# 2004 North Queensland Cowboys season

The 2004 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 10th in the club's history. Coached by Graham Murray and captained by Travis Norton, they competed in the NRL's 2004 Telstra Premiership. It was the first time the club had made the finals, finishing the regular season in 7th, falling one game short of the Grand Final.

## Season summary
### Milestones

* Round 1: Rod Jensen, Travis Norton, Luke O'Donnell and Mitchell Sargent made their debuts for the club.
* Round 3: Chris Sheppard played his 50th game for the club.
* Round 7: Shane Tronc made his NRL debut.
* Round 8: Ty Williams played his 50th game for the club.
* Round 8: Josh Hannay played his 100th game for the club.
* Round 11: David Faiumu made his NRL debut.
* Round 14: Steve Southern made his NRL debut.
* Round 15: Matt Sing played his 50th game for the club.
* Round 19: Matthew Scott made his NRL debut.
* Round 19: Leigh McWilliams played his 50th game for the club.
* Finals Week 3: David Myles played his 50th game for the club.

## Squad Movement
### 2004 Gains

| Player | Signed From |
| Mark Dalle Cort | St George Illawarra Dragons |
| David Faiumu | Central Comets |
| Rod Jensen | Canberra Raiders |
| Travis Norton | Canterbury Bulldogs |
| Luke O'Donnell | Wests Tigers |
| Mitchell Sargent | Melbourne Storm |
| Shane Tronc | Redcliffe Dolphins |
| Hale Vaa'sa | Mt Albert Lions |

### 2004 Losses

| Player | Signed From |
| Jason Barsley | Easts Tigers |
| John Buttigieg | Retired |
| Dane Campbell | Easts Tigers |
| Paul Dezolt | Warriors |
| George Gatis | Released |
| Paul McNicholas | Hull F.C. |
| Chris Muckert | Parramatta Eels |
| Shane Muspratt | Parramatta Eels |
| Simon Phillips | Wynnum Manly Seagulls |
| Grant Reibel | Retired |
| David Thompson | South Sydney Rabbitohs |

## Ladder

2004 NRL seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 19 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 710 | 368 | +342 | 42 |
| 2 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs (P) | 24 | 19 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 760 | 491 | +269 | 42 |
| 3 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 16 | 1 | 7 | 2 | 602 | 533 | +69 | 37 |
| 4 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 672 | 567 | +105 | 34 |
| 5 | St George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 624 | 415 | +209 | 32 |
| 6 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 684 | 517 | +167 | 30 |
| 7 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 12 | 1 | 11 | 2 | 526 | 514 | +12 | 29 |
| 8 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 554 | 613 | −59 | 26 |
| 9 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 509 | 534 | −25 | 24 |
| 10 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 516 | 617 | −101 | 24 |
| 11 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 528 | 645 | −117 | 24 |
| 12 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 517 | 626 | −109 | 22 |
| 13 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 615 | 754 | −139 | 22 |
| 14 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 427 | 693 | −266 | 16 |
| 15 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 5 | 2 | 17 | 2 | 455 | 812 | −357 | 16 |

