2007 North Queensland Cowboys season

Rugby league team season

2007 North Queensland Cowboys season

NRL Rank| 3rd
Play-off result| Lost Preliminary Final
(v Manly Sea Eagles, 6–28)
record| Wins: 15; draws: 0; losses: 9
Points scored| For: 547; against: 618
Team information
CEO| Peter Parr
Coach| Graham Murray
Captain|

* Johnathan Thurston

Stadium| Dairy Farmers Stadium
Avg. attendance| 20,108
High attendance| 25,926 (vs. Brisbane Broncos, Round 18)
Top scorers
Tries| Matthew Bowen (22)
Goals| Johnathan Thurston (78)
Points| Johnathan Thurston (196)
| ← 2006 |  | 2008 →

|
|

The 2007 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 13th in the club's history. Coached by Graham Murray and captained by Johnathan Thurston, they competed in the NRL's Telstra Premiership. They finished the regular season in 3rd place, falling one game short of the Grand Final after losing to the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.

## Season summary

[edit]

The Cowboys started the 2007 NRL season strongly, winning their first four games. By the halfway point of the season, they were placed inside the top four, despite losing key forward Luke O'Donnell for the season in Round 4.

In August, News Limited sold its majority stake in the club to the Cowboys Leagues Club for just over $2 million. News Limited took over the club in late 2001, helping it through a turbulent and difficult era.

Following five losses from seven games, the Cowboys dropped to 8th place in Round 20. A strong finish to the regular season, in which they won their final five games, saw them finish in 3rd, their highest ever placing at the time. Their first two finals games were played at home, defeating the Canterbury Bulldogs (20–18) and the New Zealand Warriors (49–12), to move within one game of the Grand Final. The Cowboys' season ended the following week, losing to Manly in the preliminary final.

Club legend Paul Bowman retired at the end of the 2007 season. The last foundation player from the club's inaugural season, Bowman played 203 games for the Cowboys over 13 seasons. The club's Player of the Year medal was named in his honour following his retirement. He became an assistant coach with the club in 2008. 2007 also saw the debut of 19-year-old Scott Bolton, who would go on to play over 150 games for the Cowboys and be a member of their 2015 NRL Grand Final and 2016 World Club Challenge winning sides.

### Milestones

[edit]

* Round 1: Sione Faumuina and Jason Smith made their debuts for the club.
* Round 3: Justin Smith played his 50th game for the club.
* Round 4: Scott Bolton made his NRL debut for the club.
* Round 6: Ben Vaeau made his debut for the club.
* Round 7: Johnathan Thurston played his 50th game for the club.
* Round 7: Scott Minto made their debuts for the club.
* Round 7: Ben Farrar made his NRL debut for the club and scored his first NRL try.
* Round 9: Brett Anderson made his debut for the club.
* Round 9: Scott Bolton scored his first NRL try.
* Round 10: Sam Faust made his NRL debut for the club.
* Round 11: John Frith made his NRL debut for the club.
* Round 13: Ty Williams played his 100th game for the club.
* Round 13: Matthew Bartlett made his debut for the club.
* Round 13: Jackson Nicolau made his NRL debut for the club.
* Round 18: Aaron Payne played his 100th game for the club.
* Round 20: Matthew Bowen played his 150th game for the club.
* Round 22: Carl Webb played his 50th game for the club.
* Round 25: Paul Bowman played his 200th game for the club, the first player to do so.
* Finals Week 2: Jacob Lillyman played his 50th game for the club.

