# 2008 Mackay Cutters season

The 2008 Mackay Cutters season was the first in the club's history. Captain-coached by Shane Muspratt, they competed in the QRL's Wizard Cup. The club finished ninth in their inaugural season, winning seven games, losing 12 and drawing once.

## Season summary

The Cutters played their first Queensland Cup game local rivals, the Northern Pride, who were also playing their first game, losing 16–44. Proserpine junior Sam Faust, who was contracted to the North Queensland Cowboys at the time, scored the club's first try. Two more losses followed before the club recorded their first win, a 24–22 victory over the Redcliffe Dolphins at Dolphin Oval. Their first home win came three weeks later when they defeated the Souths Logan Magpies 22–12 at the Mackay Junior Rugby League grounds. They won just four of their last 13 games and finished the season in ninth place.

### Milestones

* Round 1: The club played their first Queensland Cup game.
* Round 1: Sam Faust scored the club's first try.
* Round 6: The club recorded their first Queensland Cup win.
* Round 8: The club recorded back-to-back wins for the first time.
* Round 21: Quinton Fielder became the first Cutters' player to score 3 tries in a game.
* Round 22: The club recorded their first three-game winning streak.

## Squad List
### 2008 squad

The following players contracted to the North Queensland Cowboys played for the Cutters in 2008: Daniel Abraham, Daniel Backo, Travis Burns, Ben Farrar, Sione Faumuina, Sam Faust, John Frith, George Gatis, Keiron Lander, Anthony Perkins, Matthew Scott, Shane Tronc, Anthony Watts and Dayne Weston.

## Squad movement
### Gains

| Player | Signed From | Until End of |
| John Doyle | Sydney Roosters | 2008 |
| Matthew Mannion | Redcliffe Dolphins | 2008 |
| Jamie McDonald | Toulouse Olympique | 2008 |
| Shane Muspratt | North Queensland Cowboys | 2008 |
| Cody Norton | Central Comets | 2008 |
| Josh Rovelli | Wynnum Manly Seagulls | 2008 |
| Adam Schubert | Sydney Roosters | 2008 |
| Luke Young | Celtic Crusaders | 2008 |
The Cutters recruited a number of players from the local Mackay & District Rugby League competition, they included: Aaron Barba, Sam Granville, David Nixon, Matt Parnis (Mackay Brothers), Dean Tass (Northern Suburbs Devils), Daniel Flynn, Scott Leigh, Royston Lightning, Jared Owens (Sarina Crocs), Anthony Caulton, Michael Comerford, Michael Pearce, Todd Seymour, Luke Srama, Kerrod Toby (Souths Sharks), James Bryant and Chris Giumelli (Wests Tigers).