## Fixtures
### Regular season

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| 13 March | Round 1 | Manly Sea Eagles | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 20 – 24 | Bowman, Sheppard, Williams | Hannay (4/5) | 17,952 |
| | Round 2 | Bye | | | | | |
| 27 March | Round 3 | Canberra Raiders | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 18 – 19 | Fien, Morrison, Norton | Hannay (3/5) | 14,138 |
| 3 April | Round 4 | Wests Tigers | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 8 – 18 | Sargent | Hannay (2/2) | 11,238 |
| 10 April | Round 5 | Cronulla Sharks | Toyota Park | 36 – 10 | M. Bowen (2), Hannay, Morrison, Myles, Payne | Hannay (6/6) | 9,242 |
| 17 April | Round 6 | Brisbane Broncos | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 12 – 19 | Campion, Morrison | Hannay (2/3) | 25,896 |
| 24 April | Round 7 | Melbourne Storm | Olympic Park | 6 – 28 | Hannay | Hannay (1/1) | 6,875 |
| 1 May | Round 8 | Parramatta Eels | Parramatta Stadium | 24 – 20 | Norton (2), Myles, Sweeney | Hannay (3/3), Sweeney (1/1) | 8,277 |
| 8 May | Round 9 | Warriors | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 16 – 8 | Williams (2), Fien | Hannay (2/4) | 13,062 |
| 15 May | Round 10 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Express Advocate Stadium | 20 – 20 | Bowman, Campion, Rauhihi | Hannay (4/5) | 10,138 |
| 22 May | Round 11 | Penrith Panthers | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 18 – 22 | Jensen, Morrison, Sweeney | Hannay (3/5) | 13,985 |
| | Round 12 | Bye | | | | | |
| 5 June | Round 13 | St George Illawarra Dragons | WIN Stadium | 14 – 12 | M. Bowen, Faiumu, Williams | Hannay (1/3) | 10,524 |
| 12 June | Round 14 | Newcastle Knights | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 30 – 6 | McWilliams, Rauhihi, Sheppard, Sweeney, Tronc | Hannay (5/7) | 14,974 |
| 20 June | Round 15 | Warriors | Ericsson Stadium | 28 – 26 | Sing (2), Myles, Sweeney | Hannay (6/9) | 6,793 |
| 26 June | Round 16 | Canterbury Bulldogs | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 18 – 32 | Sing (2), M. Bowen | Hannay (3/6) | 20,207 |
| 3 July | Round 17 | Sydney Roosters | Express Advocate Stadium | 22 – 32 | B. Bowen, Fien, Payne | Hannay (5/6) | 16,127 |
| 10 July | Round 18 | Canberra Raiders | Canberra Stadium | 28 – 32 | M. Bowen, Hannay, Myles, Norton, Rauhihi | Hannay (4/6) | 8,771 |
| 17 July | Round 19 | Parramatta Eels | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 28 – 6 | Williams (2), Jensen, Tronc | Hannay (6/7) | 13,872 |
| 25 July | Round 20 | Newcastle Knights | EnergyAustralia Stadium | 28 – 24 | Norton (2), Myles, Southern, Williams | Hannay (4/5) | 14,031 |
| 31 July | Round 21 | St George Illawarra Dragons | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 34 – 10 | M. Bowen (2), Williams (2), Bowman, Hannay | Hannay (5/8) | 17,262 |
| 8 August | Round 22 | Canterbury Bulldogs | Sydney Showground | 16 – 36 | Payne, Rauhihi, Williams | Hannay (2/3) | 10,988 |
| 13 August | Round 23 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 36 – 22 | Hannay (2), M. Bowen, O'Donnell, Southern, Williams | Hannay (6/8) | 16,007 |
| 21 August | Round 24 | Penrith Panthers | Penrith Stadium | 6 – 56 | Luck | Hannay (1/1) | 12,391 |
| 29 August | Round 25 | Wests Tigers | Campbelltown Stadium | 24 – 12 | M. Bowen, Hannay, Myles, Williams | Hannay (4/5) | 10,296 |
| 4 September | Round 26 | Cronulla Sharks | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 36 – 20 | Jensen (2), M. Bowen, Hannay, Payne, Williams | Hannay (6/8) | 21,674 |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw Bye ||||||||

### Finals

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| 11 September | Qualifying Final | Canterbury Bulldogs | Telstra Stadium | 30 – 22 | Sing (3), M. Bowen, O'Donnell | Hannay (5/7) | 18,371 |
| 18 September | Semi-final | Brisbane Broncos | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 10 – 0 | Myles | Hannay (3/3) | 24,989 |
| 26 September | Preliminary Final | Sydney Roosters | Telstra Stadium | 16 – 19 | Williams (2), Bowman | Hannay (2/3) | 43,048 |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw Bye ||||||||

## Statistics

| Name | App | T | G | FG | Pts |
| Brenton Bowen | 6 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Matthew Bowen | 23 | 11 | - | - | 44 |
| Paul Bowman | 21 | 4 | - | - | 16 |
| Kevin Campion | 15 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| David Faiumu | 13 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Nathan Fien | 23 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Josh Hannay | 27 | 8 | 98 | - | 228 |
| Rod Jensen | 17 | 4 | - | - | 16 |
| Jaiman Lowe | 6 | - | - | - | - |
| Micheal Luck | 11 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Jamie McDonald | 10 | - | - | - | - |
| Leigh McWilliams | 20 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Glenn Morrison | 14 | 4 | - | - | - |
| David Myles | 26 | 7 | - | - | 28 |
| Travis Norton | 21 | 6 | - | - | 24 |
| Luke O'Donnell | 26 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Aaron Payne | 25 | 4 | - | - | 16 |
| Paul Rauhihi | 25 | 4 | - | - | 16 |
| Mitchell Sargent | 27 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Matthew Scott | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Chris Sheppard | 7 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Matt Sing | 12 | 7 | - | - | 28 |
| Daniel Sorbello | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Steve Southern | 16 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Daniel Strickland | 8 | - | - | - | - |
| Neil Sweeney | 15 | 4 | 1 | - | 18 |
| Shane Tronc | 18 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Ty Williams | 25 | 15 | - | - | 60 |
| Totals | | 98 | 99 | - | 582 |
Source:

## Representatives

The following players played a representative match in 2004.
| | City vs Country | State of Origin 1 | State of Origin 2 | State of Origin 3 | Tri-Nations |
| Matthew Bowen | - | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | Australia |
| Paul Bowman | - | Queensland | Queensland | - | - |
| Glenn Morrison | Country | - | - | - | - |
| Travis Norton | - | Queensland | - | - | - |
| Paul Rauhihi | - | - | - | - | New Zealand |
| Matt Sing | - | - | Queensland | Queensland | Australia |

## Honours
### League

* Dally M Prop of the Year: Paul Rauhihi

### Club

* Player of the Year: Luke O'Donnell
* Players' Player: Paul Rauhihi
* Club Person of the Year: Dave Roberts

## Feeder Clubs
### Queensland Cup

* North Queensland Young Guns - 7th, missed finals