# 2024 North Queensland Cowboys season

The 2024 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 30th in the club's history. Coached by Todd Payten and captained by Reuben Cotter and Tom Dearden, they competed in the NRL's 2024 Telstra Premiership. Cotter and Dearden captain the club for the first time, replacing Jason Taumalolo and Chad Townsend.

## Season summary
### Milestones

* Round 4: Reece Robson played his 100th NRL game.
* Round 5: Jake Granville played his 200th NRL game for the club.
* Round 5: Kyle Feldt scored his 131st try, becoming the club's all-time leading tryscorer.
* Round 6: Scott Drinkwater played his 100th NRL game.
* Round 7: Scott Drinkwater played his 100th NRL game for the club.
* Round 7: Griffin Neame played his 50th NRL game for the club.
* Round 8: Tom Mikaele made his debut for the club.
* Round 8: Kyle Feldt played his 200th NRL game for the club.
* Round 8: Chad Townsend played his 250th NRL game.
* Round 9: Viliami Vailea made his debut for the club.
* Round 10: Harrison Edwards made his debut for the club.
* Round 10: Jeremiah Nanai played his 50th NRL game for the club.
* Round 11: Braidon Burns made his debut and scored his first try for the club.
* Round 11: Viliami Vailea scored his first try for the club.
* Round 11: Sam McIntyre played his 50th NRL game.
* Round 13: Jaxon Purdue and Jamal Shibasaki made their NRL debuts.
* Round 15: Reece Robson played his 100th NRL game for the club.
* Round 15: Valentine Holmes scored his 100th NRL try.
* Round 17: Jaxon Purdue scored his first NRL try.
* Round 20: Heilum Luki played his 50th NRL game for the club.
* Round 24: Tom Dearden played his 100th NRL game.
* Round 26: Valentine Holmes played his 200th NRL game.
* Round 27: Kyle Feldt scored his 150th NRL try.

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

| Player | Signed From | Until End of |
| Braidon Burns | South Sydney Rabbitohs (mid-season) | 2025 |
| Jake Clifford | Hull F.C. | 2024 |
| Harrison Edwards | Canterbury Bulldogs (mid-season) | 2026 |
| Tom Mikaele | Warrington Wolves | 2024 |
| Viliami Vailea | New Zealand Warriors | 2025 |

### Losses

| Player | Signed To | Until End of |
| Jake Bourke | Townsville Blackhawks | 2024 |
| Mitch Dunn | Retired | – |
| Brendan Elliot | Retired | – |
| Jack Gosiewski | Brisbane Broncos (mid-season) | 2025 |
| Ben Hampton | Retired | – |
| Peta Hiku | Hull Kingston Rovers | 2026 |
| Luciano Leilua | St George Illawarra Dragons | 2026 |
| Sylvester Namo | Castleford Tigers | 2025 |
| Riley Price | Penrith Panthers | 2025 |
| Taniela Sadrugu | CA Brive | 2024 |
| Gehamat Shibasaki | Townsville Blackhawks | 2024 |
| James Tamou | Townsville Blackhawks | 2024 |
| Ragarive Wavik | Canterbury Bulldogs | 2024 |

### Re-signings

| Player | Until End of |
| Coen Hess | 2027 |
| Heilum Luki | 2029 |
| Sam McIntyre | 2026 |
| Tom Mikaele | 2027 |

## Ladder

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Melbourne Storm | 24 | 19 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 692 | 449 | +243 | 44 | Advance to finals series |
| 2 | Penrith Panthers (P) | 24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 3 | 580 | 394 | +186 | 40 | Advance to finals series |
| 3 | Sydney Roosters | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 738 | 463 | +275 | 38 | Advance to finals series |
| 4 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 653 | 431 | +222 | 38 | Advance to finals series |
| 5 | North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 657 | 568 | +89 | 36 | Advance to finals series |
| 6 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 529 | 433 | +96 | 34 | Advance to finals series |
| 7 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 13 | 1 | 10 | 3 | 634 | 521 | +113 | 33 | Advance to finals series |
| 8 | Newcastle Knights | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 470 | 510 | −40 | 30 | Advance to finals series |
| 9 | Canberra Raiders | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 474 | 601 | −127 | 30 | |
| 10 | Dolphins | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 3 | 577 | 578 | −1 | 28 | |
| 11 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 3 | 508 | 634 | −126 | 28 | |
| 12 | Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 3 | 537 | 607 | −70 | 26 | |
| 13 | New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 9 | 1 | 14 | 3 | 512 | 574 | −62 | 25 | |
| 14 | Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 3 | 488 | 656 | −168 | 22 | |
| 15 | Parramatta Eels | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 3 | 561 | 716 | −155 | 20 | |
| 16 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 3 | 494 | 682 | −188 | 20 | |
| 17 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 3 | 463 | 750 | −287 | 18 | |

