# 2005 North Queensland Cowboys season

The 2004 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 11th in the club's history. Coached by Graham Murray and captained by Travis Norton, they competed in the NRL's 2005 Telstra Premiership. They finished the regular season in 5th and played in their first Grand Final, which they lost to the Wests Tigers.

## Season summary
### Milestones

* Round 1: Justin Smith, Johnathan Thurston and Carl Webb made their debuts for the club.
* Round 4: Paul Rauhihi played his 50th game for the club.
* Round 8: Paul Bowman scored his 50th try for the club.
* Round 9: Jaiman Lowe played his 50th game for the club.
* Round 9: Paul Bowman played his 150th game for the club.
* Round 9: Matt Sing scored his 50th try for the club.
* Round 16: Matthew Bowen scored his 50th try for the club.
* Round 18: Aaron Payne played his 50th game for the club.
* Round 20: Brett Firman made his debut for the club.
* Round 21: Ty Williams scored his 50th try for the club.
* Round 23: Matthew Bowen played his 100th game for the club.
* Finals Week 2: Luke O'Donnell played his 50th game for the club.

## Squad Movement
### 2005 Gains

| Player | Signed From |
| Jason Barsley | Easts Tigers |
| Gavin Cooper | Redcliffe Dolphins |
| Brett Firman | Sydney Roosters (mid-season) |
| Keiran Kerr | St George Illawarra Dragons |
| Brent McConnell | Burleigh Bears |
| Shane Muspratt | Parramatta Eels |
| Justin Smith | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
| Johnathan Thurston | Canterbury Bulldogs |
| Carl Webb | Brisbane Broncos |

### 2005 Losses

| Player | Signed From |
| Kevin Campion | Retired |
| Nathan Fien | Warriors |
| Steven Goodhew | Easts Tigers |
| Keiran Kerr | Widnes Vikings (mid-season) |
| Ben Laity | Released |
| Jamie McDonald | Melbourne Storm |
| Michael Meigan | Balmain Tigers |
| Aaron Morgan | Norths Devils |
| Glenn Morrison | Parramatta Eels |
| Chris Sheppard | St George Illawarra Dragons (mid-season) |
| Daniel Sorbello | Wynnum Manly Seagulls |
| Hale Vaa'sa | Easts Tigers |
| Derrick Watkins | Brisbane Broncos |

## Ladder

2005 NRL seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 704 | 456 | +248 | 36 |
| 2 | St George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 655 | 510 | +145 | 36 |
| 3 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 597 | 484 | +113 | 34 |
| 4 | Wests Tigers (P) | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 676 | 575 | +101 | 32 |
| 5 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 639 | 563 | +76 | 32 |
| 6 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 2 | 640 | 462 | +178 | 30 |
| 7 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 550 | 564 | -14 | 28 |
| 8 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 554 | 632 | -78 | 28 |
| 9 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 488 | 487 | +1 | 26 |
| 10 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 554 | 554 | 0 | 26 |
| 11 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 515 | 528 | -13 | 24 |
| 12 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 9 | 1 | 14 | 2 | 472 | 670 | -198 | 23 |
| 13 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 9 | 1 | 14 | 2 | 482 | 700 | -218 | 23 |
| 14 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 465 | 606 | -141 | 22 |
| 15 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 467 | 667 | -200 | 20 |

## Fixtures
### Regular season

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| 13 March | Round 1 | Brisbane Broncos | Suncorp Stadium | 16 – 29 | M. Bowen, Jensen, Williams | Hannay (2/3) | 43,488 |
| 18 March | Round 2 | Canterbury Bulldogs | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 24 – 12 | M. Bowen, Hannay, Webb, Williams | Hannay (4/7) | 21,138 |
| 27 March | Round 3 | Warriors | Ericsson Stadium | 32 – 22 | Jensen (2), M. Bowen, Southern, Williams | Hannay (5/7), Thurston (1/1) | 13,888 |
| 2 April | Round 4 | Newcastle Knights | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 52 – 18 | Hannay (2), Sing (2), M. Bowen, Smith, Southern, Thurston, Williams | Hannay (5/7), Smith (2/2), Myles (1/1) | 22,347 |
| 9 April | Round 5 | Cronulla Sharks | Toyota Park | 6 – 38 | Webb | Hannay (1/1) | 17,323 |
| 16 April | Round 6 | Wests Tigers | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 44 – 20 | Sing (3), B. Bowen (2), Bowman, Jensen, Lowe | Thurston (5/7), Rauhihi (1/1) | 20,361 |
| 23 April | Round 7 | Penrith Panthers | Penrith Stadium | 36 – 22 | M. Bowen (2), Jensen (2), B. Bowen, Luck | Hannay (6/6) | 17,998 |
| 30 April | Round 8 | Sydney Roosters | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 38 – 18 | Bowman (2), M. Bowen, Faiumu, Hannay, O'Donnell, Smith | Hannay (5/9) | 22,476 |
| 8 May | Round 9 | Parramatta Eels | Parramatta Stadium | 12 – 50 | Faiumu, Sing | Hannay (2/2) | 8,051 |
| 14 May | Round 10 | Brisbane Broncos | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 6 – 23 | M. Bowen | Hannay (1/2) | 22,477 |
| | Round 11 | Bye | | | | | |
| 27 May | Round 12 | Canterbury Bulldogs | Carrara Stadium | 48 – 12 | Williams (2), M. Bowen, Lillyman, Payne, Southern, Thurston, Tronc | Smith (4/4), Thurston (4/4) | 21,012 |
| 4 June | Round 13 | Cronulla Sharks | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 56 – 14 | Bowman (2), Sing (2), Smith (2), B. Bowen, M. Bowen, Payne, Webb | Smith (4/5), Thurston (4/5) | 20,843 |
| 12 June | Round 14 | St George Illawarra Dragons | Oki Jubilee Stadium | 4 – 34 | Barsley | Hannay (0/1) | 15,260 |
| | Round 15 | Bye | | | | | |
| 25 June | Round 16 | Canberra Raiders | Canberra Stadium | 22 – 23 | M. Bowen, Bowman, Thurston | Thurston (3/4) | 9,129 |
| 2 July | Round 17 | Warriors | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 24 – 16 | Jensen (2), Sweeney (2), Faiumu | Hannay (2/5) | 20,078 |
| 10 July | Round 18 | Newcastle Knights | EnergyAustralia Stadium | 18 – 22 | B. Bowen, Bowman, Sing, Williams | Hannay (1/4) | 11,864 |
| 16 July | Round 19 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 14 – 16 | Sing, Smith, Williams | Thurston (1/3) | 17,038 |
| 23 July | Round 20 | Penrith Panthers | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 38 – 18 | Hannay (2), M. Bowen, Firman, Thurston, Williams | Hannay (6/7), Thurston (1/1) | 18,932 |
| 31 July | Round 21 | Manly Sea Eagles | Brookvale Oval | 26 – 24 | Williams (3), Jensen, Payne | Hannay (3/5) | 13,118 |
| 5 August | Round 22 | St George Illawarra Dragons | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 16 – 36 | M. Bowen, Bowman, Jensen | Hannay (2/3) | 21,021 |
| 14 August | Round 23 | Wests Tigers | Campbelltown Stadium | 16 – 28 | M. Bowen, Sargent, Williams | Thurston (2/3) | 20,527 |
| 20 August | Round 24 | Canberra Raiders | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 31 – 28 | Payne (2), M. Bowen, Thurston, Williams | Hannay (5/5), Thurston (1 FG) | 17,893 |
| 28 August | Round 25 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Central Coast Stadium | 30 – 16 | Sing (3), Faiumu, Norton, O'Donnell | Hannay (3/7) | 13,079 |
| 3 September | Round 26 | Melbourne Storm | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 30 – 24 | M. Bowen (2), Bowman, Sing, Williams | Thurston (5/6) | 22,471 |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw Bye ||||||||