## Squad List

[edit]

North Queensland Cowboys NRL Squad 2007  First team squad  |  | Coaching staff

|
|

* Brett Anderson – CE

* Matthew Bartlett – SR

* Scott Bolton – SR

* Brenton Bowen – WG

* Matthew Bowen – FB

* Paul Bowmane – CE

* Ray Cashmere – PR

* David Faiumu – HK

* Ben Farrar – CE

* Sione Faumuina – LK

* Sam Faust – PR

|  |

* John Frith – PR

* Ashley Graham – WG

* Mark Henry – CE

* Rod Jensen – CE

* Karl Johnson – CE

* Jacob Lillyman – PR

* Scott Minto – WG

* Shane Muspratt – FE

* Jackson Nicolau – FE

* Luke O'Donnell – LK

* Aaron Payne – HK

|  |

* Matthew Scott – PR

* Jason Smith – FE

* Justin Smith – FE

* Steve Southern – SR

* Neil Sweeney – WG

* Johnathan Thurston (c) – HB

* Shane Tronc – PR

* Ben Vaeau – PR

* Carl Webb – PR

* Colin Wilkie  – CE

* Ty Williams – WG

|  |  |  |

Head coach

* Graham Murray

Assistant coaches

* Ian Millward (assistant coach)

* Grant Bell (assistant coach)

* Kelly Egan (football manager)

* Glen Murphy (strength & conditioning coach)

* Steve Hooper (Strength & Conditioning Trainer)

* * *

Legend:

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

* * *

## Squad Movement

[edit]

### 2007 Gains

[edit]

Player  | Signed From

|

Brett Anderson |  Parramatta Eels
Matthew Bartlett |  Melbourne Storm
Ben Farrar |  Parramatta Eels
Sione Faumuina |  Warriors
Karl Johnson |  North Sydney Bears
Scott Minto |  Brisbane Broncos
Jackson Nicolau |  Melbourne Storm
Jason Smith |  Canberra Raiders
Ben Vaeau |  Brisbane Broncos
Colin Wilkie |  Melbourne Storm

### 2007 Losses

[edit]

Player  | Signed To

|

Clint Amos |  Gold Coast Titans
Jason Barsley | Released
Gavin Cooper |  Gold Coast Titans
Mark Dalle Cort |  Celtic Crusaders
Brett Firman |  Penrith Panthers
Josh Hannay |  Cronulla Sharks
Ben Lowe |  South Sydney Rabbitohs
Brent McConnell |  Brisbane Broncos
Travis Norton | Retired
Mitchell Sargent |  Newcastle Knights
Matt Sing |  Hull F.C.
Daniel Strickland |  University Saints RLFC
Robert Tanielu | Retired

## Ladder

[edit]

2007 NRL season

* v
* t
* e

Pos | Team  | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts
1 |  Melbourne Storm | 24 | 21 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 627 | 277 | +350 | 44
2 |  Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 597 | 377 | +220 | 38
3 |  North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 547 | 618 | −71 | 32
4 |  New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 13 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 593 | 434 | +159 | 29
5 |  Parramatta Eels | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 573 | 481 | +92 | 28
6 |  Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 575 | 528 | +47 | 26
7 |  South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 408 | 399 | +9 | 26
8 |  Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 511 | 476 | +35 | 24
9 |  Wests Tigers | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 1 | 541 | 561 | −20 | 24
10 |  Sydney Roosters | 24 | 10 | 1 | 13 | 1 | 445 | 610 | −165 | 23
11 |  Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 463 | 403 | +60 | 22
12 |  Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 1 | 409 | 559 | −150 | 22
13 |  St George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 431 | 509 | −78 | 20
14 |  Canberra Raiders | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 522 | 652 | −130 | 20
15 |  Newcastle Knights | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 418 | 708 | −290 | 20
16 |  Penrith Panthers | 24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 1 | 539 | 607 | −68 | 18

## Fixtures

[edit]

### Pre-season

[edit]

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

|
|
|
|
|
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|

17 February | Trial 1 |  Canberra Raiders | Browne Park | 10 – 28 | - | - | \-
24 February | Trial 2 |  Warriors | Leprechaun Park | 32 – 14 | B. Bowen (2), Bolton, M. Bowen, Payne, Lillyman | Thurston (4/6) | \-
3 March | Trial 3 |  Manly Sea Eagles | Barlow Park | 10 – 14 | Bolton, Justin Smith | Thurston (2/2) | \-

