2023 North Queensland Cowboys season

Season of rugby league team

2023 North Queensland Cowboys season

NRL Rank| 11th
Play-off result| Missed finals
2023 record| Wins: 12; draws: 0; losses: 12
Points scored| For: 546; against: 542
Team information
CEO| Jeff Reibel
Coach| Todd Payten
Captain|

* Jason Taumalolo
Chad Townsend

Stadium| Queensland Country Bank Stadium
Avg. attendance| 19,175
High attendance| 22,811 (vs. Dolphins Round 6)
Top scorers
Tries| Kyle Feldt (13)
Goals| Valentine Holmes (68)
Points| Valentine Holmes (170)
| ← 2022 |  | 2024 →

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The 2023 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 29th in the club's history. Coached by Todd Payten and captained by Jason Taumalolo and Chad Townsend, they competed in the NRL's 2023 Telstra Premiership but did not qualify for the finals.

## Season summary

[edit]

### Milestones

[edit]

* Round 1: Jamayne Taunoa-Brown played his 50th NRL game.
* Round 3: Tom Chester scored his first NRL try.
* Round 3: Gehamat Shibasaki made his debut for the club.
* Round 5: Riley Price made his NRL debut.
* Round 7: Jack Gosiewski made his debut for the club.
* Round 10: Kulikefu Finefeuiaki made his NRL debut.
* Round 10: Jack Gosiewski scored his first try for the club.
* Round 13: Robert Derby and Zac Laybutt made their NRL debuts.

### Squad

[edit]

North Queensland Cowboys 2023 Squad

* view
* talk
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Top 30 NRL Squad – 2023 season  | Development Players  | Coaching Staff

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* Jake Bourke – FE

* Tom Chester – FB

* Reuben Cotter – PR, LK

* Tom Dearden – FE

* Scott Drinkwater – FB

* Mitch Dunn – PR

* Brendan Elliot – WG

* Kyle Feldt – WG

* Jack Gosiewski – SR

* Jake Granville – LK, PR

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* Ben Hampton – FE

* Coen Hess – SR, PR

* Peta Hiku – CE

* Valentine Holmes – CE

* Luciano Leilua – SR

* Heilum Luki – SR

* Sam McIntyre – SR, LK

* Jordan McLean (vc)  – PR

* Jeremiah Nanai – SR

* Griffin Neame – PR, SR

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* Riley Price – SR, LK, PR

* Reece Robson – HK

* Taniela Sadrugu – LK, CE

* Gehamat Shibasaki – CE

* James Tamou – PR

* Murray Taulagi – WG

* Jason Taumalolo (c) – LK

* Jamayne Taunoa-Brown – PR

* Chad Townsend (c) – HB

* Semi Valemei – CE, WG

|  |

* Jodeci Baker-Tiraha – FB

* Robert Derby – WG

* Tom Duffy – HB

* Kulikefu Finefeuiaki – SR

* Jai Hansen – HK

* Ragarive Wavik – CE

Extended squad

* Marly Bitungane – PR

* Zac Laybutt – CE, FB, FE

* Sylvester Namo – PR

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Head coach

* Todd Payten

Assistant coaches

* Dean Young

* Steve Georgallis

* Ben Rauter (Development)

* Paul Bowman (Head of Performance)

* Ashley Graham (Strength & Conditioning)

* Mark Henry (Strength & Conditioning)

* James Moran (Strength & Conditioning)

* Steve Sartori (Physiotherapist)

* * *

Legend:

* (c) Captain(s)
* (vc) Vice-captain(s)
* Development players[1]

* Extended squad[2]

* * *

Updated: 9 May 2023
Source(s): NQ Cowboys

## Squad movement

[edit]

### Gains

[edit]

Player  | Signed From  | Until End of  | Notes

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Jack Gosiewski |  St George Illawarra Dragons |

2023

[3]

Sam McIntyre |  Gold Coast Titans (mid-season) |

2024

[4]

James Tamou |  Wests Tigers |

2023

[5]

Semi Valemei |  Canberra Raiders (mid-season) |

2025

[6]

### Losses

[edit]

Player  | Signed To  | Until End of  | Notes

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Iosefo Baleiwairiki |  Fijian Drua |

2023

[7]

Kane Bradley |  Brisbane Tigers |

2023

[8]

Brendan Frei |  Wynnum Manly Seagulls |

2023

Tom Gilbert |  Dolphins |

2025

[9]

Connelly Lemuelu |  Dolphins |

2024

[10]

Jordan Lipp |  Western Clydesdales (mid-season) |

2023

[11]

Morgan McWhirter |  North Sydney Bears |

2023

[8]

