2020 North Queensland Cowboys season

Rugby league team season
Avg. attendance6,712[1]High attendance22,459 (vs. Brisbane, Round 1)Top scorersTriesKyle Feldt (19)GoalsValentine Holmes (24)PointsKyle Feldt (122)
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The 2020 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 26th in the club's history. Coached by Paul Green and captained by Michael Morgan, they competed in the NRL's 2020 Telstra Premiership. The 2020 season was the club's first at their new home ground, Queensland Country Bank Stadium, after 25 seasons at Willows Sports Complex.[2]

On 20 July, Green resigned as head coach after just three wins from the opening 10 games. He was replaced by assistant coach Josh Hannay, who took over as interim head coach until the end of the season.[3]

Season summary

Milestones

  • Round 1: Valentine Holmes, Esan Marsters and Reece Robson made their debuts for the club.
  • Round 1: Valentine Holmes scored his first try for the club.
  • Round 2: The club played the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the first match without fans in Australian first grade history.
  • Round 3: Reece Robson scored his first try in the NRL.
  • Round 4: Tom Gilbert made his NRL debut.
  • Round 5: Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow made his NRL debut.
  • Round 6: Connelly Lemuelu made his NRL debut.
  • Round 6: Esan Marsters scored his first try for the club.
  • Round 10: Daejarn Asi made his NRL debut.
  • Round 10: Daejarn Asi scored his first NRL try.
  • Round 11: Ben Hampton played his 100th NRL game.
  • Round 13: Emry Pere made his NRL debut.
  • Round 13: Francis Molo played his 50th NRL game.
  • Round 14: Mitchell Dunn and Connelly Lemuelu scored their first NRL tries.
  • Round 15: The club were held scoreless for the first time since Round 1, 2012.
  • Round 19: Ben Condon made his NRL debut.

Squad

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NRL squad Coaching Staff

Head coach

Assistant coaches

  • Aaron Payne (assistant coach)
  • David Tangata-Toa (assistant coach)
  • Paul Bowman (head of sports science)
  • Michael Dobbin (head of performance)
  • Mark Henry (assistant strength & conditioning coach)
  • Ashley Graham (elite pathways performance coach)
  • Steve Sartori (physiotherapist)
Legend:
  • (c) Captain(s)
  • (vc) Vice-captain(s)

Updated: 24 November 2019
Source(s): NQ Cowboys


Squad movement

Gains

Player Signed From Until End of Notes
Valentine Holmes New York Jets
2025
Connelly Lemuelu Canterbury Bulldogs
2021
Esan Marsters Wests Tigers
2022
Reece Robson St George Illawarra Dragons
2023

Losses

Player Signed To Until End of Notes
Carlin Anderson Townsville Blackhawks
2020
Kurt Baptiste Easts Tigers
2020
Logan Bayliss-Brow Easts Tigers
2020
Scott Bolton Retired
–
Javid Bowen Northern Pride
2020
Gideon Gela-Mosby Northern Pride
2020
Jordan Kahu Brisbane Broncos
2020
Te Maire Martin Retired
–
Matthew Scott Retired
–
Enari Tuala Newcastle Knights
2020
Kurt Wiltshire Wests Tigers Mackay
2020

Re-signings

Player Club Until End of Notes
Reuben Cotter North Queensland Cowboys
2022
Mitchell Dunn North Queensland Cowboys
2022
Kyle Feldt North Queensland Cowboys
2024
Francis Molo North Queensland Cowboys
2021
Emry Pere North Queensland Cowboys
2022
Shane Wright North Queensland Cowboys
2021

