2011 North Queensland Cowboys season

Rugby league team season

2011 North Queensland Cowboys season

NRL Rank| 7th
Play-off result| Lost Qualifying Final
(v Manly Sea Eagles, 8-42)
2011 record| Wins: 14; draws: 0; losses: 10
Points scored| For: 532; against: 480
Team information
CEO| Peter Jourdain
Coach| Neil Henry
Captain|

* Johnathan Thurston
Matthew Scott

Stadium| Dairy Farmers Stadium
Avg. attendance| 14,189
High attendance| 26,463 (vs. Brisbane Broncos, Round 23)
Top scorers
Tries| Ashley Graham (12)
Goals| Johnathan Thurston (61)
Points| Johnathan Thurston (162)
| ← 2010 |  | 2012 →

|
|

The 2011 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 17th season in the club's history. They competed in the National Rugby League's 2011 Telstra Premiership. They finished the regular season in 7th place and were knocked out in the first week of the finals by the eventual premiers, the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.

## Season summary[edit]

After missing the finals the previous three seasons, finishing 15th in both 2008 and 2010, the Cowboys underwent a major overhaul of personnel for the 2011 season. Club legend Ty Williams retired and they parted ways with club favourites Luke O'Donnell, Carl Webb and Steve Southern. Their biggest signing for the 2011 season was Queensland and Australian representative centre Brent Tate. They also made key recruits in the signings of former Melbourne Storm and Queensland State of Origin representative Dallas Johnson, premiership winner Glenn Hall from the English Super League, re-signing a former Cowboy in Gavin Cooper and picking up younger, experienced first graders such as Antonio Winterstein.

The Cowboys' new signings had a positive impact on the NRL team, with the club spending the majority of the year in the top four before a late slide dropped them to seventh position and giving them their first finals appearance since 2007. In 2011, they were the most watched NRL club on pay television, and their Round 4 clash against the Parramatta Eels was the fourth most watched sports event in Fox Sport's history.[1]

In the qualifying final, they led Manly 8–0 at half time before being overrun by the Sea Eagles who went on to claim the premiership.

### Milestones[edit]

* Round 1: Glenn Hall, Ben Jones, Dallas Johnson and Ashton Sims made their debuts for the club.
* Round 2: Ashley Graham played his 100th game for the club.
* Round 2: Tariq Sims made his NRL debut.
* Round 3: Kalifa Faifai Loa made his debut for the club.
* Round 3: James Segeyaro made his NRL debut.
* Round 5: Antonio Winterstein made his debut for the club.
* Round 4: Matthew Bowen became the club's most capped player with 204 games.
* Round 9: Johnathan Thurston became the club's highest point scorer.
* Round 10: Willie Tonga played his 50th game for the club.
* Round 13: Johnathan Thurston scored his 50th try for the club.
* Round 14: Ashley Graham scored his 50th try for the club.
* Round 14: Joel Riethmuller made his NRL debut.
* Round 18: Cory Paterson made his debut for the club.
* Round 19: Brent Tate made his debut for the club.
* Round 23: James Tamou played his 50th game for the club.

## Squad List[edit]

North Queensland Cowboys NRL Squad 2011  First team squad  |  | Coaching staff

|
|

* Isaak Ah Mau – PR

* Leeson Ah Mau – SR

* Clint Amos – SR

* Michael Bani – SR

* Scott Bolton – SR

* Matthew Bowen – FB

* Gavin Cooper – SR

* Jack Cooper  – SR

* Kalifa Faifai Loa – WG

* Shannon Gallant – WG

* Ashley Graham – WG

* Glenn Hall – SR

|  |

* Dane Hogan – LK

* Dallas Johnson – LK

* Ben Jones – FE

* Blake Leary – SR

* Tyson Martin – SR

* Michael Morgan – FE

* Cory Paterson – SR

* Aaron Payne – HK

* Joel Riethmuller – LK

* Matthew Scott (c) – PR

* James Segeyaro – HK

* Ashton Sims – PR

|  |

* Tariq Sims – SR

* Dylan Smith  – PR

* James Tamou – PR

* Brent Tate – CE

* Jason Taumalolo – LK

* Ray Thompson – FE

* Ricky Thorby – PR

* Johnathan Thurston (c) – HB

* Willie Tonga – WG

* Will Tupou – WG

* Antonio Winterstein – WG

|  |  |  |

Head coach

* Neil Henry

Assistant coaches

* Mick Crawley (assistant coach)

