# 2023 North Queensland Cowboys Women season

The 2023 North Queensland Cowboys Women season was the first in the club's history. Coached by Ben Jeffries and captained by Kirra Dibb and Tallisha Harden, they competed in the NRLW's 2023 Telstra Women's Premiership.
They finished their inaugural season in 9th, missing the finals with just two wins from nine games.

## Season summary
### Milestones

* Round 1: The club played their first NRLW game (losing 16–6 to the Gold Coast Titans).
* Round 1: Emma Manzelmann scored the club's first try.
* Round 1: Krystal Blackwell, Bree Chester, Fran Goldthorp, Sera Koroi, Shellie Long, Mia Middleton, Sareka Mooka and Vitalina Naikore made their NRLW debuts.
* Round 2: The club won their first game (def. Newcastle Knights 31-20).
* Round 3: Autumn-Rain Stephens-Daly made her debut for the club.
* Round 3: Shellie Long and April Ngatupuna scored their first NRLW tries.
* Round 4: Essay Banu and Jessikah Reeves made their NRLW debuts.
* Round 4: Tahlulah Tillett made her debut for the club.
* Round 4: China Polata scored her first NRLW try.
* Round 6: Libby Surha made her NRLW debut.
* Round 6: Libby Surha scored her first NRLW try.
* Round 7: Lily Peacock made her NRLW debut.
* Round 7: Krystal Blackwell and Fran Goldthorp scored their first NRLW tries.
* Round 9: Alisha Foord and Merewalesi Rokouono made their NRLW debuts.

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

| Player | Signed From | Until End of |
| Essay Banu | Mackay Cutters | 2023 |
| Krystal Blackwell | Goulburn City Bulldogs | 2023 |
| Bree Chester | Newcastle Knights | 2023 |
| Kirra Dibb | Newcastle Knights | 2024 |
| Jetaya Faifua | Gold Coast Titans | 2023 |
| Fran Goldthorp | Leeds Rhinos | 2024 |
| Tallisha Harden | Brisbane Broncos | 2023 |
| Shaylee Joseph | Central Coast Roosters | 2023 |
| Sera Koroi | Souths Logan Magpies | 2023 |
| Shellie Long | Souths Logan Magpies | 2023 |
| Emma Manzelmann | Newcastle Knights | 2023 |
| Mia Middleton | Newcastle Knights | 2023 |
| Sareka Mooka | Mackay Cutters | 2023 |
| Vitalina Naikore | Fijiana Drua | 2025 |
| April Ngatupuna | Gold Coast Titans | 2023 |
| Lily Peacock | Mackay Cutters | 2025 |
| Jasmine Peters | Mackay Cutters | 2025 |
| China Polata | Mackay Cutters | 2023 |
| Shaniah Power | Sydney Roosters | 2024 |
| Ebony Raftstrand-Smith | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 2024 |
| Tiana Raftstrand-Smith | Gold Coast Titans | 2024 |
| Jessikah Reeves | Central Coast Roosters | 2023 |
| Merewalesi Rokouono | Fijiana Drua | 2024 |
| Autumn-Rain Stephens-Daly | Hurricanes Poua | 2024 |
| Libby Surha | Mackay Cutters | 2023 |
| Tahlulah Tillett | Mackay Cutters | 2023 |
| Makenzie Weale | Newcastle Knights | 2023 |
| Lillian Yarrow | Central Queensland Capras | 2025 |

## Ladder

2023 NRLW season :
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
| 1 | Newcastle Knights | 9 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 224 | 119 | +105 | 16 |
| 2 | Sydney Roosters | 9 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 284 | 120 | +164 | 14 |
| 3 | Gold Coast Titans | 9 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 164 | 126 | +38 | 14 |
| 4 | Brisbane Broncos | 9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 256 | 165 | +91 | 12 |
| 5 | Canberra Raiders | 9 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 173 | 206 | -33 | 10 |
| 6 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 9 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 202 | 150 | +52 | 8 |
| 7 | St George Illawarra Dragons | 9 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 182 | 210 | -28 | 6 |
| 8 | Wests Tigers | 9 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 136 | 186 | -50 | 4 |
| 9 | North Queensland Cowboys | 9 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 133 | 266 | -133 | 4 |
| 10 | Parramatta Eels | 9 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 104 | 310 | -206 | 2 |
    Source:NRL