Ladder

Pos Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
1 Penrith Panthers 20 18 1 1 0 537 238 +299 37
2 Melbourne Storm (P) 20 16 0 4 0 534 276 +258 32
3 Parramatta Eels 20 15 0 5 0 392 288 +104 30
4 Sydney Roosters 20 14 0 6 0 552 322 +230 28
5 Canberra Raiders 20 14 0 6 0 445 317 +128 28
6 South Sydney Rabbitohs 20 12 0 8 0 521 352 +169 24
7 Newcastle Knights 20 11 1 8 0 421 374 +47 23
8 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 20 10 0 10 0 480 480 0 20
9 Gold Coast Titans 20 9 0 11 0 346 463 −117 18
10 New Zealand Warriors 20 8 0 12 0 343 458 −115 16
11 Wests Tigers 20 7 0 13 0 440 505 −65 14
12 St. George Illawarra Dragons 20 7 0 13 0 378 452 −74 14
13 Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 20 7 0 13 0 375 509 −134 14
14 North Queensland Cowboys 20 5 0 15 0 368 520 −152 10
15 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 20 3 0 17 0 282 504 −222 6
16 Brisbane Broncos 20 3 0 17 0 268 624 −356 6

Fixtures

NRL Nines

The NRL Nines is a pre-season rugby league nines competition featuring all 16 NRL clubs. The 2020 competition was played over two days on February 14 and 15 at HBF Park in Perth. The Cowboys finished first in Pool 4 and defeated the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Gold Coast Titans and St George Illawarra Dragons on their way to winning the competition.

Pool Play

Pool 4
Team
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 Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
North Queensland Cowboys 2 2 0 0 27 18 +9 4
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 2 1 0 1 25 14 +11 2
Brisbane Broncos 2 1 0 1 23 25 −2 2
Melbourne Storm 2 0 0 2 12 30 −18 0
Source: [citation needed]
Date Time (Local) Round Opponent Venue Score Tries Goals
Saturday, 14 February 7:05 pm Round 1 Brisbane Broncos HBF Park 17 – 11 Drinkwater (bonus try), Hess, Tabuai-Fidow Clifford (2)
Sunday, 15 Saturday 1:45 pm Round 2 Manly Sea Eagles HBF Park 10 – 7 Opacic, Taulagi Drinkwater (1)
Legend:   Win   Loss

Finals

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
         
Newcastle Knights 7
Parramatta Eels 14
Parramatta Eels 6
St. George Illawarra Dragons 8
St. George Illawarra Dragons 17
Penrith Panthers 14
St. George Illawarra Dragons 14
North Queensland Cowboys 23
Gold Coast Titans 24
Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 0
Gold Coast Titans 10
North Queensland Cowboys 19
North Queensland Cowboys 20
South Sydney Rabbitohs 6
Date Time (Local) Round Opponent Venue Score Tries Goals
Sunday, 15 Saturday 3:55 pm Quarter South Sydney Rabbitohs HBF Park 20 – 6 Drinkwater (bonus try), Hess (bonus try), Tabuai-Fidow Clifford (2), Feldt (1)
Sunday, 15 Saturday 5:45 pm Semi Gold Coast Titans HBF Park 19 – 8 Feldt (bonus try), Drinkwater, Tabuai-Fidow, Wright Feldt (1)
Sunday, 15 Saturday 7:00 pm Final St George Illawarra Dragons HBF Park 23 – 14 Robson (bonus try), Clifford, Hess, Tabuai-Fidow Clifford (2), Drinkwater (1)
Legend:   Win   Loss

Pre-season

Date Round Opponent Venue Score Tries Goals Attendance
Saturday, 22 February Trial 1 Brisbane Broncos Barlow Park 18 – 16 Cotter (2), Gilbert, Lemuelu Clifford (1/4) –
Saturday, 29 February Trial 2 Melbourne Storm Casey Fields 14 – 22 Feldt, Holmes, O'Neill Holmes (1/3) –
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw   Bye

Regular season

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, the regular season was suspended after Round 2.[19] On 9 April, the NRL announced that competition would re-commence on 28 May with a shortened 20-round regular season.[20] On 21 May, the full revised draw was released[21][22] From Round 7 onward, the Cowboys were allowed to host fans at their home games, starting with a limit of 2,000, before eventually rising to 10,000 from Round 9.

