North Queensland Cowboys: One Of The Best Australian Rugby League Teams

The North Queensland Cowboys are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in North Queensland's largest city, Townsville. They compete in the National Rugby League, Australia's premier rugby league competition (NRL).

History Of North Queensland Cowboys

1995 - 1999: Initial Difficulties

Cowboys NRL 1995

With the success of the Broncos in 1988, speculation increased as to whether the NSWRL would accept a new North Queensland-based team. In 1993, the NSWRL announced that North Queensland and three other new teams would join the competition in 1995. In the club's early years, attracting fans from the more established Queensland-based Winfield Cup team, the Brisbane Broncos, was one of their greatest challenges. This was exacerbated by a lack of initial success and stability on the field. The Cowboys had eight different captains in their first two seasons and finished last in their inaugural season.

1998 saw the merger of the Super League and Australian Rugby League to form the National Rugby League. The Cowboys began their inaugural season in this competition on a strong note, and after six rounds, they were tied for the lead. After falling behind the Penrith Panthers by a score of 26–0 at halftime, they staged the greatest comeback to date in an Australian first-grade rugby league match by defeating them by a score of 36–28. The Cowboys suffered their largest defeat to date in 1998, losing 62–0 to the North Sydney Bears in the final round of the home-and-away season.

Noel Goldthorpe became the eleventh captain of the Cowboys in 1999. Paul Bowman was also slated to serve in this capacity throughout the season. Although their performances on the field were not spectacular, the total number of spectators in attendance exceeded one million. Paul Green was selected as Queensland's halfback for game 2 of the 1999 State of Origin series, marking the Cowboys' inaugural State of Origin representative.

2000 - 2007: Further Improvement

After a slow start to the season that saw them rank 13th on the ladder with only one win and five losses, the Cowboys turned things around in the second half of the season to finish with 12 wins and 11 losses and seventh place, giving the club its first-ever appearance in the top eight.

Matt Sing's hat trick was a major factor in the Cowboys' 30–22 upset of second-place Canterbury in the first week of the finals, which extended the team's fairytale season. The following week, the Cowboys defeated their state rivals, the Brisbane Broncos, at home by a score of 10–0, arguably the club's most famous victory.

They ultimately fell short of the grand final by one game, losing to the Sydney Roosters 19–16.

In 2005, North Queensland improved by reaching the club's first-ever grand final. With the assistance of Carl Webb and Johnathan Thurston, the team finished in fifth place and made consecutive appearances in the playoffs. The Wests Tigers would ultimately defeat them in the grand final.

In 2006, the North Queensland Cowboys began the season with a six-game winning streak and appeared destined for another trip to the playoffs. However, they ended the season with just five victories out of 19 contests and finished in ninth place.

The 2007 season marked the Cowboys' third appearance in the playoffs and their first top-four finish. In week 1 of the finals, they faced the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in Townsville and won by two points. The following week, they won by 37 points at home against the New Zealand Warriors. Again, they fell short of the championship game, this time to Manly by a score of 28–6. In 2007, club legend Paul Bowman retired, and in 2008 he assumed a coaching role with the team.

Matt Bowen was named the Dally M Fullback of the Year, while Johnathan Thurston received his second Dally M Medal.

2010 - Now: A New Era

North Queensland Cowboys NRL 2022

After missing the playoffs for three consecutive seasons, the North Queensland Cowboys underwent a significant personnel overhaul for the 2011 season. They parted ways with club legend Ty Williams and club favorites Luke O'Donnell, Carl Webb, and Steve Southern. Brent Tate, a Queensland and Australian representative in the center position, was the team's marquee acquisition for the 2011 season. They also signed former Melbourne Storm and Queensland State of Origin representative Dallas Johnson and English Super League premiership winner Glenn Hall, re-signed a former Cowboy in Gavin Cooper, and acquired younger, experienced first-grade players such as Antonio Winterstein.

The Cowboys kicked off the 2014 season by winning the inaugural NRL Auckland Nines tournament at Eden Park in Auckland. After losing key signing Lachlan Coote to injury early in the tournament, the Cowboys went on to defeat the Brisbane Broncos 16–7 in the championship game to win the trophy and $370,000 in prize money.

With the return of Matthew Scott and Johnathan Thurston from injury, North Queensland was widely anticipated to contend for the 2018 championship prior to the start of the season.