### Regular season

[edit]

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

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

16 March | Round 1 |  Brisbane Broncos | Suncorp Stadium | 23 – 16 | Graham (2), M. Bowen, Henry | Thurston (3/5), M. Bowen (1 FG) | 50,416
24 March | Round 2 |  Sydney Roosters | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 43 – 6 | B. Bowen (2), M. Bowen (2), Thurston (2), O'Donnell | Thurston (6/6), Graham (1/1), Payne (1 FG) | 21,396
31 March | Round 3 |  St George Illawarra Dragons | WIN Stadium | 22 – 18 | B. Bowen, Bowman, Graham, Thurston | Thurston (3/4) | 10,232
7 April | Round 4 |  Wests Tigers | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 25 – 24 | Graham (2), M. Bowen, Sweeney | Thurston (4/4), M. Bowen (1 FG) | 21,879
15 April | Round 5 |  Warriors | Mt Smart Stadium | 14 – 34 | B. Bowen, M. Bowen, Thurston | Thurston (1/3) | 11,260
23 April | Round 6 |  South Sydney Rabbitohs | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 6 – 10 | Bowman | Thurston (1/1) | 17,768
28 April | Round 7 |  Manly Sea Eagles | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 30 – 26 | M. Bowen (2), B. Bowen, Farrar, Ja. Smith | Thurston (5/6) | 18,682
7 May | Round 8 |  Gold Coast Titans | Carrara Stadium | 24 – 10 | M. Bowen, Bowman, Jensen | Thurston (6/6) | 17,806
12 May | Round 9 |  Penrith Panthers | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 12 – 22 | Anderson, Bolton | Thurston (2/2) | 17,393
19 May | Round 10 |  Parramatta Eels | Parramatta Stadium | 14 – 44 | Faumuina, Graham, Minto | Graham (1/3) | 10,182
25 May | Round 11 |  Canterbury Bulldogs | Suncorp Stadium | 26 – 16 | M.Bowen (2), Faumuina, Tronc | Thurston (5/5) | 15,412
2 June | Round 12 |  Cronulla Sharks | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 26 – 24 | Williams (2), Minto, Scott, Sweeney | Thurston (3/5) | 20,075
9 June | Round 13 |  Sydney Roosters | Sydney Football Stadium | 30 – 64 | M. Bowen (2), Bartlett, Southern, Tronc | Graham (5/5) | 4,186
16 June | Round 14 |  Melbourne Storm | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 12 – 58 | B. Bowen, M. Bowen, William | Thurston (0/3) | 20,023
23 June | Round 15 |  Canberra Raiders | Canberra Stadium | 28 – 24 | B. Bowen (2), M. Bowen (2), Thurston | Thurston (4/5) | 11,263
| Round 16 | Bye |  |  |  |  |
7 July | Round 17 |  Warriors | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 18 – 12 | Sione Faumuina, Graham, Webb | Thurston (2/2), Graham (1/1) | 19,864
13 July | Round 18 |  Brisbane Broncos | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 16 – 24 | Graham (2), M. Bowen | Graham (2/3) | 25,926
22 July | Round 19 |  South Sydney Rabbitohs | Telstra Stadium | 14 – 20 | M. Bowen, Graham, Minto | Thurston (1/3) | 10,022
30 July | Round 20 |  Wests Tigers | Leichhardt Oval | 10 – 54 | Bartlet, Ju. Smith | Thurston (1/2) | 17,101
4 August | Round 21 |  Canberra Raiders | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 28 – 22 | Farrar (2), Graham, M. Bowen, Thurston | Graham (2/5), Thurston (0/1) | 15,791
13 August | Round 22 |  Penrith Panthers | CUA Stadium | 30 – 26 | Graham (3), B. Bowen, M. Bowen, Ju. Smith | Thurston (3/5) | 7,618
18 August | Round 23 |  St George Illawarra Dragons | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 24 – 14 | M. Bowen, Bowman, Cashmere, Ja. Smith | Thurston (4/4) | 18,721
24 August | Round 24 |  Newcastle Knights | EnergyAustralia Stadium | 34 – 18 | Graham (2), M. Bowen, Sweeney, Thurston, Williams | Thurston (5/6) | 12,264
31 August | Round 25 |  Canterbury Bulldogs | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 38 – 32 | Farrar, Williams, Ju. Smith, Thurston | Thurston (7/7) | 24,050
Legend:  Win Loss Draw Bye