## Fixtures
### Regular season

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| Saturday, 22 July | Round 1 | Gold Coast Titans | Cbus Super Stadium | 6 – 16 | Manzelmann | Dibb (1/1) | 7,926 |
| Sunday, 30 July | Round 2 | Newcastle Knights | Belmore Sports Ground | 31 – 20 | Naikore (2), Chester, Faifua, Mooka, Peters | Dibb (3/7), (1 FG) | 1,584 |
| Saturday, 5 August | Round 3 | Brisbane Broncos | Queensland Country Bank Stadium | 12 – 40 | Long, Ngatupuna | Dibb (2/2) | 22,659 |
| Saturday, 12 August | Round 4 | Wests Tigers | Totally Workwear Stadium | 16 – 12 | Peters, Polata, Weale | Dibb (2/3) | 1,173 |
| Saturday, 19 August | Round 5 | Cronulla Sharks | Queensland Country Bank Stadium | 12 – 40 | Manzelmann, Peters | Dibb (2/2) | 1,878 |
| Saturday, 26 August | Round 6 | Parramatta Eels | Netstrata Jubilee Stadium | 12 – 16 | Raftstrand-Smith, Surha | Dibb (2/2) | 520 |
| Saturday, 2 September | Round 7 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Queensland Country Bank Stadium | 16 – 48 | Blackwell, Goldthorp, Naikore | Dibb (2/3) | 2,479 |
| Saturday, 10 September | Round 8 | Canberra Raiders | Cbus Super Stadium | 12 – 34 | Manzelmann, Raftstrand-Smith | Dibb (2/2) | 1,096 |
| Saturday, 16 September | Round 9 | Sydney Roosters | Netstrata Jubilee Stadium | 16 – 40 | Chester, Dibb, Faifua | Dibb (2/3) | 632 |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw Bye ||||||||

## Statistics

| Name | App | T | G | FG | Pts |
| Essay Banu | 1 | – | – | – | - |
| Krystal Blackwell | 7 | 1 | – | – | 4 |
| Bree Chester | 8 | 2 | – | – | 8 |
| Kirra Dibb | 9 | 1 | 18 | 1 | 41 |
| Jetaya Faifua | 5 | 2 | – | – | 8 |
| Alisha Foord | 1 | – | – | – | – |
| Fran Goldthorp | 8 | 1 | – | – | 4 |
| Tallisha Harden | 9 | – | – | – | - |
| Sera Koroi | 8 | – | – | – | - |
| Shellie Long | 8 | 1 | – | – | 4 |
| Emma Manzelmann | 9 | 3 | – | – | 12 |
| Mia Middleton | 4 | – | – | – | - |
| Sareka Mooka | 6 | 1 | – | – | 4 |
| Vitalina Naikore | 7 | 3 | – | – | 12 |
| April Ngatupuna | 8 | 1 | – | – | 4 |
| Lily Peacock | 3 | – | – | – | – |
| Jasmine Peters | 9 | 3 | – | – | 12 |
| China Polata | 8 | 1 | – | – | 4 |
| Shaniah Power | 5 | – | – | – | - |
| Tiana Raftstrand-Smith | 8 | 2 | – | – | 8 |
| Jessikah Reeves | 5 | – | – | – | - |
| Merewalesi Rokouono | 1 | – | – | – | – |
| Autumn-Rain Stephens-Daly | 3 | – | – | – | - |
| Libby Surha | 1 | 1 | – | – | 4 |
| Tahlulah Tillett | 6 | – | – | – | - |
| Makenzie Weale | 7 | 1 | – | – | 4 |
| Totals | | 24 | 18 | 1 | 133 |

## Representatives

The following players played a representative match in 2023.
| | All Stars match | State of Origin 1 | State of Origin 2 | Prime Minister's XIII | Pacific Championships |
| Essay Banu | Indigenous All Stars | | | PNG PM's XIII | Papua New Guinea |
| Bree Chester | Indigenous All Stars | | | | |
| Kirra Dibb | Indigenous All Stars | | | | |
| Tallisha Harden | | | | Aus PM's XIII | |
| Sera Koroi | | | | PNG PM's XIII | Papua New Guinea |
| Shellie Long | | | | PNG PM's XIII | Papua New Guinea |
| Emma Manzelmann | | Queensland | Queensland | Aus PM's XIII | Australia |
| Mia Middleton | Indigenous All Stars | | | | |
| Sareka Mooka | Indigenous All Stars | | | | Papua New Guinea |
| Vitalina Naikore | | | | | Fiji |
| China Polata | | | Queensland | Aus PM's XIII | Tonga |
| Shaniah Power | Indigenous All Stars | Queensland | Queensland | | |
| Tiana Raftstrand-Smith | Māori All Stars | | | Aus PM's XIII | |
| Jessikah Reeves | | | | PNG PM's XIII | Papua New Guinea |
| Tahlulah Tillett | Indigenous All Stars | | | | |

## Honours
### League

* Veronica White Medal: Tahlulah Tillett

### Club

* Cowboy of the Year: Emma Manzelmann
* Players' Player: Emma Manzelmann
* The Cowboys Way Award: China Polata
* Rookie of the Year: Fran Goldthorp
* Fans Choice Player of the Year: Kirra Dibb