1995 North Queensland Cowboys season

1st season in the club history

1995 North Queensland Cowboys season

ARL Rank| 20th
Play-off result| Missed finals
1995 record| Wins: 2; draws: 0; losses: 20
Points scored| For: 269; against: 660
Team information
CEO| Kerry Boustead
Coach| Grant Bell
Captain|

* Laurie Spina

Stadium| Stockland Stadium
Avg. attendance| 21,670
High attendance| 24,855 (vs. Brisbane Broncos, Round 5)
Top scorers
Tries| David Bouveng, Justin Loomans (9)
Goals| Jonathan Davies (19)
Points| Jonathan Davies (43)
|  |  | 1996 →

|
|

The 1995 North Queensland Cowboys season was the first in the club's history. Coached by Grant Bell and captained by Laurie Spina, they competed in the ARL Premiership.

## Season summary

[edit]

Two years after being admitted into Australia's premier rugby league competition, the North Queensland Cowboys played their first official premiership game on Saturday, March 11. Led by inaugural captain and Ingham local Laurie Spina, the club faced the Sydney Bulldogs in front of a crowd of 23,156 at Stockland Stadium. There was no fairy tale beginning for the club, as centre Adrian Vowles was sent off for a high shot six minutes into the match and the Bulldogs won the game 32-16.[1] Teenage fullback Damian Gibson, who was making his first grade debut, scored the club's first premiership try.

The club found little success during their debut season in the premiership. They began the season with seven straight losses before picking up their first ever win against the Illawarra Steelers at Steelers Stadium in Round 8. A six-game losing streak followed, which was then snapped in Round 15, when the club recorded their first ever home win, defeating the Western Suburbs Magpies. It would be the last time the club enjoyed victory that season, as they ended the year with seven consecutive losses. The Cowboys finished 1995 in 20th place, winning the dreaded wooden spoon, with just two wins from 22 games.

Former Eastern Suburbs Roosters prop Wayne Sing, who played 20 games, was named Player of the Year and Players' Player at the end of the season. The Cowboys would also have three players participate in the 1995 Rugby League World Cup. Jonathan Davies (a former Welsh rugby union international) and Kevin Ellis (who spent the entire season in reserve grade) both represented Wales, while Robert Piva (a recruit from Wakefield Trinity) represented Western Samoa.

Perhaps the one bright spot from the Cowboys' inaugural season was the debut of young Proserpine centre Paul Bowman. Bowman, who played seven games in 1995, would go onto captain the club and play 203 games over 13 seasons. Following his retirement in 2007, the club renamed their Player of the Year award the Paul Bowman Medal in his honour. He would join the club's coaching staff as an assistant coach and later their high performance manager, being on the staff for their NRL Premiership and 2016 World Club Challenge winning sides.

### Milestones

[edit]

* Round 1: The club played their first premiership game (losing 16-32 to the Canterbury Bulldogs).
* Round 1: Damian Gibson scored the club's first try.
* Round 1: Damian Gibson and Ian Dunemann made their first grade debuts.
* Round 2: David Maiden made his first grade debut.
* Round 3: Glen Murphy made his first grade debut.
* Round 4: Steven Holmes and Justin Loomans made their first grade debuts.
* Round 5: Peter Jones made his first grade debut.
* Round 7: Justin Loomans became the first player to score two tries in a match for the club.
* Round 8: The club won their first game (def. Illawarra Steelers 14-10).
* Round 14: Michael Hogue made his first grade debut.
* Round 15: Faron Anderson and Reggie Cressbrook made their first grade debuts.
* Round 15: The club won their first home game, and scored 30 points in a match for the first time.
* Round 16: Paul Bowman made his first grade debut.
* Round 19: Ray Blackman made his first grade debut.
* Round 20: Aaron Ketchell made his first grade debut.
* Round 22: Andrew Meads and Noel Slade made their first grade debuts.