### Finals

[edit]

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

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

8 September | Qualifying Final |  Canterbury Bulldogs | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 20 – 18 | Thurston (2), Bowman | Thurston (4/4) | 24,004
16 September | Semi Final |  Warriors | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 49 – 12 | Farrar (2), M. Bowen, Cashmere, Graham, Henry, Ja. Smith, Williams | Thurston (7/7), Bowman (1/1), M. Bowen (1 FG) | 21,487
22 September | Preliminary Final |  Manly Sea Eagles | SFS | 6 – 28 | Lillyman | Thurston (1/1) | 32,611
Legend:  Win Loss Draw Bye

## Statistics

[edit]

Name | App | T | G | FG | Pts

|
|
|
|
|

Brett Anderson | 1 | 1 | - | - | 4
Matthew Bartlett | 13 | 2 | - | - | 8
Scott Bolton | 6 | 1 | - | - | 4
Brenton Bowen | 16 | 9 | - | - | 36
Matthew Bowen | 27 | 22 | - | 3 | 91
Paul Bowman | 21 | 5 | 1 | - | 22
Ray Cashmere | 24 | 2 | - | - | 8
David Faiumu | 20 | - | - | - | \-
Ben Farrar | 11 | 7 | - | - | 28
Sione Faumuina | 18 | 3 | - | - | 12
Sam Faust | 13 | - | - | - | \-
John Frith | 1 | - | - | - | \-
Ashley Graham | 22 | 18 | 12 | - | 96
Mark Henry | 10 | 2 | - | - | 8
Rod Jensen | 6 | 1 | - | - | 4
Jacob Lillyman | 21 | 1 | - | - | 4
Scott Minto | 14 | 3 | - | - | 12
Shane Muspratt | 3 | - | - | - | \-
Jackson Nicolau | 1 | - | - | - | \-
Luke O'Donnell | 4 | 1 | - | - | 4
Aaron Payne | 27 | - | - | 1 | 1
Matthew Scott | 23 | 1 | - | - | 4
Jason Smith | 20 | 3 | - | - | 12
Justin Smith | 24 | 3 | - | - | 12
Steve Southern | 19 | 1 | - | - | 4
Neil Sweeney | 11 | 3 | - | - | 12
Johnathan Thurston | 25 | 10 | 78 | - | 196
Shane Tronc | 17 | 2 | - | - | 8
Ben Vaeau | 8 | - | - | - | \-
Carl Webb | 18 | 1 | - | - | 4
Ty Williams | 15 | 7 | - | - | 28
Totals |  | 109 | 91 | 4 | 622

Source:[1]

## Representatives

[edit]

The following players played a representative match in 2007

| ANZAC Test | State of Origin 1 | State of Origin 2 | State of Origin 3 | Trans-Tasman Test

|
|
|
|
|

Matthew Bowen |

Queensland

David Faiumu |

New Zealand

New Zealand

Jacob Lillyman |

Queensland

Queensland

Johnathan Thurston |

Australia

Queensland

Queensland

Queensland

Carl Webb |

Queensland

Queensland

## Honours

[edit]

### League

[edit]

* Dally M Medal: Johnathan Thurston
* Dally M Fullback of the Year: Matthew Bowen
* Dally M Halfback of the Year: Johnathan Thurston
* Rugby League Week Player of the Year: Matthew Bowen
* Rugby League Week Player of the Year: Johnathan Thurston

### Club

[edit]

* Paul Bowman Medal: Matthew Bowen
* Player's Player: Matthew Bowen
* Club Person of the Year: Tim Nugent and Nicole Balanzategui
* Rookie of the Year: Sam Faust
* Most Improved: Ashley Graham and Ray Cashmere

## Feeder Clubs

[edit]

### Queensland Cup

[edit]

* North Queensland Young Guns \- 1st, lost preliminary final

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "NRL 2007 - North Queensland Cowboys - Rugby League Project".