* Peter Ryan (assistant coach)

* Paul Bowman (High Performance Manager)

* Glen Murphy (head conditioner)

* Sean Edwards (strength & conditioning coach)

* * *

Legend:

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

* * *

## Squad Movement[edit]

### 2011 Gains[edit]

Player  | Signed From  | Until End of

|
|

Gavin Cooper |  Penrith Panthers |

2012

Kalifa Faifai Loa |  St George Illawarra Dragons |

2012

Glenn Hall |  Bradford Bulls |

2012

Dallas Johnson |  Catalans Dragons |

2013

Ben Jones |  Sydney Roosters |

2012

Blake Leary |  Melbourne Storm |

2012

Tyson Martin |  Mackay Cutters |

2012

Cory Paterson |  Newcastle Knights (mid-season) |

2012

Joel Riethmuller |  Northern Pride |

2011

Ashton Sims |  Brisbane Broncos |

2012

Tariq Sims |  Brisbane Broncos |

2012

Brent Tate |  Warriors |

2013

Ricky Thorby |  St George Illawarra Dragons |

2012

Antonio Winterstein |  Brisbane Broncos |

2013

### 2011 Losses[edit]

Player  | Signed To  | Until End of

|
|

Mitch Achurch |  Western Suburbs Magpies |

2011

Obe Geia | Released |

Ben Harris | Retired |

Donald Malone |  Ipswich Jets |

2011

Willie Mason |  Hull Kingston Rovers |

2013

Luke O'Donnell |  Huddersfield Giants |

2014

Steve Rapira |  Warriors |

2012

Grant Rovelli |  Mackay Cutters |

2011

Nick Slyney |  Redcliffe Dolphins |

2011

Steve Southern |  Newcastle Knights |

2011

Arana Taumata |  Penrith Panthers |

2011

Anthony Watts |  Sydney Roosters |

2013

Carl Webb |  Parramatta Eels |

2012

John Williams |  Cronulla Sharks |

2011

Ty Williams |  Northern Pride |

2011

## Ladder[edit]

2011 NRL Telstra Premiership

* v
* t
* e

Pos. | Team  | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts
1 |  Melbourne Storm | 24 | 19 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 521 | 308 | 213 | 42
2 |  Manly Warringah Sea Eagles (P) | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 539 | 331 | 208 | 40
3 |  Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 511 | 372 | 139 | 40
4 |  Wests Tigers | 24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 519 | 430 | 89 | 34
5 |  St. George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 2 | 483 | 341 | 142 | 33
6 |  New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 504 | 393 | 111 | 32
7 |  North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 532 | 480 | 52 | 32
8 |  Newcastle Knights | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 478 | 443 | 35 | 28
9 |  Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 449 | 489 | -40 | 28
10 |  South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 531 | 562 | -31 | 26
11 |  Sydney Roosters | 24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 417 | 500 | -83 | 24
12 |  Penrith Panthers | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 2 | 430 | 517 | -87 | 22
13 |  Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 428 | 557 | -129 | 18
14 |  Parramatta Eels | 24 | 6 | 1 | 17 | 2 | 385 | 538 | -153 | 17
15 |  Canberra Raiders | 24 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 423 | 623 | -200 | 16
16 |  Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 2 | 363 | 629 | -266 | 16

## Fixtures[edit]

### Pre-season[edit]

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

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

11 February | Trial 1 |  Wests Tigers | Jack Manski Oval | 10 - 22 | Martin, Riethmuller | Faifai Loa (1/2) | \-
19 February | Trial 2 |  Brisbane Broncos | Traeger Park | 4 - 26 | Faifai Loa | Faifai Loa (0/1) | \-
26 February | Trial 3 |  Gold Coast Titans | Barlow Park | 22 - 24 | Bowen, Bolton, Scott, Tonga | Thurston (3/4) | \-
Legend:  Win Loss Draw