## Fixtures
### Pre-season

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| Saturday, 18 February | Trial 1 | Brisbane Broncos | BB Print Stadium | 20–46 | Finefeuiaki, Mullany, Purdue, Valemei | Mullany (1/1), Purdue (1/1), Duffy (0/2) | 5,332 |
| Sunday, 25 February | Trial 2 | Canberra Raiders | Seiffert Oval | 36–26 | Feldt (3), Mikaele (2), Laybutt, Taulagi | Holmes (2/4), Drinkwater (1/2), Laybutt (1/1) | 6,048 |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw Bye ||||||||

### Regular season
#### Results by round

| Round | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| Ground | A | H | A | A | H | A | A | H | H | A | N | H | A | H | A | – | A | H | – | H | H | A | H | H | – | H | A |
| Result | W | W | W | L | W | L | L | L | L | L | W | W | W | L | W | B | W | L | B | W | W | W | L | W | B | W | W |
| Position | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 10 | 12 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 6 | 5 |
| Points | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 14 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 24 | 26 | 28 | 28 | 30 | 32 | 34 | 36 |

#### Matches

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| Sunday, 10 March | Round 1 | Dolphins | Suncorp Stadium | 43–18 | Laybutt (2), Dearden, Feldt, Luki, Nanai, Taulagi | Holmes (7/7), Townsend (1 FG) | 32,477 |
| Saturday, 16 March | Round 2 | Newcastle Knights | QCB Stadium | 21–20 (g.p.) | Dearden, Feldt, Nanai, Townsend | Holmes (3/5), Townsend (1 FG) | 18,986 |
| Saturday, 23 March | Round 3 | St. George Illawarra Dragons | Netstrata Jubilee Stadium | 46–24 | Taulagi, McIntyre, Neame, Drinkwater, Finefeuiaki, Dearden, Holmes, Townsend | Holmes (7/8) | 9,252 |
| Friday, 29 March | Round 4 | Brisbane Broncos | Suncorp Stadium | 12–38 | Holmes, Drinkwater | Holmes (2/2) | 45,793 |
| Sunday, 7 April | Round 5 | Gold Coast Titans | QCB Stadium | 35–22 | Laybutt, Taulagi, Drinkwater (2), Robson, Feldt | Holmes (5/6), Townsend (1 FG) | 18,870 |
| Saturday, 13 April | Round 6 | Parramatta Eels | CommBank Stadium | 20–27 | Nanai, Chester, Holmes, Drinkwater | Holmes (2/4) | 14,443 |
| Sunday, 21 April | Round 7 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | PointsBet Stadium | 6–42 | Holmes | Holmes (1/1) | 12,415 |
| Saturday, 27 April | Round 8 | Penrith Panthers | QCB Stadium | 20–26 | Valemei, Holmes, Finefeuiaki, Nanai | Holmes (2/4) | 20,960 |
| Saturday, 4 May | Round 9 | Dolphins | QCB Stadium | 26–28 | Feldt, Cotter, Nanai (2), McIntyre | Holmes (3/5) | 20,967 |
| Sunday, 12 May | Round 10 | Gold Coast Titans | Cbus Super Stadium | 18–20 | Nanai (2), Feldt | Holmes (3/3) | 12,125 |
| Saturday, 18 May | Round 11 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Suncorp Stadium | 28–22 | Burns (2), Dearden (2), Vailea | Holmes (4/6) | 50,708 |
| Friday, 24 May | Round 12 | Wests Tigers | QCB Stadium | 42–28 | Feldt (2), Holmes (2), Nanai (2), McIntyre | Holmes (7/8) | 15,947 |
| Sunday, 2 June | Round 13 | Sydney Roosters | Allianz Stadium | 18–16 | Burns, Drinkwater, Finefeuiaki | Drinkwater (3/5) | 13,811 |
| Saturday, 8 June | Round 14 | New Zealand Warriors | QCB Stadium | 12–42 | Drinkwater, Burns | Holmes (2/2) | 19,623 |
| Friday, 14 June | Round 15 | Canberra Raiders | GIO Stadium | 34–16 | Feldt (2), Luki, Nanai, Holmes, Robson | Holmes (5/6) | 9,671 |
| | Round 16 | Bye | | | | | |
| Sunday, 30 June | Round 17 | Penrith Panthers | BlueBet Stadium | 16–6 | Feldt, Burns, Purdue | Holmes (2/3) | 15,777 |
| Saturday, 6 July | Round 18 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | QCB Stadium | 20–21 (g.p.) | Townsend, Cotter, Feldt | Holmes (3/3), Drinkwater (1 2pt FG) | 18,787 |
| | Round 19 | Bye | | | | | |
| Sunday, 21 July | Round 20 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | QCB Stadium | 20–18 | Luki (2), Purdue | Holmes (4/4) | 16,376 |
| Saturday, 27 July | Round 21 | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | QCB Stadium | 30–22 | Feldt (3), Nanai, Taulagi | Holmes (5/6) | 17,907 |
| Thursday, 1 August | Round 22 | Wests Tigers | Leichhardt Oval | 48–30 | Taulagi (3), Drinkwater (2), Dearden, Feldt, Holmes | Holmes (7/8), Drinkwater (1/1) | 7,231 |
| Saturday, 10 August | Round 23 | Brisbane Broncos | QCB Stadium | 18–42 | Dearden, Feldt, Vailea | Holmes (3/3) | 24,230 |
| Saturday, 17 August | Round 24 | Canberra Raiders | QCB Stadium | 42–4 | Holmes (3), Feldt (2), Clifford, Dearden | Holmes (7/7) | 17,920 |
| | Round 25 | Bye | | | | | |
| Thursday, 29 August | Round 26 | Melbourne Storm | QCB Stadium | 38–30 | Feldt (2), Taulagi, Holmes, Robson, Nanai | Holmes (7/7) | 20,787 |
| Saturday, 7 September | Round 27 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Accor Stadium | 44–6 | Feldt (2), Taulagi (2), Drinkwater, Holmes, Luki | Holmes (8/8) | 32,437 |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw Bye ||||||||

