2016 North Queensland Cowboys season
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.
2016 North Queensland Cowboys season | ||||
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NRL Rank | 4th | |||
2016 record | Wins: 15; Draws: 0; Losses: 9 | |||
Points scored | For: 584; Against: 355 | |||
Team information | ||||
CEO | Greg Tonner | |||
Coach | Paul Green | |||
Captain | ||||
Stadium | 1300SMILES Stadium | |||
Avg. Attend. | 16,692 | |||
High. Attend. | 25,163 (vs. Brisbane Broncos, Round 11) | |||
Top scorers | ||||
Tries | Kyle Feldt (15) | |||
Goals | Johnathan Thurston (98) | |||
Points | Johnathan Thurston (201) | |||
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Season summary
Milestones
- 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.
Squad List
First team squad | Coaching staff | ||||||||
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Head coach Assistant coaches
Updated: 10 October 2015 |
Squad Movement
Gains
Player | Signed From | Until End of | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Shaun Hudson | |||
Jahrome Hughes | |||
Patrick Mago |
Losses
Player | Signed To | Until End of | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
Glenn Hall | |||
Viliame Kikau | |||
Cameron King | |||
Robert Lui | |||
Hezron Murgha | |||
Zac Santo | |||
Scott Schulte | |||
Kelepi Tanginoa | |||
Matthew Wright |
Re-signings
Ladder
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 24 | 19 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 563 | 302 | +261 | 42 | |
2 | 24 | 17 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 688 | 456 | +232 | 39 | |
3 | 24 | 17 | 1 | 6 | 2 | 580 | 404 | +176 | 39 | |
4 | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 584 | 355 | +229 | 34 | |
5 | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 554 | 434 | +120 | 34 | |
6 | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 563 | 463 | +100 | 32 | |
7 | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 506 | 448 | +58 | 32 | |
8 | 24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 2 | 508 | 497 | +11 | 27 | |
9 | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 499 | 607 | −108 | 26 | |
10 | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 513 | 601 | −88 | 24 | |
11 | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 341 | 538 | −197 | 24 | |
12 | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 473 | 549 | −76 | 22 | |
13 | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 454 | 563 | −109 | 20 | |
14 | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 298 | 324 | −26 | 181 | |
15 | 24 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 443 | 576 | −133 | 16 | |
16 | 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.
Fixtures
NRL Auckland Nines
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.
Pool Play
Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 55 | 36 | +19 | 4 | |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 48 | 58 | −10 | 4 | |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 48 | 37 | +11 | 2 | |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 36 | 56 | −20 | 2 |
Date | Time (Local) | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 6 February | 1:20pm | Round 1 | Eden Park | 28 – 12 | Cooper (3), Gela-Mosby (2), O'Neill | M. Bowen (1), Morgan (1) | |||||
Saturday, 6 February | 5:40pm | Round 2 | Eden Park | 12 – 13 | Gela-Mosby (2), Winterstein | - | |||||
Sunday, 7 February | 11:50am | Round 3 | Eden Park | 15 – 11 | Cooper, Hess, Lowe | Coote (1) | |||||
Sunday, 7 February | 2:30pm | Quarter-final | Eden Park | 6 – 14 | Kostjasyn | Coote (1) | |||||
Legend: Win Loss |
Pre-season
Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 6 February | Trial 1 | Salter Oval | 26 – 48 | Chudleigh, Creith, Hughes, Mago, Ponga | Laybutt (3/5) | 8,122 | ||||