### Finals

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| 9 September | Qualifying Final | Wests Tigers | Telstra Stadium | 6 – 50 | Sing | Hannay (1/1) | 26,463 |
| 17 September | Semi Final | Melbourne Storm | Aussie Stadium | 24 – 16 | Williams (2), M. Bowen, Faiumu | Hannay (2/3), Thurston (2/2) | 16,810 |
| 25 September | Preliminary Final | Parramatta Eels | Telstra Stadium | 29 – 0 | M. Bowen, Firman, Hannay, Jensen, Williams | Hannay (4/6), Thurston (1 FG) | 44,327 |
| 2 October | Grand Final | Wests Tigers | Telstra Stadium | 16 – 30 | M. Bowen, Bowman, Sing | Hannay (2/3) | 82,453 |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw Bye ||||||||

## Statistics

| Name | App | T | G | FG | Pts |
| Jason Barsley | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Brenton Bowen | 10 | 5 | - | - | 20 |
| Matthew Bowen | 25 | 21 | - | - | 84 |
| Paul Bowman | 25 | 9 | - | - | 36 |
| David Faiumu | 21 | 5 | - | - | 20 |
| Brett Firman | 11 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Josh Hannay | 21 | 7 | 62 | - | 152 |
| Rod Jensen | 23 | 11 | - | - | 44 |
| Jacob Lillyman | 12 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Jaiman Lowe | 8 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Micheal Luck | 9 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Leigh McWilliams | 7 | - | - | - | - |
| David Myles | 7 | - | 1 | - | 2 |
| Travis Norton | 17 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Luke O'Donnell | 26 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Aaron Payne | 28 | 5 | - | - | 20 |
| Paul Rauhihi | 26 | - | 1 | - | 2 |
| Mitchell Sargent | 19 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Matthew Scott | 3 | - | - | - | - |
| Chris Sheppard | 5 | - | - | - | - |
| Matt Sing | 25 | 16 | - | - | 64 |
| Justin Smith | 25 | 5 | 10 | - | 40 |
| Steve Southern | 27 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Neil Sweeney | 3 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Johnathan Thurston | 26 | 5 | 28 | 2 | 78 |
| Shane Tronc | 27 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Carl Webb | 16 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Ty Williams | 23 | 18 | - | - | 72 |
| Totals | | 127 | 102 | 2 | 714 |
Source:

## Representatives

The following players played a representative match in 2005.
| | ANZAC Test | City vs Country | State of Origin 1 | State of Origin 2 | State of Origin 3 | Tri-Nations |
| Matthew Bowen | - | - | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | - |
| Paul Bowman | - | - | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | - |
| David Faiumu | - | - | - | - | - | New Zealand |
| Luke O'Donnell | City | - | - | - | - | Australia |
| Paul Rauhihi | New Zealand | - | - | - | - | New Zealand |
| Matt Sing | Australia | - | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | - |
| Johnathan Thurston | - | - | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | - |
| Carl Webb | - | - | Queensland | Queensland | - | - |
| Ty Williams | - | - | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | - |

## Honours
### League

* Dally M Medal: Johnathan Thurston
* Dally M Halfback of the Year: Johnathan Thurston
* Rugby League Players Association Player of the Year: Johnathan Thurston

### Club

* Player of the Year: Johnathan Thurston
* Players' Player: Paul Bowman
* Club Person of the Year: Rod Jensen

## Feeder Clubs
### Queensland Cup

* North Queensland Young Guns – 1st, Premiers