# 2022 North Queensland Cowboys season

The 2022 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 28th in the club's history. Coached by Todd Payten and captained by Jason Taumalolo and Chad Townsend, they competed in the NRL's 2022 Telstra Premiership.
The Cowboys returned to the finals after four seasons in the bottom four, finishing one game short of the Grand Final. They finished the regular season in the third position and won 17 games, their equal-highest ever (along with 2015).

## Season summary
### Milestones

* Round 1: Peta Hiku, Jamayne Taunoa-Brown and Chad Townsend made their debuts for the club.
* Round 1: Tom Gilbert scored his first NRL try.
* Round 2: Mitchell Dunn played his 50th NRL game for the club.
* Round 3: Reece Robson played his 50th NRL game.
* Round 3: Griffin Neame scored his first NRL try.
* Round 10: Reuben Cotter scored his first NRL try.
* Round 10: Peta Hiku scored his first try for the club.
* Round 11: Tom Dearden played his 50th NRL game.
* Round 13: Brendan Elliot made his debut for the club.
* Round 16: Luciano Leilua made his debut for the club.
* Round 16: Luciano Leilua played his 100th NRL game.
* Round 18: Tom Chester made his NRL debut.
* Round 21: Valentine Holmes played his 50th NRL game for the club.
* Round 21: Luciano Leilua and Chad Townsend scored their first tries for the club.

### Squad
## Squad movement
### Gains

| Player | Signed From | Until End of |
| Iosefo Baleiwairiki | Fiji Rugby Sevens | 2022 |
| Brendan Elliot | Leigh Centurions | 2022 |
| Brendan Frei | Norths Devils (mid-season) | 2022 |
| Peta Hiku | New Zealand Warriors | 2023 |
| Luciano Leilua | Wests Tigers (mid-season) | 2025 |
| Taniela Sadrugu | Fiji Rugby Sevens | 2022 |
| Gehamat Shibasaki | Green Rockets Tokatsu (mid-season) | 2022 |
| Jamayne Taunoa-Brown | New Zealand Warriors | 2024 |
| Chad Townsend | New Zealand Warriors | 2024 |

### Losses

| Player | Signed To | Until End of |
| Daejarn Asi | New Zealand Warriors (mid-season) | 2022 |
| Javid Bowen | Retired | – |
| Lachlan Burr | Retired | – |
| Peter Hola | Canberra Raiders | 2023 |
| Francis Molo | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 2024 |
| Corey Jensen | Brisbane Broncos | 2023 |
| Shane Wright | Salford Red Devils | 2023 |

### Re-signings

| Player | Club | Until End of |
| Scott Drinkwater | North Queensland Cowboys | 2026 |
| Mitchell Dunn | North Queensland Cowboys | 2023 |
| Brendan Elliot | North Queensland Cowboys | 2023 |
| Jake Granville | North Queensland Cowboys | 2023 |
| Ben Hampton | North Queensland Cowboys | 2023 |
| Heilum Luki | North Queensland Cowboys | 2025 |
| Jeremiah Nanai | North Queensland Cowboys | 2023 |
| Griffin Neame | North Queensland Cowboys | 2025 |
| Reece Robson | North Queensland Cowboys | 2025 |
| Taniela Sadrugu | North Queensland Cowboys | 2023 |
| Murray Taulagi | North Queensland Cowboys | 2026 |

## Ladder

2022 NRL seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Penrith Panthers (P) | 24 | 20 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 636 | 330 | +306 | 42 |
| 2 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 573 | 364 | +209 | 38 |
| 3 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 633 | 361 | +272 | 36 |
| 4 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 608 | 489 | +119 | 34 |
| 5 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 657 | 410 | +247 | 32 |
| 6 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 635 | 434 | +201 | 32 |
| 7 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 604 | 474 | +130 | 30 |
| 8 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 524 | 461 | +63 | 30 |
| 9 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 514 | 550 | −36 | 28 |
| 10 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 469 | 569 | −100 | 26 |
| 11 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 490 | 595 | −105 | 20 |
| 12 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 383 | 575 | −192 | 16 |
| 13 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 455 | 660 | −205 | 14 |
| 14 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 372 | 662 | −290 | 14 |
| 15 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 408 | 700 | −292 | 14 |
| 16 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 352 | 679 | −327 | 10 |

## Fixtures
### Pre-season

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| Saturday, 19 February | Trial 1 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Barlow Park | 24 – 12 | Bourke, Z. Laybutt, Lipp, Niko | Asi (4/4) | 7,128 |
| Saturday, 26 February | Trial 2 | Brisbane Broncos | BB Print Stadium | 26 – 6 | Taulagi (2), Holmes, Tabuai-Fidow | Holmes (4/4), Drinkwater (1/1) | 4,545 |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw Bye ||||||||