Laitia Moceidreke |  Newcastle Knights (mid-season) |

2023

[12]

Emry Pere |  Burleigh Bears |

2023

[13]

Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow |  Dolphins |

2024

[14]

Tyreece Woods |  Newcastle Knights |

2023

### Re-signings

[edit]

Player  | Signed From  | Until End of  | Notes

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Jeremiah Nanai |  North Queensland Cowboys |

2027

[15]

## Ladder

[edit]

2023 NRL season

* v
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* e

Pos | Team  | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts
1 |  Penrith Panthers (P) | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 645 | 312 | +333 | 42
2 |  Brisbane Broncos | 24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 3 | 639 | 425 | +214 | 42
3 |  Melbourne Storm | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 627 | 459 | +168 | 38
4 |  New Zealand Warriors | 24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 3 | 572 | 448 | +124 | 38
5 |  Newcastle Knights | 24 | 14 | 1 | 9 | 3 | 626 | 451 | +175 | 35
6 |  Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 3 | 619 | 497 | +122 | 34
7 |  Sydney Roosters | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 472 | 496 | −24 | 32
8 |  Canberra Raiders | 24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 486 | 623 | −137 | 32
9 |  South Sydney Rabbitohs | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 564 | 505 | +59 | 30
10 |  Parramatta Eels | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 587 | 574 | +13 | 30
11 |  North Queensland Cowboys | 24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 3 | 546 | 542 | +4 | 30
12 |  Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 24 | 11 | 1 | 12 | 3 | 545 | 539 | +6 | 29
13 |  Dolphins | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 3 | 520 | 631 | −111 | 24
14 |  Gold Coast Titans | 24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 3 | 527 | 653 | −126 | 24
15 |  Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 3 | 438 | 769 | −331 | 20
16 |  St. George Illawarra Dragons | 24 | 5 | 0 | 19 | 3 | 474 | 673 | −199 | 16
17 |  Wests Tigers | 24 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 3 | 385 | 675 | −290 | 14

## Fixtures

[edit]

### Pre-season

[edit]

Main article: 2023 NRL pre-season results

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

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Saturday, 12 February | Trial 1 |  Dolphins | Barlow Park | 22 – 22 | Derby (2), Moceidreke (2) | Duffy (3/4), Laybutt (0/1) | 6,922
Saturday, 18 February | Trial 2 |  Brisbane Broncos | Sunshine Coast Stadium | 18 - 22 | Holmes, Feldt, Nanai | Holmes (3/3) |
Legend:  Win Loss Draw Bye

### Regular season

[edit]

Main article: 2023 NRL season results

Round| 1| 2| 3| 4| 5| 6| 7| 8| 9| 10| 11| 12| 13| 14| 15| 16| 17| 18| 19| 20| 21| 22| 23| 24| 25| 26| 27

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Ground| H| A| H| H| A| H| A| H| A| N| H| A| A| H| –| H| A| H| –| A| H| A| H| –| H| A| A
Result| W| L| L| W| L| L| L| W| L| W| W| L| L| W| B| W| W| W| B| W| W| L| L| B| L| W| L
Position| 8| 13| 15| 13| 14| 15| 16| 15| 16| 14| 13| 14| 16| 14| 14| 13| 10| 9| 9| 9| 7| 8| 10| 9| 9| 9| 11
Points| 2| 2| 2| 4| 4| 4| 4| 6| 6| 8| 10| 10| 10| 12| 14| 16| 18| 20| 22| 24| 26| 26| 26| 28| 28| 30| 30

Source: National Rugby League
A = Away; H = Home; N = Neutral; B = Bye; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