Throughout the season, they struggled to move away from the bottom of the standings, suffering two separate five-game losing streaks. Two rounds into the competition, the club was in last place. Two victories in their final two games allowed them to finish thirteenth. Thurston, who retired after 14 seasons, 294 games, and one premiership with the club, played his last season in 2018. In his final game, the Cowboys defeated the Titans by a score of 30–26.

North Queensland aimed to rebuild prior to the 2020 NRL season after missing the playoffs in two consecutive subpar campaigns. Valentine Holmes, an Australian and Queensland representative who spent 2019 playing for the New York Jets in the NFL, was their marquee acquisition. Holmes, a junior from Townsville, signed a six-year contract with the club.

After four seasons, the club returned to the finals series in 2022, finishing third in the regular season and matching the club record with 17 regular season victories. They ultimately fell short of the Grand Final by one game, and Todd Payten was later named Dally M Coach of the Year.

The North Queensland Cowboys: One Of The Best Australian Rugby League Teams

North Queensland Cowboys NRL

Since its inception in 1995, the club has appeared in three grand finals (2005, 2015, and 2017), winning in 2015 and ten finals. South Townsville is the location of the team's management headquarters and home stadium, North Queensland Stadium, currently known as Queensland Country Bank Stadium, due to sponsorship rights.

The Cowboys were promoted to the ARL's premier division for the 1995 season. In 1997, they participated in the newly-formed Super League before continuing to compete in the reunified National Rugby League the following year. After experiencing financial difficulties in 2001, News Limited acquired the club. In 2007, News Limited sold the team to the Cowboys Leagues Club.

In 2015, the Cowboys won their first premiership by defeating the Brisbane Broncos 17–16 in golden point in the first all-Queensland Grand Final.

Logo And Colours Of Cowboys NRL

Logo Cowboys NRL

Before becoming the Cowboys, the names Marlins, Stingrays, and the very popular Crocodiles were considered potential Cowboys NRL logos for the side. Following public consultation, the name 'Cowboys' was chosen (the Crocodiles name would eventually go to Townsville's National Basketball League team, who changed their name to the Townsville Crocodiles in 1998 after a dispute with the NBA's Phoenix Suns over their original name, the Townsville Suns). The colors navy blue and yellow were chosen to represent the representative teams of Townsville. In addition to adding grey as a primary color, white was introduced as a secondary color.

Since 1995, the club's "steer head" logo has remained largely unchanged. Initially, the Cowboys NRL logo was placed on a white rectangular background, but this was later replaced with a yellow oval. In 2003, the font of the Cowboys NRL logo was altered, and a yellow star was added, both of which are still in use today. Additionally, a lighter navy blue hue and white were added to the logo. The Cowboys NRL introduced a new logo in 2020 to commemorate their 25th season.

Colours Cowboys NRL

Over the years, the Cowboys' home jerseys have remained predominantly navy blue, with white, grey, and yellow serving as the predominant secondary color, and the away jerseys have been predominantly white. Since 2011, the club has also worn special jerseys for the Women in League round, Indigenous round, and Anzac/Defense force-themed jerseys for Anzac weekend games.

Stadiums That North Queensland Cowboys Played

The Cowboys played their home games at the Willows Sports Complex in the Townsville suburb of Kirwan from 1995 to 2019. Prior to 1995, the venue hosted trotting paceway nights and was the primary pacing venue for the Townsville District; however, following the Cowboys' admission, the venue was converted into a rugby league stadium.

Due to sponsorship rights, the venue was renamed Stockland Stadium in 1995, and 23,156 people attended the Cowboys' first premiership game. In 1998, new sponsors Dairy Farmers renamed the stadium Malanda Stadium; in 1999, the name was changed to Dairy Farmers Stadium. The stadium underwent extensive renovations in 2005 and 2006, with upgrades to the eastern, northern, and southern grandstands, the addition of more corporate boxes, and the installation of a new replay screen and public address system. The Cowboys' 15-year partnership with Dairy Farmers ended at the conclusion of the 2012 season as the club sought a new stadium naming rights sponsor.

In 2013, the stadium was renamed 1300SMILES Stadium following a five-year sponsorship agreement between the Townsville-based dental practice and Stadiums Queensland.

The club played its final game at the stadium on August 29, 2019, defeating the Canterbury Bulldogs 15–8.

In round 8 of the 1999 regular season, against the Brisbane Broncos, the club attendance record of 30,302 was set. The finals attendance record of 24,989 was set against the Brisbane Broncos in week two of the 2004 finals series.

Queensland Country Bank Stadium

In 2020, the club relocated to the new Queensland Country Bank Stadium in South Townsville, which holds 25,000 seats.

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