### Regular season

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| Saturday, 13 March | Round 1 | Canterbury Bulldogs | Queensland Country Bank Stadium | 4 – 6 | Gilbert | Holmes (0/1) | 12,640 |
| Saturday, 19 March | Round 2 | Canberra Raiders | Queensland Country Bank Stadium | 26 – 6 | Feldt, Nanai, Tabuai-Fidow, Taulagi | Holmes (5/6) | 13,864 |
| Sunday, 27 March | Round 3 | Brisbane Broncos | Suncorp Stadium | 38 – 12 | Nanai (3), Dearden, Holmes, Neame | Holmes (7/7) | 37,761 |
| Saturday, 2 April | Round 4 | Sydney Roosters | Queensland Country Bank Stadium | 4 – 28 | Taulagi | Holmes (0/1) | 17,929 |
| Friday, 8 April | Round 5 | New Zealand Warriors | Moreton Daily Stadium | 24 – 25 | Dearden, Drinkwater, Feldt, Holmes | Holmes (4/6) | 6,254 |
| Thursday, 14 April | Round 6 | Canberra Raiders | GIO Stadium | 18 – 12 | Holmes, Luki, Nanai | Holmes (3/3) | 11,854 |
| Saturday, 23 April | Round 7 | Gold Coast Titans | Queensland Country Bank Stadium | 30 – 4 | Dearden, Drinkwater, Luki, Nanai, Taulagi | Holmes (5/6) | 14,547 |
| Saturday, 30 April | Round 8 | Parramatta Eels | TIO Stadium | 35 – 4 | Feldt (3), Dearden, Drinkwater, Tabuai-Fidow | Holmes (5/7, 1 FG) | 10,017 |
| Saturday, 7 May | Round 9 | Newcastle Knights | Queensland Country Bank Stadium | 36 – 16 | Dearden, Feldt, Holmes, Luki, Nanai, Taulagi | Holmes (6/6) | 14,463 |
| Sunday, 15 May | Round 10 | Wests Tigers | Suncorp Stadium | 36 – 12 | Taulagi (2), Cotter, Drinkwater, Feldt, Hiku, Nanai | Holmes (4/7) | 43,401 |
| Saturday, 21 May | Round 11 | Melbourne Storm | Queensland Country Bank Stadium | 36 – 6 | Nanai (2), Drinkwater, Gilbert, Robson, Taulagi | Holmes (6/6) | 22,728 |
| Friday, 27 May | Round 12 | Penrith Panthers | BlueBet Stadium | 0 – 22 | | | 17,125 |
| Thursday, 2 June | Round 13 | Gold Coast Titans | Cbus Super Stadium | 32 – 6 | Tabuai-Fidow (2), Hiku, Luki, Robson, Taulagi | Drinkwater (4/6) | 10,334 |
| Friday, 10 June | Round 14 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Queensland Country Bank Stadium | 31 – 12 | Drinkwater, Hiku, Lemuelu, Robson, Taulagi | Holmes (5/6), Townsend (FG) | 14,683 |
| Friday, 17 June | Round 15 | Manly Sea Eagles | 4 Pines Park | 28 – 26 | Holmes (2), Lemuelu, Nanai, Robson | Holmes (4/5) | 9,226 |
| Saturday, 2 July | Round 16 | Brisbane Broncos | Queensland Country Bank Stadium | 40 – 26 | Taulagi (2), Feldt, Nanai, Neame, Robson | Holmes (8/8) | 23,351 |
| | Round 17 | Bye | | | | | |
| Friday, 15 July | Round 18 | Cronulla Sharks | Queensland Country Bank Stadium | 12 – 26 | Feldt, Tabuai-Fidow | Townsend (2/2) | 15,982 |
| Sunday, 24 July | Round 19 | Wests Tigers | Queensland Country Bank Stadium | 27 – 26 | Nanai (2), Dearden, Holmes | Holmes (5/5, 1 FG) | 14,910 |
| Sunday, 31 July | Round 20 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Netstrata Jubilee Stadium | 34 – 8 | Drinkwater (2), Nanai (2), Feldt, Neame | Holmes (5/6) | 9,517 |
| Saturday, 7 August | Round 21 | Canterbury Bulldogs | Salter Oval | 28 – 14 | Drinkwater (2), Leilua, Neame, Townsend | Holmes (4/6) | 8,521 |
| Saturday, 13 August | Round 22 | Sydney Roosters | Sydney Cricket Ground | 18 – 32 | Robson, Tabuai-Fidow, Taulagi | Holmes (3/3) | 15,219 |
| Friday, 19 August | Round 23 | New Zealand Warriors | Queensland Country Bank Stadium | 48 – 4 | Dearden (2), Hess, Hiku, Leilua, Nanai, Taulagi, Townsend | Holmes (8/9) | 17,404 |
| Saturday, 27 August | Round 24 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Stadium Australia | 10 – 20 | Feldt, Taulagi | Holmes (1/2) | 15,264 |
| Saturday, 3 September | Round 25 | Penrith Panthers | Queensland Country Bank Stadium | 38 – 8 | Holmes (3), Drinkwater, Robson, Tabuai-Fidow, Taulagi | Holmes (3/5), Townsend (2/2) | 23,840 |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw Bye ||||||||

