# 2008 North Queensland Cowboys season

The 2008 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 14th season in the club's history. They were coached by Graham Murray and captained by Johnathan Thurston, they competed in the National Rugby League's 2008 Telstra Premiership.
On 19 May, Murray resigned as head coach after just three wins from the opening 10 games. He was replaced by assistant coach Ian Millward, who took over as interim head coach until the end of the season. The Cowboys finished the season in 15th place, avoiding the wooden spoon by points differential.

## Season summary

The Cowboys entered the 2008 season optimistic about the finals chances after a preliminary final appearance in 2007. The club got off to the worst possible start, losing three straight games. They would win their next three but it proved to be a false dawn, as the side went on a club record 13-game losing streak. They finished the season with two wins from their final five games, finishing in 15th place and narrowly avoiding the wooden spoon. The season was plagued by injury, with key players Matthew Bowen, Luke O'Donnell, Matthew Scott and Johnathan Thurston all missing considerable playing time due to injuries.
On April 2, the Cowboys signed former assistant coach and then-Canberra Raiders coach Neil Henry as their head coach for the 2009 season. A month later, Graham Murray re-signed as head coach and was replaced by his assistant Ian Millward as interim head coach for the rest of 2008. Millward's first win as head coach occurred in Round 22, as the Cowboys defeated the Canterbury Bulldogs 36-12 at Suncorp Stadium.
Despite the poor season, the club still maintained the fourth highest home crowd average in the NRL with an average of 18,102.

### Milestones

* Round 1: Matthew Scott played his 50th game for the club.
* Round 1: Travis Burns and Ben Harris made their debuts for the club.
* Round 2: Dayne Weston made his debut for the club.
* Round 2: Obe Geia made his NRL debut.
* Round 4: Anthony Watts and John Williams made their debuts for the club.
* Round 8: Daniel Abraham made his debut for the club.
* Round 14: Nick Slyney made his NRL debut.
* Round 15: Greg Byrnes made his NRL debut.
* Round 16: Ashley Graham played his 50th game for the club.
* Round 16: Brandon Boor and Sam Bowie made their NRL debuts.
* Round 19: Luke Harlen made his debut for the club.
* Round 21: The club recorded their longest losing streak with their 13th straight loss.
* Round 22: Ray Cashmere played his 50th game for the club.
* Round 25: Shane Tronc played his 100th game for the club.

## Squad Movement
### 2008 Gains

| Player | Signed From | Until End of |
| Daniel Abraham | Newcastle Knights | 2008 |
| Travis Burns | Manly Sea Eagles | 2009 |
| George Gatis | Huddersfield Giants (mid-season) | 2008 |
| Ben Harris | Bradford Bulls | 2010 |
| Chris Sheppard | Northern Pride (mid-season) | 2008 |
| Anthony Perkins | Melbourne Storm | 2009 |
| Anthony Watts | Cronulla Sharks | 2010 |
| Dayne Weston | Cronulla Sharks | 2009 |
| John Williams | Sydney Roosters | 2010 |

### 2008 Losses

| Player | Signed To | Until End of |
| Brett Anderson | Melbourne Storm | 2009 |
| Brenton Bowen | Gold Coast Titans | 2009 |
| Paul Bowman | Retired | - |
| David Faiumu | Huddersfield Giants (mid-season) | 2009 |
| Rod Jensen | Huddersfield Giants | 2009 |
| Karl Johnson | Newcastle Knights | 2008 |
| Scott Minto | Retired | - |
| Shane Muspratt | Mackay Cutters | 2008 |
| Jason Smith | Retired | - |
| Neil Sweeney | Newcastle Knights | 2008 |
| Colin Wilkie | Released | - |