## Squad list

[edit]

North Queensland Cowboys ARL Squad 1995  First team squad  |  | Coaching staff

|
|

* Faron Anderson – WG

* George Bartlett – SR

* Martin Bella – PR

* Ray Blackman – WG

* David Bouveng – WG

* Paul Bowman – CE

* Shane Christensen – HK

* Reggie Cressbrook – FB

* Jonathan Davies – FE

* Ian Dunemann – HB

* Kevin Ellis – HB

|  |

* Jason Erba – HK

* Paul Galea – LK

* Damian Gibson – WG

* Leigh Groves – SR

* Michael Hogue – PR

* Steven Holmes – FB

* Peter Jones – FE

* Aaron Ketchell – SR

* Justin Loomans – WG

* David Maiden – CE

* Jason Martin – HB

|  |

* Jamie Mathiou – PR

* Andrew Meads – LK

* Craig Menkins – HK

* Willie Morganson – CE

* Paul Morris – WG

* Glen Murphy – SR

* Robert Piva – PR

* Ian Russell – SR

* Dean Schifilliti – HK

* Bruce Sinclair – PR

* Wayne Sing – SR

|  |

* John Skardon – HK

* Noel Slade – SR

* Noel Solomon – FE

* Laurie Spina (c) – HB

* Craig Teitzel – PR

* Adrian Vowles – CE

* Andrew Whittington – PR

|  |

Head coach

* Grant Bell

* * *

Legend:

* (c) Captain(s)
* (vc) Vice-captain(s)

* * *

## Squad movement

[edit]

### 1995 Gains

[edit]

Player  | Signed From

|

George Bartlett |  North Sydney Bears
Martin Bella |  Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs
David Bouveng |  Gold Coast Seagulls
Shane Christensen |  Newcastle Knights
Jonathan Davies |  Warrington Wolves
Kevin Ellis |  Warrington Wolves
Jason Erba |  Brisbane Broncos
Paul Galea |  Gold Coast Seagulls
Damian Gibson |  Newcastle Knights
Leigh Groves |  Gold Coast Seagulls
Jason Martin |  Newcastle Knights
Jamie Mathiou |  North Sydney Bears
Craig Menkins |  Western Suburbs Magpies
Willie Morganson |  Brisbane Broncos
Paul Morris |  Brisbane Broncos
Robert Piva |  Wakefield Trinity
Ian Russell |  Illawarra Steelers
Dean Schifilliti |  South Sydney Rabbitohs
Bruce Sinclair |  Eastern Suburbs Roosters
Wayne Sing |  Eastern Suburbs Roosters
John Skardon |  Gold Coast Seagulls
Noel Solomon |  North Sydney Bears
Laurie Spina |  Herbert River Crushers
Craig Teitzel |  Warrington Wolves
Adrian Vowles |  Gold Coast Seagulls
Andrew Whittington |  Gold Coast Seagulls

## Ladder

[edit]

| Team  | Pld  | W  | D  | L  | PF  | PA  | PD  | Pts

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

1 |  Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 22 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 687 | 248 | +439 | 40
2 |  Canberra Raiders | 22 | 20 | 0 | 2 | 634 | 255 | +379 | 40
3 |  Brisbane Broncos | 22 | 17 | 0 | 5 | 600 | 364 | +236 | 34
4 |  Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 22 | 16 | 0 | 6 | 516 | 287 | +229 | 32
5 |  Newcastle Knights | 22 | 15 | 0 | 7 | 549 | 396 | +153 | 30
6 |  Sydney Bulldogs (P) | 22 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 468 | 352 | +116 | 28
7 |  St. George Dragons | 22 | 13 | 0 | 9 | 583 | 382 | +201 | 26
8 |  North Sydney Bears | 22 | 11 | 2 | 9 | 542 | 331 | +211 | 24
9 |  Sydney City Roosters | 22 | 12 | 0 | 10 | 466 | 406 | +60 | 24
10 |  Auckland Warriors | 22 | 13 | 0 | 9 | 544 | 493 | +51 | 24
11 |  Western Reds | 22 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 361 | 549 | -188 | 22
12 |  Illawarra Steelers | 22 | 10 | 1 | 11 | 519 | 431 | +88 | 21
13 |  Western Suburbs Magpies | 22 | 10 | 0 | 12 | 459 | 534 | -75 | 20
14 |  Penrith Panthers | 22 | 9 | 0 | 13 | 481 | 484 | -3 | 18
15 |  Sydney Tigers | 22 | 7 | 0 | 15 | 309 | 591 | -282 | 14
16 |  South Queensland Crushers | 22 | 6 | 1 | 15 | 303 | 502 | -199 | 13
17 |  Gold Coast Seagulls | 22 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 350 | 628 | -278 | 9
18 |  South Sydney Rabbitohs | 22 | 4 | 1 | 17 | 319 | 686 | -367 | 9
19 |  Parramatta Eels | 22 | 3 | 0 | 19 | 310 | 690 | -380 | 6
20 |  North Queensland Cowboys | 22 | 2 | 0 | 20 | 269 | 660 | -391 | 4