### Finals

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| Sunday, 10 September | Qualifying | Cronulla Sharks | PointsBet Stadium | 32 – 30 | Dearden, Tom Gilbert, Hiku, Taulagi, Taumalolo | Holmes (5/6, 1 FG) | 12,447 |
| Friday, September 23 | Preliminary | Parramatta Eels | Queensland Country Bank Stadium | 20 – 24 | Cotter, Leilua, Taulagi | Holmes (4/5) | 25,372 |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw ||||||||

## Statistics

| Name | App | T | G | FG | Pts |
| Tom Chester | 1 | – | – | – | - |
| Reuben Cotter | 18 | 2 | – | – | 8 |
| Tom Dearden | 23 | 9 | – | – | 36 |
| Scott Drinkwater | 22 | 11 | 4 | – | 52 |
| Mitchell Dunn | 2 | – | – | – | - |
| Brendan Elliot | 3 | – | – | – | - |
| Kyle Feldt | 20 | 11 | – | – | 44 |
| Tom Gilbert | 24 | 3 | – | – | 12 |
| Jake Granville | 14 | – | – | – | - |
| Coen Hess | 23 | 1 | – | – | 4 |
| Peta Hiku | 26 | 5 | – | – | 20 |
| Valentine Holmes | 24 | 10 | 100 | 3 | 244 |
| Luciano Leilua | 11 | 3 | – | – | 12 |
| Connelly Lemuelu | 4 | 2 | – | – | 8 |
| Heilum Luki | 14 | 4 | – | – | 16 |
| Jordan McLean | 22 | – | – | – | - |
| Jeremiah Nanai | 23 | 17 | – | – | 68 |
| Griffin Neame | 23 | 4 | – | – | 16 |
| Reece Robson | 26 | 7 | – | – | 28 |
| Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow | 23 | 7 | – | – | 28 |
| Murray Taulagi | 25 | 17 | – | – | 68 |
| Jason Taumalolo | 25 | 1 | – | – | 4 |
| Jamayne Taunoa-Brown | 16 | – | – | – | - |
| Chad Townsend | 26 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 17 |
| Totals | | 116 | 108 | 4 | 685 |

## Representatives

The following players played a representative match in 2022.
| | All Stars match | State of Origin 1 | State of Origin 2 | State of Origin 3 | Pacific Tests | Rugby League World Cup |
| Reuben Cotter | Indigenous All Stars | Queensland | | | | Australia |
| Tom Dearden | | | | Queensland | | |
| Robert Derby | | | | | Papua New Guinea | |
| Peta Hiku | | | | | New Zealand | New Zealand |
| Valentine Holmes | | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | | Australia |
| Jeremiah Nanai | | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | | Australia |
| Taniela Sadrugu | | | | | | Fiji |
| Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow | Indigenous All Stars | | | | | Samoa |
| Murray Taulagi | | | Queensland | | | Australia |
| Jason Taumalolo | | | | | Tonga | Tonga |
| Jamayne Taunoa-Brown | Indigenous All Stars | | | | | |

## Honours
### League

* Dally M Coach of the Year: Todd Payten
* Dally M Centre of the Year: Valentine Holmes
* Dally M Second Rower of the Year: Jeremiah Nanai
* Dally M Rookie of the Year: Jeremiah Nanai
* Dally M Try of the Year: Scott Drinkwater

### Club

* Paul Bowman Medal: Jason Taumalolo
* Players' Player: Tom Dearden
* The Cowboys Way Award: Tom Dearden
* Rookie of the Year: Jeremiah Nanai
* JCU Education Award: Scott Drinkwater
* Young Guns Cowboys Way Award: Robert Derby
* Club Person of the Year: Tom Gilbert
* Member's Player of the Year: Jeremiah Nanai

## Feeder Clubs
### Queensland Cup

* Mackay Cutters – 11th, missed finals
* Northern Pride – 8th, lost elimination final
* Townsville Blackhawks – 10th, missed finals

## Women's team
### QRL Women's Premiership

* North Queensland Gold Stars – 3rd, Premiers