## Ladder

2008 NRL seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 584 | 282 | +302 | 38 |
| 2 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (P) | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 645 | 355 | +290 | 38 |
| 3 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 451 | 384 | +67 | 38 |
| 4 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 511 | 446 | +65 | 34 |
| 5 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 560 | 452 | +108 | 33 |
| 6 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 640 | 527 | +113 | 30 |
| 7 | St George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 489 | 378 | +111 | 30 |
| 8 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 502 | 567 | -65 | 30 |
| 9 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 516 | 486 | +30 | 28 |
| 10 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 528 | 560 | -32 | 26 |
| 11 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 501 | 547 | -46 | 26 |
| 12 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 10 | 1 | 13 | 2 | 504 | 611 | -107 | 25 |
| 13 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 476 | 586 | -110 | 24 |
| 14 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 453 | 666 | -213 | 20 |
| 15 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 474 | 638 | -164 | 14 |
| 16 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 2 | 433 | 782 | -349 | 14 |

## Fixtures
### Pre-season

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| 16 February | Trial 1 | Brisbane Broncos | Browne Park | 10 – 20 | Nicolau, Thompson | Nicolau (1/2) | - |
| 23 February | Trial 2 | Gold Coast Titans | Barlow Park | 22 – 30 | Webb (2), Faust, T Williams | Graham (3/4) | - |
| 1 March | Trial 3 | Canberra Raiders | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 32 – 12 | O'Donnell (3), Bowen, Southern, Webb | Graham (3/4), Burns (1/2) | - |

### Regular season

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| 14 March | Round 1 | Gold Coast Titans | Skilled Park | 18 – 36 | Thurston (2), Harris | Thurston (3/3) | 26,974 |
| 22 March | Round 2 | Wests Tigers | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 10 – 30 | Graham, Harris | Thurston (1/2) | 20,655 |
| 28 March | Round 3 | Brisbane Broncos | Suncorp Stadium | 2 – 36 | - | Thurston (1/1) | 50,612 |
| 5 April | Round 4 | Parramatta Eels | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 38 – 14 | Graham, Henry, Lillyman, Smith, Watts, Webb | Thurston (7/7) | 19,231 |
| 12 April | Round 5 | St George Illawarra Dragons | WIN Stadium | 20 – 16 | Smith, Thurston, Watts | Thurston (4/4) | 11,639 |
| 19 April | Round 6 | Warriors | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 48 – 20 | Bowen (3), Harris (2), Graham, Smith, Southern, J Williams | Thurston (6/8), Graham (0/1) | 20,544 |
| 26 April | Round 7 | Melbourne Storm | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 10 – 12 | Henry, J Williams | Thurston (1/2) | 24,053 |
| 4 May | Round 8 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | ANZ Stadium | 24 – 28 | Graham, Vaeau, Webb, J Williams | Thurston (4/4) | 9,818 |
| 10 May | Round 9 | Cronulla Sharks | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 18 – 24 | Henry, O'Donnell, Webb | Thurston (3/3) | 17,065 |
| 17 May | Round 10 | Manly Sea Eagles | Central Coast Stadium | 6 – 38 | Farrar | J Williams (1/1) | 9,343 |
| | Round 11 | Bye | | | | | |
| 31 May | Round 12 | Penrith Panthers | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 18 – 19 | Abraham, Burns, Graham | Thurston (3/4) | 16,553 |
| 7 June | Round 13 | Wests Tigers | Campbelltown Stadium | 16 – 40 | Harris, Slyney, T Williams | J Williams (2/3) | 10,488 |
| 16 June | Round 14 | Newcastle Knights | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 18 – 30 | Farrar (2), Bartlett | Thurston (3/4) | 14,234 |
| 21 June | Round 15 | Melbourne Storm | Olympic Park | 20 – 48 | Cashmere, Henry, Webb, J Williams | Thurston (2/4) | 10,880 |
| 28 June | Round 16 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 28 – 29 | Graham (2), Cashmere, Harris, J Williams | J Williams (4/5) | 15,631 |
| | Round 17 | Bye | | | | | |
| 12 July | Round 18 | Warriors | Mt Smart Stadium | 14 – 24 | J Williams (2), Graham | Thurston (1/3) | 7,772 |
| 18 July | Round 19 | Brisbane Broncos | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 18 – 32 | Southern, Tronc, J Williams | J Williams (3/3) | 22,048 |
| 25 July | Round 20 | Parramatta Eels | Parramatta Stadium | 4 – 16 | J Williams | J Williams (0/1) | 7,253 |
| 2 August | Round 21 | Sydney Roosters | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 20 – 32 | Henry, O'Donnell, Weston, T Williams | Thurston (2/4) | 14,601 |
| 9 August | Round 22 | Canterbury Bulldogs | Suncorp Stadium | 36 – 12 | T Williams (2), Burns, Cashmere, Faumuina, Graham, Webb | J Williams (4/7) | 8,549 |
| 16 August | Round 23 | Gold Coast Titans | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 20 – 26 | O'Donnell, Weston, J Williams, T Williams | J Williams (2/4) | 17,605 |
| 23 August | Round 24 | Newcastle Knights | EnergyAustralia Stadium | 24 – 38 | O'Donnell (2), Payne, T Williams | J Williams (4/4) | 10,323 |
| 30 August | Round 25 | Canberra Raiders | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 22 – 10 | Burns, Harris, Thurston, Webb | J Williams (3/4) | 14,998 |
| 6 September | Round 26 | Cronulla Sharks | Toyota Stadium | 22 – 28 | Graham, Scott, Tronc, T Williams | J Williams (3/3), Thurston (0/1) | 7,057 |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw Bye ||||||||