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

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Saturday, 4 March | Round 1 |  Canberra Raiders | QCB Stadium | 19 - 18 | Taulagi, Drinkwater (2) | Holmes (3/5), Townsend (1 FG) | 19,855
Friday, 10 March | Round 2 |  Brisbane Broncos | Suncorp Stadium | 16 - 28 | Nanai (2) | Holmes (4/4) | 43,162
Saturday, 18 March | Round 3 |  NZ Warriors | QCB Stadium | 12 – 26 | Chester, Robson | Holmes (2/2) | 17,818
Saturday, 25 March | Round 4 |  Gold Coast Titans | QCB Stadium | 24 – 12 | Chester, Holmes, Nanai, Tamou | Holmes (4/4) | 16,426
Sunday, 2 April | Round 5 |  Canterbury Bulldogs | Accor Stadium | 14 – 15 | Chester, Dearden | Holmes (3/4) | 9,626
Friday, 7 April | Round 6 |  Dolphins | QCB Stadium | 22 – 32 | Feldt (2), Hess, Holmes | Holmes (3/4) | 22,811
Saturday, 15 April | Round 7 |  NZ Warriors | Mount Smart Stadium | 14 – 22 | Cotter, Holmes, Taulagi | Holmes (1/3) | 23,695
Saturday, 22 April | Round 8 |  Newcastle Knights | QCB Stadium | 18 – 16 | Dearden, Feldt, Robson | Holmes (3/3) | 17,970
Thursday, 27 April | Round 9 |  Cronulla Sharks | PointsBet Stadium | 6 – 44 | Feldt | Holmes (1/1) | 8,148
Sunday, 7 May | Round 10 |  Sydney Roosters | Suncorp Stadium | 20 – 6 | Cotter, Gosiewski, Townsend | Holmes (4/4) | 45,085
Saturday, 13 May | Round 11 |  St George Illawarra Dragons | QCB Stadium | 46 – 26 | Feldt (2), Gosiewski, Luki (2), Dearden (2) | Holmes (6/7, 1 2pt FG) | 17,852
Saturday, 20 May | Round 12 |  Wests Tigers | Leichhardt Oval | 18 – 66 | Cotter, Feldt, Leilua | Holmes (3/3) | 12,247
Friday, 26 May | Round 13 |  Parramatta Eels | CommBank Stadium | 16 – 24 | Feldt (2), Drinkwater | Townsend (2/3) | 14,810
Sunday, 4 June | Round 14 |  Melbourne Storm | QCB Stadium | 45 – 20 | Valemei (3), Holmes, Taulagi (2), Nanai, Townsend | Holmes (6/8), Townsend (1 FG) | 18,867
| Round 15 | Bye
Friday, 16 June | Round 16 |  Penrith Panthers | QCB Stadium | 27 – 23 | Drinkwater (2), Dearden, Finefeuiaki, Feldt | Townsend (3/4, 1 FG) | 17,277
Sunday, 25 June | Round 17 |  South Sydney Rabbitohs | Accor Stadium | 31 – 6 | Taulagi, Holmes (2), Finefeuiaki, Dearden | Drinkwater (1 FG), Holmes (5/6) | 11,262
Saturday, 1 July | Round 18 |  Wests Tigers | QCB Stadium | 74 – 0 | Taulagi (3), Drinkwater (2), Holmes (2), Valemei (2), Dearden, Leilua, McLean, Nanai | Holmes (11/13) | 30,606
| Round 19 | Bye
Saturday, 15 July | Round 20 |  Manly Sea Eagles | 4 Pines Park | 19 – 8 | Cotter, Nanai, Drinkwater | Holmes (3/3) | 13,240
Saturday, 22 July | Round 21 |  Parramatta Eels | QCB Stadium | 24 - 16 | Hiku, Valemei (2), Drinkwater | Holmes (4/5) | 20,710
Sunday, 30 July | Round 22 |  Gold Coast Titans | Cbus Super Stadium | 13 – 22 | Hess, Valemei | Holmes (2/2), Townsend (1 FG) | 16,516
Saturday, 5 August | Round 23 |  Brisbane Broncos | QCB Stadium | 14 – 30 | Feldt (2), Luki | Townsend (1/4) | 22,659
| Round 24 | Bye
Thursday, 17 August | Round 25 |  Cronulla Sharks | QCB Stadium | 12 – 32 | Drinkwater, Valemei | Drinkwater (2/2) | 17,318
Friday, 25 August | Round 26 |  Dolphins | Suncorp Stadium | 34 – 10 | Laybutt (2), Drinkwater, Feldt, Hiku, Taulagi | Drinkwater (5/6) | 33,449
Saturday, 2 September | Round 27 |  Penrith Panthers | BlueBet Stadium | 12 – 44 | Laybutt, Neame | Drinkwater (2/2) | 21,525
Legend:  Win Loss Draw Bye

## Statistics

[edit]