* Auckland Warriors were stripped of 2 competition points due to exceeding the replacement limit in round 3.

## Fixtures

[edit]

### Regular season

[edit]

Date  | Round  | Opponent  | Venue  | Score  | Tries  | Goals  | Attendance

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

11 March | Round 1 |  Sydney Bulldogs | Stockland Stadium | 16 – 32 | Gibson, Groves | Dunemann (3/4), Gibson (1/1) | 23,156
19 March | Round 2 |  Sydney City Roosters | Sydney Football Stadium | 16 – 34 | Bouveng, Galea, Mathiou | Duneman (2/3) | 6,585
26 March | Round 3 |  Sydney Tigers | Parramatta Stadium | 16 – 38 | Bouveng, Galea, Morganson | Duneman (2/4) | 5,424
1 April | Round 4 |  Canberra Raiders | Stockland Stadium | 8 – 14 | Bartlett, Bouveng | Vowles (0/2) | 23,561
8 April | Round 5 |  Brisbane Broncos | Stockland Stadium | 12 – 20 | Galea, Loomans, Spina | Jones (0/1), Vowles (0/3) | 24,855
16 April | Round 6 |  North Sydney Bears | North Sydney Oval | 6 – 60 | Morganson | Vowles (1/1) | 6,707
22 April | Round 7 |  Manly Sea Eagles | Stockland Stadium | 14 – 36 | Loomans (2), Bouveng | Holmes (1/3) | 22,167
30 April | Round 8 |  Illawarra Steelers | Steelers Stadium | 14 – 10 | Bouveng (2), Vowles | Vowles (1/2), Holmes (0/2) | 8,914
6 May | Round 9 |  Parramatta Eels | Parramatta Stadium | 4 – 20 | Bouveng | Vowles (0/1) | 4,145
20 May | Round 10 |  Sydney City Roosters | Stockland Stadium | 16 – 20 | Loomans (2), Bouveng | Davies (2/5) | 20,860
4 June | Round 11 |  Newcastle Knights | Marathon Stadium | 14 – 44 | Christensen, Davies, Gibson | Davies (1/3) | 15,577
10 June | Round 12 |  Cronulla Sharks | Caltex Field | 10 – 34 | Loomans, Martin | Holmes (1/1), Morganson (0/1) | 5,128
24 June | Round 13 |  Sydney Tigers | Stockland Stadium | 14 – 28 | Dunemann, Loomans | Davies (3/5) | 20,113
1 July | Round 14 |  Penrith Panthers | Penrith Stadium | 10 – 40 | Bouveng | Davies (3/3) | 5,774
8 July | Round 15 |  Western Suburbs Magpies | Stockland Stadium | 31 – 12 | Bartlett, Dunemann, Gibson, Martin, Skardon | Davies (5/6, 1 FG) | 18,112
15 July | Round 16 |  South Sydney Rabbitohs | Sydney Football Stadium | 16 – 30 | Loomans (2), Galea | Cressbrook (1/1), Davies (1/3) | 4,225
22 July | Round 17 |  Gold Coast Seagulls | Stockland Stadium | 8 – 10 | Martin | Davies (2/2) | 20,067
29 July | Round 18 |  Auckland Warriors | Stockland Stadium | 10 – 28 | Jones, Vowles | Davies (1/2) | 23,521
6 August | Round 19 |  South Queensland Crushers | Suncorp Stadium | 6 – 22 | Bowman | Davies (1/2) | 17,105
12 August | Round 20 |  Western Reds | Stockland Stadium | 10 – 12 | Blackman, Jones | Cressbrook (1/3) | 19,675
20 August | Round 21 |  St George Dragons | Stockland Stadium | 14 – 50 | Skardon, Vowles | Cressbrook (3/3) | 22,283
27 August | Round 22 |  Sydney Bulldogs | Belmore Oval | 4 – 66 | Skardon | Cressbrook (0/1) | 18,818
Legend:  Win Loss Draw Bye

