# 2019 North Queensland Cowboys season

The 2019 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 25th in the club's history. Coached by Paul Green and captained by Michael Morgan, they competed in the NRL's 2019 Telstra Premiership. Their first season since 2004 without club legend Johnathan Thurston, who retired at the end of 2018, the side finished 14th and missed the finals for the second straight year.

## Season summary
### Milestones

* Round 1: Jordan Kahu, Nene Macdonald, Josh McGuire and Tom Opacic made their debuts for the club.
* Round 1: Nene Macdonald scored his first try for the club.
* Round 2: Jordan Kahu scored his first try for the club.
* Round 4: The club played their 600th game.
* Round 4: Ben Hampton played his 50th game for the club.
* Round 4: Jordan McLean played his 100th NRL game.
* Round 5: Jordan Kahu played his 100th NRL game.
* Round 5: Kurt Baptiste made his debut for the club.
* Round 6: Josh McGuire played his 200th NRL game.
* Round 7: John Asiata played his 100th game for the club.
* Round 9: Tom Opacic scored his first try for the club.
* Round 10: Michael Morgan played his 150th game for the club.
* Round 10: Kyle Feldt played his 100th game for the club.
* Round 11: Justin O'Neill played his 100th game for the club.
* Round 13: Reuben Cotter made his NRL debut.
* Round 13: Francis Molo scored his first try in the NRL.
* Round 15: Scott Drinkwater made his debut for the club.
* Round 15: Scott Drinkwater scored his first try for the club.
* Round 17: Gavin Cooper played his 300th NRL game.
* Round 17: Jake Clifford scored his first try for the club.
* Round 18: Murray Taulagi made his NRL debut.
* Round 18: Paul Green coached his 150th NRL game.
* Round 21: Peter Hola made his NRL debut.
* Round 21: Shane Wright scored his first try in the NRL.
* Round 23: Murray Taulagi scored his first try in the NRL.
* Round 24: Shane Wright scored the final try at 1300SMILES Stadium.

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

| Player | Signed From | Until End of |
| Kurt Baptiste | Sydney Roosters | 2019 |
| Ben Barba | St. Helens | 2019 |
| Scott Drinkwater | Melbourne Storm (mid-season) | 2021 |
| Jordan Kahu | Brisbane Broncos | 2019 |
| Nene Macdonald | St George Illawarra Dragons | 2021 |
| Josh McGuire | Brisbane Broncos | 2022 |
| Tom Opacic | Brisbane Broncos | 2020 |
| Dan Russell | Souths Logan Magpies | 2020 |

### Losses

| Player | Signed To | Until End of |
| Ben Barba | Released (pre-season) | - |
| Josh Chudleigh | Townsville Blackhawks | 2019 |
| Lachlan Coote | St. Helens | 2021 |
| Shaun Fensom | Brisbane Broncos | 2019 |
| Sam Hoare | Townsville Blackhawks | 2019 |
| Shaun Hudson | Townsville Blackhawks | 2019 |
| Kyle Laybutt | Townsville Blackhawks | 2019 |
| Kane Linnett | Hull Kingston Rovers | 2021 |
| Ethan Lowe | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 2019 |
| Nene Macdonald | Released (mid-season) | - |
| Johnathan Thurston | Retired | - |
| Antonio Winterstein | Retired | - |

### Re-signings

| Player | Club | Until End of |
| Jake Clifford | North Queensland Cowboys | 2021 |
| Gavin Cooper | North Queensland Cowboys | 2020 |
| Reuben Cotter | North Queensland Cowboys | 2020 |
| Mitchell Dunn | North Queensland Cowboys | 2020 |
| Tom Gilbert | North Queensland Cowboys | 2022 |
| Ben Hampton | North Queensland Cowboys | 2021 |
| Peter Hola | North Queensland Cowboys | 2022 |
| Corey Jensen | North Queensland Cowboys | 2021 |
| Murray Taulagi | North Queensland Cowboys | 2021 |