Date Round Opponent Venue Score Tries Goals Attendance
Friday, 13 March Round 1 Brisbane Broncos Queensland Country Bank Stadium 21 – 28 Cooper, Feldt, Hampton, Holmes Feldt (2/2), Holmes (0/2), Morgan (1 FG) 22,459
Thursday, 19 March Round 2 Canterbury Bulldogs ANZ Stadium 24 – 16 Drinkwater, Hampton, Hess, Taumalolo Holmes (4/5) 0
Friday, 29 May Round 3 Gold Coast Titans Queensland Country Bank Stadium 36 – 6 Hampton (2), Robson (2), Feldt, O'Neill Holmes (6/7) 0
Saturday, 6 June Round 4 Cronulla Sharks Queensland Country Bank Stadium 16 – 26 Feldt (2), O'Neill Holmes (2/3) 0
Friday, 12 June Round 5 Warriors Central Coast Stadium 26 – 37 Feldt (2), Holmes, Molo, O'Neill Feldt (3/5) 0
Saturday, 20 June Round 6 Wests Tigers Campbelltown Stadium 36 – 20 Feldt (2), Drinkwater, Marsters Clifford (1/2), Feldt (1/3) 0
Saturday, 27 June Round 7 Newcastle Knights Queensland Country Bank Stadium 32 – 20 Clifford, Feldt, Hess, O'Neill, Tabuai-Fidow Feldt (6/6) 1,853
Friday, 3 July Round 8 Parramatta Eels Bankwest Stadium 4 – 42 Opacic Feldt (0/1) 6,730
Thursday, 9 July Round 9 Sydney Roosters Queensland Country Bank Stadium 16 – 42 Robson (2), Hess Feldt (2/4) 6,478
Sunday, 19 July Round 10 Penrith Panthers Panthers Stadium 10 – 22 Asi, Tabuai-Fidow Feldt (1/2) 2,891
Friday, 24 July Round 11 Manly Sea Eagles Queensland Country Bank Stadium 12 – 24 Feldt, Molo Feldt (2/2) 7,127
Saturday, 1 August Round 12 Canberra Raiders Queensland Country Bank Stadium 12 – 14 Robson, Taumalolo Feldt (2/2) 7,586
Sunday, 9 August Round 13 Gold Coast Titans Cbus Super Stadium 10 – 30 Feldt, O'Neill Feldt (1/2) 5,646
Saturday, 15 August Round 14 South Sydney Rabbitohs Queensland Country Bank Stadium 30 – 31 Morgan (2), Dunn, Lemuelu, Opacic, Tabuai-Fidow Feldt (3/7) 7,611
Sunday, 23 August Round 15 Newcastle Knights McDonald Jones Stadium 0 – 14 5,304
Saturday, 29 August Round 16 Cronulla Sharks Netstrata Jubilee Stadium 12 – 28 Feldt (2) Holmes (2/2) 2,717
Sunday, 6 September Round 17 St George Illawarra Dragons Queensland Country Bank Stadium 23 – 22 Clifford, Feldt, Holmes, Molo Holmes (3/4, 1 FG) 6,755
Sunday, 13 September Round 18 Melbourne Storm Sunshine Coast Stadium 20 – 36 Feldt, Holmes, Marsters, Tabuai-Fidow Holmes (2/4) 4,056
Friday, 18 September Round 19 Penrith Panthers Queensland Country Bank Stadium 12 – 32 Feldt, Tabuai-Fidow Holmes (2/2) 7,247
Thursday, 24 September Round 20 Brisbane Broncos Suncorp Stadium 32 – 16 Feldt (3), Clifford, O'Neill, Tabuai-Fidow Holmes (3/5), Cooper (1/1) 17,174
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw   Bye

