | 17 | 9 | - | - | 36 |
| Totals | 119 | 102 | 7 | 687 |
Representatives
The following players have played a representative match in 2015
| All Stars match | ANZAC Test | Melanesian Cup | Polynesian Cup | State of Origin 1 | State Of Origin 2 | State of Origin 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Viliame Kikau | |||||||
| Tautau Moga | |||||||
| Michael Morgan | |||||||
| Matthew Scott | |||||||
| James Tamou | |||||||
| Jason Taumalolo | |||||||
| Ray Thompson | |||||||
| Johnathan Thurston | |||||||
| Antonio Winterstein |
Honours
League
- Golden Boot: Johnathan Thurston
- Clive Churchill Medal: Johnathan Thurston
- Dally M Medal: Johnathan Thurston
- Dally M Halfback of the Year: Johnathan Thurston
- Dally M Lock of the Year: Jason Taumalolo
- Dally M Captain of the Year: Matthew Scott and Johnathan Thurston
- Rugby League Players Association Player of the Year: Johnathan Thurston
- NYC Team of the Year: Gideon Gela-Mosby, Coen Hess, Viliame Kikau
Club
- Paul Bowman Medal: Johnathan Thurston
- Players' Player: Jake Granville
- Member's Player of the Year: Jake Granville
- Club Person of the Year: Glenn Hall
- Most Improved: Justin O'Neill
- Rookie of the Year: Coen Hess
- NYC Player of the Year: Andrew Niemoeller
- Townsville Bulletins' Fan Choice Award: Johnathan Thurston
Feeder Clubs
National Youth Competition
Queensland Cup
References
- "Granville signs on with the Cowboys; NRL". North Queensland Cowboys. 22 July 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
- "Hannant signs on with the Cowboys; NRL". North Queensland Cowboys. 7 October 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
- "O'Neill to return to the north; NRL". North Queensland Cowboys. 7 October 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
- "Tanginoa to join the Toyota Cowboys". North Queensland Cowboys. 29 August 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
- "Cutters' Mitchell going home; NRL". Daily Mercury. 14 October 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
- "Bulldogs sign Curtis Rona; NRL". Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. 20 August 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2014.
- "Warrington sign Fiji forward Sims | NRL". Zero Tackle. 2 July 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
- "Knights sign Tariq Sims | NRL". Zero Tackle. 2 July 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
- "Inspirational Tate says farewell; NRL". North Queensland Cowboys. 3 September 2014. Archived from the original on 7 September 2014. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
- "Townsville Blackhawks make first signings; NRL". RLW. 16 October 2014. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
- "Cowboys allow Glasby to stay at Storm; NRL". NRL. 8 October 2014. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
- "Asiata extends Cowboys' contract - Zero Tackle". zerotackle.com. 21 May 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- "Cowboys re-sign experience and youth - Zero Tackle". zerotackle.com. 23 September 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- "Hess extends contract to 2018". cowboys.com.au. 19 March 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- "Lowe extends Cowboys contract". cowboys.com.au. 8 May 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- "Morgan re-signs to 2018". cowboys.com.au. 11 March 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- "Mosby re-signs until 2017 - Zero Tackle". zerotackle.com. 21 August 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- "Spina extends Cowboys contract - Zero Tackle". zerotackle.com. 10 June 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- "Taumalolo extends NQ contract". cowboys.com.au. 26 February 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
- "Thompson re-signs with Cowboys - Zero Tackle". zerotackle.com. 16 June 2015. Retrieved 15 January 2018.
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