## Statistics

| Name | App | T | G | FG | Pts |
| Daniel Abraham | 6 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Matthew Bartlett | 6 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Scott Bolton | 4 | - | - | - | - |
| Brandon Boor | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| Matthew Bowen | 6 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Sam Bowie | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Travis Burns | 14 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Greg Byrnes | 3 | - | - | - | - |
| Ray Cashmere | 24 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| David Faiumu | 4 | - | - | - | - |
| Ben Farrar | 18 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Sione Faumuina | 14 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Sam Faust | 10 | - | - | - | - |
| George Gatis | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Obe Geia | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| Ashley Graham | 22 | 10 | - | - | 40 |
| Luke Harlen | 5 | - | - | - | - |
| Ben Harris | 24 | 7 | - | - | 28 |
| Mark Henry | 23 | 5 | - | - | 20 |
| Jacob Lillyman | 11 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Jackson Nicolau | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Luke O'Donnell | 15 | 5 | - | - | 20 |
| Aaron Payne | 24 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Matthew Scott | 6 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Chris Sheppard | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Nick Slyney | 2 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Justin Smith | 11 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Steve Southern | 18 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Johnathan Thurston | 17 | 4 | 39 | - | 94 |
| Shane Tronc | 18 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Ben Vaeau | 11 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Anthony Watts | 12 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Carl Webb | 21 | 6 | - | - | 24 |
| Dayne Weston | 19 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| John Williams | 20 | 10 | 28 | - | 96 |
| Ty Williams | 12 | 7 | - | - | 28 |
| Totals | | 85 | 67 | 0 | 474 |
Source:

## Representatives

The following players have played a representative match in 2008
| | City vs Country | ANZAC Test | State of Origin 1 | State of Origin 2 | State of Origin 3 | Prime Minister's XIII | Indigenous v Māori | World Cup |
| Ray Cashmere | City | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Ben Harris | Country | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Jacob Lillyman | - | - | Queensland | - | - | - | - | - |
| Luke O'Donnell | - | - | - | - | - | Prime Minister's XIII | - | - |
| Johnathan Thurston | - | Australia | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | - | - | Australia |
| Carl Webb | - | Australia | Queensland | - | - | Prime Minister's XIII | Indigenous | - |
| Ty Williams | - | - | - | - | - | - | Indigenous | - |

## Honours
### League

* Wally Lewis Medal: Johnathan Thurston

### Club

* Paul Bowman Medal: Aaron Payne
* Player's Player: Aaron Payne
* Club Person of the Year: Aaron Payne
* Rookie of the Year: Nick Slyney
* Most Improved: Brandon Boor
* NYC Player of the Year: Nick Slyney

## Feeder Clubs
### National Youth Competition

* North Queensland Cowboys - 16th, Wooden Spoon

### Queensland Cup

* Mackay Cutters - 9th, missed finals
* Northern Pride - 3rd, lost preliminary final