### Losses

| Player | |
| John Doyle | Retired (pre-season) |

## Fixtures
### Regular season

| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals |
| Saturday, 15 March | Round 1 | Northern Pride | Barlow Park | 16 – 44 | Faust, Toby, Watts | Abraham (1), Giumelli (1) |
| Saturday, 22 March | Round 2 | Wynnum Manly Seagulls | BMD Kougari Oval | 10 – 18 | Abraham, Barba | Abraham (1) |
| Saturday, 29 March | Round 3 | Ipswich Jets | Mackay JRL Grounds | 4 – 16 | Giumelli | |
| | Round 4 | Bye | | | | |
| Saturday, 13 April | Round 5 | Redcliffe Dolphins | Dolphin Oval | 24 – 22 | Burns (2), Abraham, Giumelli | Abraham (4) |
| Saturday, 19 April | Round 6 | Norths Devils | Mackay JRL Grounds | 14 – 22 | Perkins (2), Farrar | Abraham (1) |
| Sunday, 26 April | Round 7 | Burleigh Bears | Pizzey Park | 32 – 10 | Abraham, Burns, Fielder, Granville, Perkins | Abraham (6) |
| Saturday, 3 May | Round 8 | Souths Logan Magpies | Mackay JRL Grounds | 22 – 12 | Barba (2), Tass, Flynn | Barba (2), Lightning (1) |
| Saturday, 10 May | Round 9 | Easts Tigers | Mackay JRL Grounds | 20 – 40 | Backo, Barba, Perkins, Lightning | Barba (1), Seymour (1) |
| Saturday, 17 May | Round 10 | Central Comets | Mackay JRL Grounds | 12 – 18 | Fielder, Seymour | Seymour (2) |
| Saturday, 24 May | Round 11 | Tweed Heads Seagulls | Ned Byrne Field | 26 – 26 | Giumelli (2), Tass (2), Granville | Giumelli (3) |
| Saturday, 7 June | Round 12 | Northern Pride | Mackay JRL Grounds | 12 – 18 | Gatis, Tass | Seymour (2) |
| Saturday, 14 June | Round 13 | Wynnum Manly Seagulls | Mackay JRL Grounds | 30 – 36 | Frith, Gatis, Giumelli, Granville, Lander, Perkins | Giumelli (2), Seymour (1) |
| Saturday, 21 June | Round 14 | Ipswich Jets | Briggs Rd Sporting Complex | 6 – 48 | Perkins | Abraham (1) |
| | Round 15 | Bye | | | | |
| Saturday, 5 July | Round 16 | Redcliffe Dolphins | Mackay JRL Grounds | 10 – 18 | Flynn, Tass | Abraham (1) |
| Sunday, 13 July | Round 17 | Norths Devils | Bishop Park | 40 – 24 | Lander (2), Giumelli, Lightning, McDonald, Toby, Wright | Abraham (6) |
| Saturday, 19 July | Round 18 | Burleigh Bears | Mackay JRL Grounds | 16 – 22 | Giumelli (2), Gatis | Abraham (1), Flynn (1) |
| Sunday, 26 July | Round 19 | Souths Logan Magpies | Meakin Park | 22 – 26 | Comerford, Granville, Toby, Wright | Abraham (3) |
| Saturday, 2 August | Round 20 | Easts Tigers | Langlands Park | 26 – 22 | Fielder (2), Tass (2), Wright | Abraham (3) |
| Saturday, 9 August | Round 21 | Central Comets | Browne Park | 46 – 22 | Fielder (3), Tass (2), Abraham, McDonald, Rovelli | Abraham (7) |
| Saturday, 16 August | Round 22 | Tweed Heads Seagulls | Mackay JRL Grounds | 28 – 24 | Abraham, Flynn, Giumelli, Lightning, Seymour, Tass | Abraham (2) |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw Bye |||||||

## Statistics

| * | Denotes player contracted to the North Queensland Cowboys for the 2008 season |
| Name | T | G | FG | Pts |
| Daniel Abraham | 5 | 33 | - | 86 |
| Daniel Backo | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Aaron Barba | 4 | 3 | - | 12 |
| Travis Burns | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Michael Comerford | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Ben Farrar | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Sam Faust | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Quinton Fielder | 7 | - | - | 28 |
| Daniel Flynn | 3 | 1 | - | 14 |
| John Frith | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| George Gatis | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Chris Giumelli | 9 | 10 | - | 56 |
| Sam Granville | 4 | - | - | 16 |
| Keiron Lander | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Royston Lightning | 3 | 1 | - | 14 |
| Jamie McDonald | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Anthony Perkins | 6 | - | - | 24 |
| Josh Rovelli | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Todd Seymour | 2 | 6 | - | 20 |
| Dean Tass | 10 | - | - | 40 |
| Kerrod Toby | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Anthony Watts | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Adam Wright | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Totals | 77 | 54 | 0 | 416 |

## Honours
### Club

* Player of the Year: Kerrod Toby
* Players' Player: Daniel Flynn
* Most Improved: Dean Tass
* Club Person of the Year: Kay Peel