## External links

[edit]

* Official North Queensland Cowboys Website

* v
* t
* e

North Queensland Cowboys

Est. 1995 in Townsville, Queensland

The club|

* History
* Records
* Honours
* Players
* Coaches
* Representatives

Home ground|

* 1300SMILES Stadium (1995–2019)
* North Queensland Stadium (2020–)

Culture|

* Queensland derby

League|

* ARL
* SL
* NRL

* NRLW

Important Figures|

* Johnathan Thurston
* Matt Scott
* Matt Bowen

Titles|

Premierships (1)
2015

NRL Nines (2)
2014
2020

Seasons (30)|

* 1995
* 1996
* 1997
* 1998
* 1999
* 2000
* 2001
* 2002
* 2003
* 2004
* 2005
* 2006
* 2007
* 2008
* 2009
* 2010
* 2011
* 2012
* 2013
* 2014
* 2015
* 2016
* 2017
* 2018
* 2019
* 2020
* 2021
* 2022
* 2023
* 2024
* 2025

Other competitions|

Current
NRL Nines
Past
NRL Under-20s
New South Wales Cup

Affiliations|

NRL Women's
North Queensland Cowboys Women

Queensland Cup (Current)
Mackay Cutters
Northern Pride
Past
Cairns Cyclones
North Queensland Young Guns
Townsville Blackhawks
Townsville Stingers

* v
* t
* e

2007 in rugby league

« 2006

2008 »

International Rugby League|

* World Club Challenge
* Anzac Test
* All Golds Tour
* World Cup qualifying
* European Shield
* South Pacific Games (9s)

British Rugby League|

| Competitions|

* Super League
* Results
* Grand Final
* National League 1
* National League 2
* Challenge Cup
* Final
* National League Cup

|

SL Teams|

* Bradford Bulls
* Catalans Dragons
* Harlequins
* Huddersfield Giants
* Hull FC
* Hull KR
* Leeds Rhinos
* Salford City Reds
* St Helens
* Wakefield Wildcats
* Warrington Wolves
* Wigan Warriors

Other clubs|

* Castleford Tigers
* Celtic Crusaders
* Featherstone Rovers
* Whitehaven RLFC
* Widnes Vikings

Australian Rugby League|

| Competitions|

* State of Origin
* NRL season
* Results
* Grand Final
* Queensland Cup
* NSWRL Premier League

|

By club|

* Brisbane Broncos
* Bulldogs
* Canberra Raiders
* Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks
* Gold Coast Titans
* Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
* Melbourne Storm
* Newcastle Knights
* New Zealand Warriors
* North Queensland Cowboys
* Parramatta Eels
* Penrith Panthers
* South Sydney Rabbitohs
* Sydney Roosters
* St. George Illawarra Dragons
* Wests Tigers

Related articles|

* Dally M Awards

Other domestic competitions|

* France
* 2006–2007
* 2007–2008
* New Zealand
* United States

19°18′58″S 146°42′43″E﻿ / ﻿19.31611°S 146.71194°E﻿ / -19.31611; 146.71194﻿ (Willow Sports Complex)
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template
*[Pos]: Position
*[Pld]: Games played
*[W]: Won
*[D]: Drawn
*[L]: Lost
*[B]: Bye
*[PF]: Points for (total points scored)
*[PA]: Points against (total points conceded)
*[PD]: Points difference (points scored minus points conceded)
*[Pts]: Competition points