Thursday, 11 February | Trial 2 | Jack Manski Oval | 18 – 16 | Cooper, Morgan, O'Neill | Thurston (3/3) | - | ||||
Sunday, 21 February | Trial 3 | Headingley Stadium | 38 – 4 | O'Neill (2), Coote, Feldt, Linnett, Morgan, Thurston | Thurston (5/7) | 19,778 | ||||
Legend: Win Loss Draw |
Regular season
Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 5 March | Round 1 | 1300SMILES Stadium | 20 – 14 | Linnett, Lowe, O'Neill | Thurston (4/4) | 15,519 | ||||
Saturday, 12 March | Round 2 | Pirtek Stadium | 16 – 20 | Lowe, O'Neill, Taumalolo | Thurston (2/3) | 12,194 | ||||
Thursday, 17 March | Round 3 | 1300SMILES Stadium | 40 – 0 | Bolton, Coote, Feldt, Linnett, Morgan, Taumalolo, Winterstein | Thurston (6/7) | 8,099 | ||||
Friday, 25 March | Round 4 | Suncorp Stadium | 20 – 21 | Granville, Morgan, Lowe | Thurston (4/4) | 46,176 | ||||
Saturday, 2 April | Round 5 | 1300SMILES Stadium | 36 – 0 | Feldt (2), Bolton, Bowen, Cooper, O'Neill | Thurston (6/6) | 17,444 | ||||
Saturday, 9 April | Round 6 | Pepper Stadium | 23 – 18 | Bowen, Cooper, Feldt, O'Neill | Thurston (3/4), Coote (1 FG) | 13,725 | ||||
Friday, 15 April | Round 7 | 1300SMILES Stadium | 44 – 18 | O'Neill (2), Cooper, Feldt, Lowe, Morgan, Thurston, Winterstein | Thurston (6/8) | 15,487 | ||||
Saturday, 23 April | Round 8 | 1300SMILES Stadium | 32 – 16 | Morgan (2), Cooper, Coote, Winterstein | Thurston (6/7) | 19,308 | ||||
Saturday, 30 April | Round 9 | Brookvale Oval | 34 – 18 | Feldt (2), Cooper, Linnett, Morgan, Winterstein | Thurston (5/6) | 11,734 | ||||
Saturday, 14 May | Round 10 | Suncorp Stadium | 14 – 15 | Cooper, Morgan | Thurston (3/3) | 52,347 | ||||
Friday, 20 May | Round 11 | 1300SMILES Stadium | 19 – 18 | Coote, O'Neill, Scott | Thurston (3/3, 1 FG) | 25,163 | ||||
Saturday, 28 May | Round 12 | WIN Stadium | 10 – 14 | Feldt, Hughes | Lowe (1/2) | 10,032 | ||||
Saturday, 4 June | Round 13 | 1300SMILES Stadium | 46 – 16 | Feldt (2), Ray Thompson (2), Cooper, Granville, Kostjasyn, Winterstein | Thurston (7/8) | 14,651 | ||||
Monday, 13 June | Round 14 | Southern Cross Group Stadium | 10 – 13 | Winterstein | Thurston (3/3) | 13,119 | ||||
Round 15 | Bye | |||||||||
Monday, 27 June | Round 16 | 1300SMILES Stadium | 30 – 26 | Taumalolo (2), Coote, Tamou, Winterstein | Thurston (5/5) | 15,584 | ||||
Sunday, 3 July | Round 17 | Barlow Park | 20 – 0 | Bowen, Scott, Thurston | Thurston (4/5) | 14,923 | ||||
Monday, 11 July | Round 18 | GIO Stadium | 12 – 26 | Chudleigh, Hess | Lowe (2/2) | 8,328 | ||||
Round 19 | Bye | |||||||||
Thursday, 21 July | Round 20 | 1300SMILES Stadium | 36 – 0 | Winterstein (3), O'Neill (2), Bowen, Lowe | Lowe (2/3), Thurston (2/4) | 11,260 | ||||
Saturday, 30 July | Round 21 | 1300SMILES Stadium | 8 – 16 | Winterstein | Lowe (2/2) | 20,256 | ||||
Sunday, 7 August | Round 22 | Leichhardt Oval | 14 – 26 | Linnett, Lowe | Thurston (3/3) | 14,246 | ||||
Sunday, 14 August | Round 23 | Allianz Stadium | 10 – 22 | Linnett, Lowe | Thurston (1/2) | 8,760 | ||||
Saturday, 20 August | Round 24 | 1300SMILES Stadium | 34 – 6 | Feldt (2), Morgan, O'Neill, Taumalolo, Ray Thompson | Thurston (5/6) | 15,676 | ||||
Thursday, 25 August | Round 25 | Belmore Sports Ground | 24 – 16 | Lowe (2), Hess, Taumalolo | Thurston (4/5) | 10,144 | ||||
Saturday, 3 September | Round 26 | 1300SMILES Stadium | 32 – 16 | Cooper (2), O'Neill, Tamou, Winterstein | Thurston (6/6) | 21,495 | ||||
Legend: Win Loss Draw Bye |
Finals
Qualifying / Elimination finals | Semi-finals | Preliminary finals | Grand final | ||||||||||||||
QF1: 10 Sept, AAMI Park | |||||||||||||||||
1 | |
16 | |||||||||||||||
4 | |
10 | SF1: 16 Sept, 1300SMILES Stadium | ||||||||||||||