## Statistics

[edit]

Name | App | T | G | FG | Pts

|
|
|
|
|

Faron Anderson | 2 | - | - | - | \-
George Bartlett | 21 | 2 | - | - | 8
Martin Bella | 14 | - | - | - | \-
Ray Blackman | 3 | 1 | - | - | 4
David Bouveng | 16 | 9 | - | - | 36
Paul Bowman | 7 | 1 | - | - | 4
Shane Christensen | 10 | 1 | - | - | 4
Reggie Cressbrook | 8 | - | 5 | - | 10
Jonathan Davies | 9 | 1 | 19 | 1 | 43
Ian Dunemann | 13 | 2 | 7 | - | 22
Jason Erba | 5 | - | - | - | \-
Paul Galea | 19 | 4 | - | - | 16
Damian Gibson | 20 | 3 | 1 | - | 14
Leigh Groves | 17 | 1 | - | - | 4
Michael Hogue | 4 | - | - | - | \-
Steven Holmes | 5 | - | 2 | - | 4
Peter Jones | 12 | 2 | - | - | 8
Aaron Ketchell | 3 | - | - | - | \-
Justin Loomans | 16 | 9 | - | - | 36
David Maiden | 2 | - | - | - | \-
Jason Martin | 8 | 3 | - | - | 12
Jamie Mathiou | 7 | 1 | - | - | 4
Andrew Meads | 1 | - | - | - | \-
Craig Menkins | 4 | - | - | - | \-
Willie Morganson | 8 | 2 | - | - | 8
Paul Morris | 2 | - | - | - | \-
Glen Murphy | 1 | - | - | - | \-
Robert Piva | 9 | - | - | - | \-
Ian Russell | 11 | - | - | - | \-
Dean Schifilliti | 1 | - | - | - | \-
Bruce Sinclair | 11 | - | - | - | \-
Wayne Sing | 20 | - | - | - | \-
John Skardon | 16 | 3 | - | - | 12
Noel Slade | 1 | - | - | - | \-
Noel Solomon | 6 | - | - | - | \-
Laurie Spina | 13 | 1 | - | - | 4
Craig Teitzel | 12 | - | - | - | \-
Adrian Vowles | 20 | 3 | 2 | - | 16
Andrew Whittington | 11 | - | - | - | \-
Totals |  | 49 | 36 | 1 | 269

Source:[2]

## Representatives

[edit]

The following players played a representative match in 1995.

| World Cup

|

Jonathan Davies |

Wales

Kevin Ellis |

Wales

Robert Piva |

Western Samoa

## Honours

[edit]

### Club

[edit]

* Player of the Year: Wayne Sing
* Players' Player: Wayne Sing
* Club Person of the Year: Paul Galea

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Latest News".
2. ^ "ARL 1995 - North Queensland Cowboys - Rugby League Project".

* v
* t
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North Queensland Cowboys

Est. 1995 in Townsville, Queensland

The club|

* History
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| Mens (31)|

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|

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1995 in rugby league

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1996 »

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|

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|

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