## Ladder

2019 NRL seasonvte :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 20 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 631 | 300 | +331 | 42 |
| 2 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 627 | 363 | +264 | 36 |
| 3 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 521 | 417 | +104 | 34 |
| 4 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 524 | 374 | +150 | 32 |
| 5 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 533 | 473 | +60 | 30 |
| 6 | Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 496 | 446 | +50 | 30 |
| 7 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 514 | 464 | +50 | 26 |
| 8 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 432 | 489 | −57 | 25 |
| 9 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 475 | 486 | −11 | 24 |
| 10 | Penrith Panthers | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 413 | 474 | −61 | 24 |
| 11 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 485 | 522 | −37 | 22 |
| 12 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 326 | 477 | −151 | 22 |
| 13 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 9 | 1 | 14 | 1 | 433 | 574 | −141 | 21 |
| 14 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 378 | 500 | −122 | 20 |
| 15 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 427 | 575 | −148 | 18 |
| 16 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 370 | 651 | −281 | 10 |

## Fixtures
### Pre-season

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| Saturday, 23 February | Trial 1 | Gold Coast Titans | Sunshine Coast Stadium | 22 – 16 | Clifford (3), Martin | Clifford (3/4) | 10,680 |
| Saturday, 2 March | Trial 2 | Melbourne Storm | BB Print Stadium | 14 – 6 | Cooper, Hampton, O'Neill | Kahu (1/3) | 10,000 |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw Bye ||||||||

### Regular season

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| Saturday, 16 March | Round 1 | St George Illawarra Dragons | 1300SMILES Stadium | 24 – 12 | Bowen, Macdonald, Martin, Morgan, O'Neill | Kahu (2/4), Martin (0/1) | 18,415 |
| Friday, 22 March | Round 2 | Brisbane Broncos | Suncorp Stadium | 10 – 29 | Kahu, O'Neill | Kahu (1/2) | 45,023 |
| Saturday, 30 March | Round 3 | Cronulla Sharks | 1300SMILES Stadium | 16 –42 | Cooper, Martin, McLean | Kahu (2/3) | 11,610 |
| Saturday, 6 April | Round 4 | Canberra Raiders | 1300SMILES Stadium | 12 – 30 | Asiata, Cooper | Kahu (2/2) | 11,750 |
| Friday, 12 April | Round 5 | Melbourne Storm | 1300SMILES Stadium | 12 – 18 | Hampton, Martin | Kahu (2/3) | 14,130 |
| Saturday, 20 April | Round 6 | Warriors | Mt Smart Stadium | 17 – 10 | Hess, O'Neill | Kahu (4/4), Morgan (1 FG) | 11,395 |
| Friday, 26 April | Round 7 | Canterbury Bulldogs | ANZ Stadium | 12 – 24 | Hampton, O'Neill | Kahu (2/3) | 6,711 |
| Friday, 3 May | Round 8 | Gold Coast Titans | 1300SMILES Stadium | 28 – 14 | Asiata, Granville, O'Neill, Taumalolo | Kahu (6/6) | 10,655 |
| Sunday, 12 May | Round 9 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Suncorp Stadium | 16 – 32 | O'Neill (2), Opacic | Kahu (2/3) | 34,564 |
| Saturday, 18 May | Round 10 | Parramatta Eels | 1300SMILES Stadium | 17 – 10 | Feldt, Opacic, Scott | Kahu (2/4, 1 FG) | 12,493 |
| Saturday, 25 May | Round 11 | Canberra Raiders | GIO Stadium | 22 – 16 | Feldt, O'Neill, Opacic | Kahu (5/6) | 14,647 |
| Sunday, 2 June | Round 12 | Gold Coast Titans | Cbus Super Stadium | 6 – 4 | Taumalolo | Kahu (1/1) | 11,226 |
| Saturday, 8 June | Round 13 | Manly Sea Eagles | 1300SMILES Stadium | 20 – 22 | Feldt, Molo, Opacic | Clifford (4/4) | 13,314 |
| Friday, 14 June | Round 14 | Wests Tigers | 1300SMILES Stadium | 26 – 27 | Feldt (2), Bowen, Morgan | Clifford (5/6) | 11,692 |
| Friday, 28 June | Round 15 | St George Illawarra Dragons | WIN Stadium | 14 – 22 | Opacic (2), Drinkwater | Kahu (1/3), Clifford (0/1) | 7,008 |
| | Round 16 | Bye | | | | | |
| Sunday, 14 July | Round 17 | Sydney Roosters | Central Coast Stadium | 15 – 12 | Asiata, Clifford | Clifford (2/2, 1 FG), Kahu (1/2) | 14,668 |
| Saturday, 20 July | Round 18 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 1300SMILES Stadium | 18 – 30 | Drinkwater, Feldt, Opacic | Clifford (3/6) | 16,638 |
| Thursday, 25 July | Round 19 | Cronulla Sharks | Southern Cross Group Stadium | 14 – 16 | Drinkwater, Molo, Scott | Clifford (1/3) | 6,144 |
| Thursday, 1 August | Round 20 | Wests Tigers | Leichhardt Oval | 4 – 24 | Feldt | Clifford (0/1) | 10,016 |
| Thursday, 8 August | Round 21 | Brisbane Broncos | 1300SMILES Stadium | 14 – 18 | Clifford, Wright | Clifford (3/3) | 17,530 |
| Saturday, 17 August | Round 22 | Newcastle Knights | McDonald Jones Stadium | 6 – 42 | Clifford | Kahu (1/1) | 16,752 |
| Friday, 23 August | Round 23 | Penrith Panthers | 1300SMILES Stadium | 24 – 10 | Feldt (2), Taulagi, Taumalolo | Kahu (4/4) | 10,523 |
| Thursday, 29 August | Round 24 | Canterbury Bulldogs | 1300SMILES Stadium | 15 – 8 | Feldt, Wright | Kahu (2/2, 1 FG), Bolton (1/1) | 15,141 |
| Friday, 6 September | Round 25 | Melbourne Storm | AAMI Park | 16 – 24 | Cooper, Feldt, Taulagi | Feldt (2/2), Kahu (0/1) | 12,085 |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw Bye ||||||||

