# 2003 North Queensland Cowboys season

The 2003 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 9th in the club's history. Coached by Graham Murray and captained by Paul Bowman, they competed in the NRL's 2003 Telstra Premiership. Although the club once again finished 11th, they recorded their highest number of wins (10) and competition points (24) in a season.

## Season summary

The rebuild continued for the Cowboys heading into the 2003 season, with 12 players leaving the club. Their key signings included premiership-winning back rower Kevin Campion, New Zealand international prop Paul Rauhihi and journeyman utility David Myles. All three would eventually help the club to their first finals appearance a year later.
Following a solid end to the 2002 season, the new year started brightly for the club, as they won six games from the first 12 rounds to sit inside the Top 8. They picked up three straights win from Rounds 10-12, their first three-game winning streak since 1998. A mid-season slump would soon follow, with eight losses from their next nine fixtures.
The season ended strongly once again, with three wins from their final four games to secure a second consecutive 11th place finish, four competition points outside the Top 8. During the season Matt Sing became the first Cowboy to represent Australia, when selected for their July Test match against New Zealand.

### Milestones

* Round 1: Kevin Campion, Paul McNicholas, David Myles and Paul Rauhihi made their debuts for the club.
* Round 2: Brenton Bowen made his NRL debut.
* Round 6: Neil Sweeney made his debut for the club.
* Round 13: Jason Barsley made his NRL debut.
* Round 13: John Buttigieg played his 100th game for the club.
* Round 14: Matthew Bowen played his 50th game for the club.
* Round 15: Aaron Morgan made his NRL debut.
* Round 18: Daniel Sorbello made his NRL debut.
* Round 19: Micheal Luck played his 50th game for the club.
* Round 22: Jacob Lillyman made his NRL debut.
* Round 22: Daniel Strickland played his 50th game for the club.
* Round 23: Shane Muspratt played his 50th game for the club.

## Squad Movement
### 2003 Gains

| Player | Signed From |
| Jason Barsley | Central Comets |
| Dane Campbell | Redcliffe Dolphins |
| Kevin Campion | Warriors |
| Paul McNicholas | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
| Michael Meigan | Canterbury Bulldogs |
| Aaron Morgan | Wests Panthers |
| David Myles | Warriors |
| Paul Rauhihi | Canterbury Bulldogs |
| Neil Sweeney | Newcastle Knights |

### 2003 Losses

| Player | Signed From |
| Ashley Alberts | Brisbane Broncos |
| Tevita Amone | Released |
| Tarin Bradford | Retired |
| Tim Brasher | Retired |
| John Doyle | Retired |
| Peter Jones | Retired |
| Tim Maddison | Pia Donkeys |
| John Manning | Melbourne Storm |
| Ken McGuinness | Retired |
| Justin McKay | Wests Tigers |
| Shaun Valentine | Retired |

## Ladder

2003 NRL seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Penrith Panthers (P) | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 659 | 527 | +132 | 40 |
| 2 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 680 | 445 | +235 | 38 |
| 3 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 702 | 419 | +283 | 36 |
| 4 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 620 | 463 | +157 | 36 |
| 5 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 564 | 486 | +78 | 34 |
| 6 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 545 | 510 | +35 | 34 |
| 7 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 632 | 635 | -3 | 32 |
| 8 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 497 | 464 | +33 | 28 |
| 9 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 570 | 582 | -12 | 26 |
| 10 | St George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 548 | 593 | -45 | 26 |
| 11 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 606 | 629 | -23 | 24 |
| 12 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 497 | 704 | -207 | 20 |
| 13 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 470 | 598 | -128 | 18 |
| 14 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 557 | 791 | -234 | 18 |
| 15 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 3 | 0 | 21 | 2 | 457 | 758 | -301 | 10 |