Statistics

Name App T G FG Pts
Daejarn Asi 5 1 - - 4
John Asiata 11 - - - -
Jake Clifford 14 3 1 - 20
Ben Condon 1 - - - -
Gavin Cooper 15 1 1 - 6
Reuben Cotter 10 - - - -
Scott Drinkwater 16 2 - - 8
Mitchell Dunn 17 1 - - 4
Kyle Feldt 20 19 23 - 122
Tom Gilbert 12 - - - -
Jake Granville 8 - - - -
Ben Hampton 13 4 - - 16
Coen Hess 15 3 - - 12
Peter Hola 4 - - - -
Valentine Holmes 12 4 24 1 65
Corey Jensen 8 - - - -
Connelly Lemuelu 7 1 - - 4
Esan Marsters 12 2 - - 8
Josh McGuire 17 - - - -
Jordan McLean 15 - - - -
Francis Molo 20 3 - - 12
Michael Morgan 6 2 - 1 9
Justin O'Neill 17 6 - - 24
Tom Opacic 5 2 - - 8
Emry Pere 2 - - - -
Reece Robson 14 5 - - 20
Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow 14 6 - - 24
Murray Taulagi 4 - - - -
Jason Taumalolo 16 2 - - 8
Shane Wright 8 - - - -
Totals 67 49 2 368

Representatives

The following players have played a representative match in 2020.

All Stars match State of Origin 1 State of Origin 2 State of Origin 3
Coen Hess
–
Queensland
–
–
Valentine Holmes
–
–
Queensland
Queensland
Esan Marsters
Māori All Stars
–
–
–

Honours

Club

Feeder Clubs

Queensland Cup

The Cowboys' three feeder clubs, the Mackay Cutters, Northern Pride and Townsville Blackhawks, each played just one game before the 2020 Queensland Cup season was postponed and later cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[24]

Women's team

QRL Women's Premiership

The Cowboys' women's team, the North Queensland Gold Stars, played just one game in the QRL Women's Premiership before the season was postponed and later cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[24]

References

  1. ^ Crowds were limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic
  2. ^ "Taking shape – our new home from 2020". cowboys.com.au. 4 July 2018. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  3. ^ "Green makes immediate exit from Cowboys". NRL. 20 July 2020.
  4. ^ "Cowboys sign Holmes on long-term deal". cowboys.com.au. 24 November 2019. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
  5. ^ "Cowboys sign Lemuelu". cowboys.com.au. 29 October 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
  6. ^ "Cowboys sign Kiwi international Marsters". cowboys.com.au. 14 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  7. ^ "Cowboys sign Junior Kangaroo". North Queensland Cowboys. 12 August 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  8. ^ a b c d "Cowboys to farewell eight departing players". cowboys.com.au. 13 September 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
  9. ^ "Purcell poised to pounce with Easts Tigers". 9 March 2020.
  10. ^ "Dolphins newbie to line up for Broncos against old club Capras". qrl.com.au. 14 February 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
  11. ^ "Northern Pride secure ex-Cowboy Javid Bowen for 2020". cairnspost.com.au. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  12. ^ "Northern Pride secure ex-Cowboy Javid Bowen for 2020". cairnspost.com.au. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  13. ^ "Kahu set to return to Broncos after short stint at Cowboys". November 2019.
  14. ^ "Martin announces immediate retirement". 12 January 2020.
  15. ^ Wiltshire puts NRL dream on hold, focus is Tigers (subscription required)
  16. ^ "Cowboys re-sign Cotter". NQ Cowboys. 30 September 2020.
  17. ^ a b c "Cowboys re-sign forward trio". NQ Cowboys. 31 July 2020.
  18. ^ a b "Feldt, Wright re-sign with Cowboys". NQ Cowboys. 3 June 2020.
  19. ^ "NRL season suspended: Greenberg, V'landys statements". 23 March 2020.
  20. ^ "May 28: ARL Commission proposes date for NRL to restart". 9 April 2020.
  21. ^ "Cowboys full 2020 draw released". 21 May 2020.
  22. ^ "Rivalries and intrigue headline round three draw for NRL restart". 15 May 2020.
  23. ^ a b c d e f "2020 Presentation Night: Live Updates". NQ Cowboys. 2 October 2020.
  24. ^ a b "Major second-tier competitions cancelled across Australia". QRL. 27 March 2020.
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