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26 | ||||||||||||||||
EF1: 9 Sept, Suncorp Stadium | |
20 | PF1: 24 Sept, AAMI Park | ||||||||||||||
5 | |
44 | |
14 | |||||||||||||
8 | |
28 | |
12 | GF: 2 Oct, ANZ Stadium | ||||||||||||
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12 | ||||||||||||||||
EF2: 11 Sept, Allianz Stadium | PF2: 23 Sept, Allianz Stadium | |
14 | ||||||||||||||
6 | |
28 | |
32 | |||||||||||||
7 | |
12 | SF2: 17 Sept, GIO Stadium | |
20 | ||||||||||||
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22 | ||||||||||||||||
QF2: 10 Sept, GIO Stadium | |
12 | |||||||||||||||
2 | |
14 | |||||||||||||||
3 | |
16 |
Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 10 September | Qualifying Final | AAMI Park | 16 – 10 | Feldt, Winterstein | Thurston (1/2) | 21,233 | |
Friday, 16 September | Semi Final | 1300SMILES Stadium | 26 – 20 | O'Neill (2), Hess, Morgan | Thurston (5/6) | 23,804 | |
Friday, 23 September | Preliminary Final | Allianz Stadium | 32 –20 | Feldt (2), Coote, Hess | Thurston (2/4) | 36,717 | |
Legend: Win Loss Draw |
Statistics
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 |
Representatives
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 | |||||||||
Gavin Cooper | |||||||||
Jahrome Hughes | |||||||||
Patrick Kaufusi | |||||||||
Rory Kostjasyn | |||||||||
Kane Linnett | |||||||||
Michael Morgan | |||||||||
Justin O'Neill | |||||||||
Matthew Scott | |||||||||
James Tamou | |||||||||
Jason Taumalolo | |||||||||
Johnathan Thurston | |||||||||
Antonio Winterstein | |||||||||
Matthew Wright |
Honours
League
- 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
Club
- 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
Feeder Clubs
National Youth Competition
North Queensland Cowboys - 2nd, lost preliminary final
Queensland Cup
Mackay Cutters - 14th, missed finals Northern Pride - 8th, missed finals Townsville Blackhawks - 3rd, lost semi final
References
- Meyn, Travis (22 July 2015). "Hudson moves to Cowboys as Origin star Brian Kelly agrees to stay on Gold Coast". The Gold Coast Bulletin.
- Thompson, Michael (9 October 2015). "Jahrome Hughes signs with North Queensland Cowboys". The Townsville Bulletin.
- Cowboys, NQ (2 February 2016). "First playing squads for 2016 named". NQ Cowboys.
- "Blackhawks Gains and Losses". QRL.com.au. 17 November 2015.
- "Panthers sign Quartet of Young Guns". Penrith Panthers. 10 June 2015.
- "Eels Announce Two New Signings". Parramatta Eels. 13 August 2015.
- Ryan, Nathan (6 October 2015). "England bound Robert Lui leaves door ajar for NRL return". FOX Sports Australia.
- "Blackhawks Gains and Losses". QRL.com.au. 17 November 2015.
- Tuxworth, Jon (20 December 2015). "Canberra Raiders hope Zac Santo can emulate Jordan Rapana and seize his chance". SMH.
- Eels, Parra (21 October 2015). "Eels sign trio for 2016". Parramatta Eels.
- Eels, Parra (21 October 2015). "Eels sign trio for 2016". Parramatta Eels.
- Sea Eagles, Manly (22 April 2016). "Matthew Wright to join Manly". Manly Sea Eagles. Archived from the original on 25 April 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
- http://www.cowboys.com.au/news/2016/08/02/cowboys_re_sign_youn.html
- http://www.zerotackle.com/rugby-league/players/josh-chudleigh/
- http://www.zerotackle.com/coote-re-signs-with-cowboys-21577/#p3Ie9vyfdx7zSB4J.97
- http://www.cowboys.com.au/news/2015/11/27/granville_extends_ti.html
- http://www.cowboys.com.au/news/2016/08/02/cowboys_re_sign_youn.html
- http://www.zerotackle.com/cowboys-re-sign-patrick-kaufusi-23231/
- http://www.cowboys.com.au/news/2016/05/26/linnett_to_remain_in.html
- http://www.cowboys.com.au/news/2016/07/01/cowboys_re_sign_prem.html
- http://www.cowboys.com.au/news/2016/07/01/cowboys_re_sign_prem.html
- http://www.cowboys.com.au/