## Fixtures
### Regular season

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| 15 March | Round 1 | Canberra Raiders | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 14 – 46 | Sing (2), Hannay | Hannay (1/3) | 15,421 |
| 22 March | Round 2 | Manly Sea Eagles | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 30 – 20 | Lowe (2), McNicholas, Sing | Hannay (7/8) | 10,937 |
| 31 March | Round 3 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Aussie Stadium | 27 – 20 | B. Bowen, Muckert, Sheppard | Hannay (7/8), Sheppard (1 FG) | 9,422 |
| 5 April | Round 4 | Brisbane Broncos | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 24 – 32 | B. Bowen, Morrison, Myles, McWilliams | Hannay (4/4), B. Bowen (0/1) | 25,242 |
| 12 April | Round 5 | Sydney Roosters | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 0 – 32 | | | 12,089 |
| 21 April | Round 6 | Warriors | Ericsson Stadium | 24 – 30 | Sing (2), Hannay, McWilliams | Hannay (4/4) | 19,722 |
| 26 April | Round 7 | Melbourne Storm | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 32 – 12 | Sing (3), Hannay, Williams | Hannay (6/6) | 12,023 |
| | Round 8 | Bye | | | | | |
| 11 May | Round 9 | Brisbane Broncos | ANZ Stadium | 12 – 38 | M. Bowen, Myles | Hannay (2/2) | 13,197 |
| 17 May | Round 10 | Wests Tigers | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 26 – 8 | Sing (2), Luck, Muspratt | Hannay (5/6) | 10,783 |
| 24 May | Round 11 | Manly Sea Eagles | Brookvale Oval | 31 – 20 | Sing (2), Hannay, Morrison, Myles | Hannay (5/6), Morrison (0/1), Sheppard (1 FG) | 7,028 |
| 1 June | Round 12 | St George Illawarra Dragons | Oki Jubilee Stadium | 36 – 16 | Sing (2), Bowman, Morrison, Sheppard, Williams | Hannay (6/7) | 13,517 |
| 7 June | Round 13 | Penrith Panthers | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 24 – 28 | Barsley, Hannay, Myles, Williams | Hannay (4/5) | 17,012 |
| 15 June | Round 14 | Sydney Roosters | Aussie Stadium | 14 – 15 | Morrison, Myles | Hannay (3/4) | 9,123 |
| 21 June | Round 15 | Parramatta Eels | Parramatta Stadium | 22 – 24 | Morgan, Morrison, Myles, Sweeney | Hannay (3/5) | 9,027 |
| 28 June | Round 16 | Cronulla Sharks | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 28 – 34 | Williams (2), M. Bowen, Morrison | Hannay (6/7) | 13,598 |
| 5 July | Round 17 | Warriors | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 30 – 10 | Hannay, Morrison, Sing, Williams | Hannay (7/9) | 16,028 |
| 12 July | Round 18 | Melbourne Storm | Olympic Park | 16 – 22 | Dezolt, Morgan, Myles | Morrison (2/4) | 7,643 |
| 19 July | Round 19 | St George Illawarra Dragons | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 16 – 38 | M. Bowen, Bowman, Sing | Morrison (2/3), Hannay (0/1) | 16,542 |
| 27 July | Round 20 | Canterbury Bulldogs | Sydney Showground | 22 – 42 | Hannay, Myles, McDonald, Sing | Hannay (3/5) | 7,091 |
| | Round 21 | Bye | | | | | |
| 9 August | Round 22 | Newcastle Knights | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 24 – 60 | M. Bowen, Muckert, Rauhihi, Williams | Hannay (4/4) | 15,072 |
| 16 August | Round 23 | Canberra Raiders | Canberra Stadium | 34 – 28 | B. Bowen, Bowman, Hannay, Myles, Payne, Williams | Hannay (5/7) | 8,074 |
| 23 August | Round 24 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 60 – 8 | M. Bowen (3), Hannay, Muckert, Myles, Payne, Rauhihi, Sing, Williams | Hannay (10/12) | 13,872 |
| 31 August | Round 25 | Wests Tigers | Campbelltown Stadium | 34 – 14 | Williams (3), Sing (2), Hannay, Muckert | Hannay (3/6), M. Bowen (0/1) | 6,158 |
| 7 September | Round 26 | Newcastle Knights | EnergyAustralia Stadium | 26 – 34 | M. Bowen, Myles, Sing | M. Bowen (5/7) | 18,244 |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw Bye ||||||||

## Statistics

| Name | App | T | G | FG | Pts |
| Jason Barsley | 3 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Brenton Bowen | 6 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Matthew Bowen | 20 | 9 | 5 | - | 46 |
| Paul Bowman | 16 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| John Buttigieg | 8 | - | - | - | - |
| Kevin Campion | 24 | - | - | - | - |
| Paul Dezolt | 9 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Nathan Fien | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| George Gatis | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Josh Hannay | 23 | 10 | 95 | - | 230 |
| Jacob Lillyman | 3 | - | - | - | - |
| Jaiman Lowe | 24 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Micheal Luck | 22 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Jamie McDonald | 11 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Paul McNicholas | 7 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Leigh McWilliams | 14 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Aaron Morgan | 2 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Glenn Morrison | 22 | 7 | 4 | - | 36 |
| Chris Muckert | 23 | 4 | - | - | 16 |
| Shane Muspratt | 21 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| David Myles | 24 | 11 | - | - | 44 |
| Aaron Payne | 4 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Chris Sheppard | 22 | 2 | - | 2 | 10 |
| Matt Sing | 20 | 21 | - | - | 84 |
| Daniel Sorbello | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Daniel Strickland | 17 | - | - | - | - |
| Neil Sweeney | 7 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| David Thompson | 6 | - | - | - | - |
| Derrick Watkins | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Scott Whiting | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| Ty Williams | 22 | 12 | - | - | 48 |
| Totals | | 99 | 104 | 2 | 606 |
Source:

## Representatives

The following players played a representative match in 2003.
| | City vs Country | State of Origin 1 | State of Origin 2 | State of Origin 3 | July Test | October Test | Ashes Series |
| Matthew Bowen | - | - | Queensland | Queensland | - | - | - |
| Paul Bowman | - | Queensland | - | - | - | - | - |
| Josh Hannay | - | - | - | Queensland | - | - | - |
| Glenn Morrison | Country | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Paul Rauhihi | - | - | - | - | New Zealand | - | - |
| Matt Sing | - | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | Australia | Australia | Australia |

## Honours
### Club

* Player of the Year: Paul Rauhihi
* Players' Player: Matt Sing
* Club Person of the Year: Ty Williams

## Feeder Clubs
### Queensland Cup

* North Queensland Young Guns - 7th, missed finals