## Statistics

| Name | App | T | G | FG | Pts |
| John Asiata | 24 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Kurt Baptiste | 9 | - | - | - | - |
| Scott Bolton | 18 | - | 1 | - | 2 |
| Javid Bowen | 7 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Jake Clifford | 15 | 3 | 18 | 1 | 49 |
| Gavin Cooper | 24 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Reuben Cotter | 5 | - | - | - | - |
| Scott Drinkwater | 10 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Mitchell Dunn | 9 | - | - | - | - |
| Kyle Feldt | 16 | 11 | 2 | - | 48 |
| Gideon Gela-Mosby | 3 | - | - | - | - |
| Jake Granville | 24 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Ben Hampton | 8 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Coen Hess | 22 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Peter Hola | 5 | - | - | - | - |
| Corey Jensen | 6 | - | - | - | - |
| Jordan Kahu | 19 | 1 | 40 | 2 | 86 |
| Nene Macdonald | 5 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Te Maire Martin | 7 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Josh McGuire | 17 | - | - | - | - |
| Jordan McLean | 22 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Francis Molo | 24 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Michael Morgan | 20 | 2 | - | 1 | 9 |
| Justin O'Neill | 8 | 8 | - | - | 32 |
| Tom Opacic | 19 | 7 | - | - | 28 |
| Matthew Scott | 17 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Murray Taulagi | 6 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Jason Taumalolo | 18 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Enari Tuala | 7 | - | - | - | - |
| Shane Wright | 14 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Totals | | 63 | 61 | 4 | 378 |

## Representatives

The following players have played a representative match in 2019.
| | Residents match | State of Origin 1 | State of Origin 2 | State of Origin 3 | Prime Minister's XIII | Oceanic Cup |
| John Asiata | – | – | – | – | – | Tonga |
| Kurt Baptiste | – | – | – | – | – | Papua New Guinea |
| Tom Gilbert | Queensland | – | – | – | – | – |
| Kyle Feldt | Queensland | – | – | – | Prime Minister's XIII | – |
| Corey Jensen | Queensland | – | – | – | – | – |
| Josh McGuire | – | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | – | – |
| Michael Morgan | – | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | – | – |
| Daniel Russell | – | – | – | – | – | Papua New Guinea |
| Jason Taumalolo | – | – | – | – | – | Tonga |

## Honours
### Club

* Paul Bowman Medal: Jason Taumalolo
* Players' Player: Jordan McLean
* Coach's Award: Francis Molo
* Member's Player of the Year: Jason Taumalolo
* Club Person of the Year: Ben Hampton
* Rookie of the Year: Shane Wright
* Townsville Bulletin Fan's Choice Award: Kyle Feldt

## Feeder Clubs
### Queensland Cup

* Mackay Cutters - 11th, missed finals
* Northern Pride - 12th, missed finals
* Townsville Blackhawks - 4th, lost preliminary final