### Regular season[edit]

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

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

11 March | Round 1 |  Brisbane Broncos | Suncorp Stadium | 16 - 14 | Bani, Tamou, Tupou | Thurston (2/3) | 45,119
19 March | Round 2 |  Newcastle Knights | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 22 - 34 | Graham (2), Ah Mau, Jones | Thurston (3/4) | 14,061
28 March | Round 3 |  Melbourne Storm | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 34 - 6 | Bowen (2), Graham (2), T Sims, Tupou | Thurston (5/6) | 9,554
2 April | Round 4 |  Parramatta Eels | Parramatta Stadium | 20 - 22 | Faifai Loa (2), Graham, Tonga | Thurston (2/4) | 12,226
8 April | Round 5 |  Gold Coast Titans | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 22 - 12 | Bowen, Cooper, Thurston, Tonga | Thurston (3/4) | 13,651
16 April | Round 6 |  Canberra Raiders | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 26 - 18 | Bolton, Hall, Thurston, Winterstein | Thurston (5/5) | 10,741
23 April | Round 7 |  Cronulla Sharks | Toyota Stadium | 30 - 12 | Cooper (2), Faifai Loa, Graham, Tonga | Thurston (5/6) | 7,340
30 April | Round 8 |  Manly Sea Eagles | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 22 - 20 | Bowen (2), Payne, Thurston | Thurston (3/4) | 14,884
8 May | Round 9 |  St George Illawarra Dragons | WIN Jubilee Oval | 8 - 22 | Thurston | Thurston (2/2) | 13,056
14 May | Round 10 |  Parramatta Eels | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 40 - 26 | Thurston (2), Tonga (2), Faifai Loa, Hall, Winterstein | Thurston (6/7) | 13,610
| Round 11 | Bye |  |  |  |  |
28 May | Round 12 |  Sydney Roosters | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 20 - 6 | Hall, Tamou, Thurston | Thurston (4/4) | 13,335
5 June | Round 13 |  Canberra Raiders | Canberra Stadium | 40 - 24 | Faifai Loa (2), T Sims (2), Hall, Payne, Thurston | Thurston (6/7) | 11,128
11 June | Round 14 |  Manly Sea Eagles | Brookvale Oval | 4 - 24 | Graham | Cooper (0/1) | 8,452
18 June | Round 15 |  Warriors | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 30 - 10 | Faifai Loa (2), Graham, Jones, Segeyaro, T Sims, Thurston | Cooper (1/3), Graham (0/1) Thurston (0/3) | 16,081
26 June | Round 16 |  Penrith Panthers | Centrebet Stadium | 20 - 30 | Cooper (2), Jones, Segeyaro | Thurston (2/4) | 14,090
| Round 17 | Bye |  |  |  |  |
11 July | Round 18 |  Newcastle Knights | Ausgrid Stadium | 22 - 12 | Paterson, Riethmuller, Segeyaro, Tupou | Bowen (3/5) | 17,212
16 July | Round 19 |  Wests Tigers | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 18 - 38 | Paterson (2), Tonga (2) | Bowen (1/4) | 12,880
23 July | Round 20 |  Gold Coast Titans | Skilled Park | 28 - 20 | Graham (2), Cooper, Tate, Tonga | Bowen (4/5) | 15,741
30 July | Round 21 |  Penrith Panthers | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 30 - 18 | Segeyaro (2), Graham, A Sims, Tate, Thompson | Bowen (2/4), Paterson (0/2) | 12,349
5 August | Round 22 |  Canterbury Bulldogs | ANZ Stadium | 6 - 14 | Tate | Bowen (1/1) | 8,654
12 August | Round 23 |  Brisbane Broncos | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 16 - 34 | Bowen, Faifai Loa, Tate | Thurston (2/3) | 26,463
19 August | Round 24 |  South Sydney Rabbitohs | ANZ Stadium | 24 - 26 | Bowen, T Sims, Thurston, Tonga | Thurston (4/5) | 11,208
27 August | Round 25 |  Cronulla Sharks | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 28 - 20 | Taumalolo (2), Bowen, Graham, Hall | Thurston (4/5) | 12,655
3 September | Round 26 |  Warriors | Mt Smart Stadium | 6 - 18 | Faifai Loa | Thurston (1/1) | 20,802
Legend:  Win Loss Draw Bye

### Finals[edit]

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

|
|
|
|
|
|
|

3 September | Qualifying Final |  Manly Sea Eagles | SFS | 8 - 32 | Tonga | Thurston (2/2) | 13,972
Legend:  Win Loss Draw Bye