### Finals

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
| Sunday, 14 September | Elimination | Newcastle Knights | QCB Stadium | 28–16 | Cotter, Dearden, Feldt, McLean, Taulagi | Holmes (4/5) | 24,861 |
| Friday, 20 September | Semi | Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | Allianz Stadium | | | | |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw ||||||||

## Statistics

| Name | App | T | G | FG | Pts |
| Braidon Burns | 4 | 5 | - | - | 20 |
| Tom Chester | 5 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Jake Clifford | 7 | 1 | 1 | - | 6 |
| Reuben Cotter | 22 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Tom Dearden | 23 | 9 | - | - | 36 |
| Scott Drinkwater | 25 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 54 |
| Harrison Edwards | 14 | - | - | - | - |
| Kyle Feldt | 24 | 23 | - | - | 92 |
| Kulikefu Finefeuiaki | 24 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Jack Gosiewski | 5 | - | - | - | - |
| Jake Granville | 12 | - | - | - | - |
| Valentine Holmes | 23 | 14 | 99 | - | 254 |
| Zac Laybutt | 4 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Heilum Luki | 18 | 5 | - | - | 20 |
| Sam McIntyre | 25 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Jordan McLean | 21 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Tom Mikaele | 12 | - | - | - | - |
| Jeremiah Nanai | 22 | 13 | - | - | 52 |
| Griffin Neame | 25 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Jaxon Purdue | 9 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Reece Robson | 22 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Jamal Shibasaki | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Murray Taulagi | 17 | 11 | - | - | 44 |
| Jason Taumalolo | 22 | - | - | - | - |
| Chad Townsend | 20 | 3 | - | 3 | 15 |
| Viliami Vailea | 17 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Semi Valemei | 4 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Totals | | 117 | 106 | 4 | 685 |
Source:

## Representatives

The following players played a representative match in 2024.
| | State of Origin 1 | State of Origin 2 | State of Origin 3 | Prime Minister's XIII | Pacific Championships | Samoa tour of England |
| Reuben Cotter | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | | Australia | |
| Tom Dearden | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | | Australia | |
| Robert Derby | | | | | Papua New Guinea | |
| Valentine Holmes | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | | | |
| Sam McIntyre | | | | Australia | | |
| Jeremiah Nanai | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | | | Samoa |
| Griffin Neame | | | | | New Zealand | |
| Reece Robson | New South Wales | New South Wales | New South Wales | | | |
| Murray Taulagi | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | | | |
| Jason Taumalolo | | | | | Tonga | |
| Semi Valemei | | | | | Fiji | |

## Awards

* Player of the Year (Paul Bowman Medal) - Tom Dearden
* Players' Player - Tom Dearden
* Cowboys Way award - Jake Granville
* Townsville Bulletin Fan Award - Tom Dearden
* Rookie of the Year - Jaxon Purdue
* Affiliate Club Player of the Year - Tom Duffy (Northern Pride)
* Young Guns Cowboys Way award - Henry Teutau
* Club Person of the Year - Coen Hess

## Feeder clubs
### Queensland Cup

* Mackay Cutters – 12th, missed finals
* Northern Pride – 1st, lost preliminary final

## Women's team

The North Queensland Cowboys Women's team competed in their second season of the NRL Women's Premiership in 2024. They finished 6th, three places higher than the previous season. They were coached by Ricky Henry and captained by Kirra Dibb and Tallisha Harden.