## Statistics[edit]

Name | App | T | G | FG | Pts

|
|
|
|
|

Isaak Ah Mau | 1 | - | - | - | \-
Leeson Ah Mau | 15 | 1 | - | - | 4
Clint Amos | 1 | - | - | - | \-
Michael Bani | 2 | 1 | - | - | 4
Scott Bolton | 15 | 1 | - | - | 4
Matthew Bowen | 25 | 8 | 12 | - | 56
Gavin Cooper | 24 | 6 | 1 | - | 26
Kalifa Faifai Loa | 22 | 10 | - | - | 40
Ashley Graham | 25 | 12 | - | - | 48
Glenn Hall | 23 | 5 | - | - | 20
Dallas Johnson | 24 | - | - | - | \-
Ben Jones | 8 | 3 | - | - | 12
Michael Morgan | 4 | - | - | - | \-
Cory Paterson | 7 | 3 | - | - | 12
Aaron Payne | 23 | 2 | - | - | 8
Joel Riethmuller | 4 | 1 | - | - | 4
Matthew Scott | 22 | - | - | - | \-
James Segeyaro | 19 | 5 | - | - | 20
Ashton Sims | 24 | 1 | - | - | 4
Tariq Sims | 20 | 5 | - | - | 20
James Tamou | 23 | 2 | - | - | 8
Brent Tate | 9 | 4 | - | - | 16
Jason Taumalolo | 3 | 2 | - | - | 8
Ray Thompson | 25 | 1 | - | - | 4
Johnathan Thurston | 19 | 10 | 61 | - | 162
Willie Tonga | 20 | 10 | - | - | 40
Will Tupou | 9 | 3 | - | - | 12
Antonio Winterstein | 9 | 2 | - | - | 8
Totals |  | 98 | 74 | - | 540

Source:[2]

## Representatives[edit]

The following players have played a representative match in 2011

| All Stars match | ANZAC Test | State of Origin 1 | State of Origin 2 | State of Origin 3 | Prime Minister's XIII | World Cup Qualifiers | Four Nations

|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|

Matthew Bowen |

Indigenous All Stars

Prime Minister's XIII

Kalifa Faifai Loa |

New Zealand

Joel Riethmuller |

Italy

Matthew Scott |

NRL All Star

Australia

Queensland

Queensland

Queensland

Australia

James Segeyaro |

Papua New Guinea

Ray Thompson |

Papua New Guinea

Johnathan Thurston |

Indigenous All Stars

Australia

Queensland

Queensland

Queensland

Australia

Willie Tonga |

Indigenous All Stars

Queensland

Australia

## Honours[edit]

### League[edit]

* Golden Boot: Johnathan Thurston
* Dally M Prop of the Year: Matthew Scott
* RLIF Prop of the Year: Matthew Scott
* RLPA NYC Player of the Year: Jason Taumalolo
* NYC Team of the Year: Kyle Feldt, Jason Taumalolo

### Club[edit]

* Paul Bowman Medal: Ashley Graham
* Player's Player: Johnathan Thurston
* Club Person of the Year: Gavin Cooper
* Rookie of the Year: Tariq Sims
* Most Improved: Ray Thompson
* NYC Player of the Year: Jason Taumalolo

## Feeder Clubs[edit]

### National Youth Competition[edit]

* North Queensland Cowboys \- 2nd, Runners-up

### Queensland Cup[edit]

* Mackay Cutters \- 11th, missed finals
* Northern Pride \- 2nd, Lost Semi Final

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Townsville Bulletin". Archived from the original on 8 July 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
2. ^ "NRL 2011 - North Queensland Cowboys - Rugby League Project".

* v
* t
* e

2011 in rugby league

« 2010

2012 »

International Rugby League|

* World Club Challenge
* Four Nations
* Anzac Test
* Autumn International Series
* 2013 World Cup qualifying
* Milan Kosanovic Cup
* MEA Championship

European Rugby League|

| Competitions|

* International Origin
* Super League
* Results
* Grand Final
* RFL Championship
* Results
* Championship 1
* Challenge Cup
* Final
* Championship Cup

|

Super League clubs|

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

Other clubs|

* Widnes Vikings

Australian Rugby League|

| Competitions|

* State of Origin
* 2011 NRL season
* Results
* Grand Final
* Toyota Cup
* Results
* Queensland Cup
* New South Wales Cup
* Legends of Origin charity match

|

NRL clubs|

* Brisbane Broncos
* Canterbury-Bankstown 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
* All Stars match
* Northern Pride

Other domestic competitions|

* France
* 2010–2011
* 2011–2012
* New Zealand
* Sweden
* United States
* AMNRL
* USARL

* 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 (28)|

* 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

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
Townsville Blackhawks
Past
Cairns Cyclones
North Queensland Young Guns
Townsville Stingers

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