Name | App | T | G | FG | Pts

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Tom Chester | 7 | 3 | - | - | 12
Reuben Cotter | 20 | 4 | - | - | 16
Tom Dearden | 23 | 7 | - | - | 28
Robert Derby | 1 | - | - | - | \-
Scott Drinkwater | 21 | 11 | 9 | 1 | 63
Mitchell Dunn | 8 | – | - | - | \-
Brendan Elliot | 2 | – | - | - | \-
Kyle Feldt | 18 | 13 | - | - | 52
Kulikefu Finefeuiaki | 12 | 2 | - | - | 8
Jack Gosiewski | 7 | 2 | - | - | 8
Jake Granville | 24 | – | - | - | \-
Ben Hampton | 1 | - | - | - | \-
Coen Hess | 24 | 2 | - | - | 8
Peta Hiku | 22 | 2 | - | - | 8
Valentine Holmes | 18 | 8 | 68 | 1 | 170
Zac Laybutt | 4 | 3 | - | - | 12
Luciano Leilua | 13 | 2 | - | - | 8
Heilum Luki | 13 | 3 | - | - | 12
Sam McIntyre | 2 | - | - | - | \-
Jordan McLean | 22 | 1 | - | - | 4
Jeremiah Nanai | 13 | 6 | - | - | 24
Griffin Neame | 17 | 1 | - | - | 4
Riley Price | 2 | – | - | - | \-
Reece Robson | 23 | 2 | - | - | 8
Gehamat Shibasaki | 2 | – | - | - | \-
James Tamou | 3 | 1 | - | - | 4
Murray Taulagi | 20 | 9 | - | - | 36
Jason Taumalolo | 16 | – | - | - | \-
Jamayne Taunoa-Brown | 17 | - | - | - | \-
Chad Townsend | 24 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 25
Semi Valemei | 9 | 9 | - | - | 36
Totals |  | 93 | 87 | 7 | 546

Source:[16]

## Representatives

[edit]

The following players played a representative match in 2023.

| All Stars match | State of Origin 1 | State of Origin 2 | State of Origin 3 | Prime Minister's XIII

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Reuben Cotter |  |

Queensland

Queensland

Queensland

Australia

Robert Derby |  |  |  |  |

Papua New Guinea

Valentine Holmes |  |

Queensland

Queensland

Queensland

Zac Laybutt |  |  |  |  |

Papua New Guinea

Jeremiah Nanai |  |

Queensland

Queensland

Queensland

Murray Taulagi |  |

Queensland

Queensland

Queensland

Australia

Reece Robson |  |  |

New South Wales

New South Wales

Australia

Jamayne Taunoa-Brown |

Indigenous All Stars

|  |  |  |

## Honours

[edit]

### Club

[edit]

* Paul Bowman Medal: Scott Drinkwater[17]
* Players' Player: Scott Drinkwater[17]
* The Cowboys Way Award: Jordan McLean[17]
* Rookie of the Year: Kulikefu Finefeuiaki[17]
* JCU Education Award: Reuben Cotter[17]
* Young Guns Cowboys Way Award: Wil Sullivan[17]
* Club Person of the Year: James Tamou[17]
* Fans Choice Player of the Year: Reuben Cotter[17]

## Feeder Clubs

[edit]

### Queensland Cup

[edit]

While still affiliated with the Cutters and Pride, the Cowboys used the Blackhawks as their sole feeder club for their NRL players in 2023.

* Mackay Cutters – 14th, missed finals
* Northern Pride – 7th, lost elimination final
* Townsville Blackhawks – 12th, missed finals

## Women's team

[edit]

See also: 2023 North Queensland Cowboys Women season

The North Queensland Cowboys Women's team competed in their first season of the NRL Women's Premiership in 2023. They finished 9th, winning two games and losing seven. They were coached by Ben Jeffries and captained by Kirra Dibb and Tallisha Harden.[18]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Development players train with the Top 30 squad but cannot play NRL until after Round 10
2. ^ Players in the extended squad train with the Top 30 squad but are on train and trial or junior contracts
3. ^ "Cowboys sign Gosiewski". NQ Cowboys. 25 October 2022.
4. ^ "Cowboys sign McIntyre". NQ Cowboys. 16 May 2023.
5. ^ "Tamou returns to North Queensland". NQ Cowboys. 27 October 2022.
6. ^ "Cowboys sign Valemei". NQ Cowboys. 12 May 2023.
7. ^ "Iosefo Masi returns to the 7s team". Fiji Village. 22 August 2022.
8. ^ a b "Rabbitohs re-sign 'impressive' young gun; Newcastle lock in Broncos half: Transfer Centre". Fox Sports Australia. 6 September 2022.
9. ^ "Gilbert puts family first". Dolphins. 13 July 2022.
10. ^ "Back-row convert signs with Dolphins". Dolphins. 11 May 2022.
11. ^ "Round 8 Hostplus Cup team lists". QRL. 2 May 2023.
12. ^ "Senior Reps team lists: Round 11". Newcastle Knights. 9 May 2023.
13. ^ "The players who'll train and trial with Titans this pre-season". Gold Coast Titans. 25 October 2022.
14. ^ "Excitement machine 'the Hammer' joins the Dolphins". Dolphins. 5 October 2022.
15. ^ "Nanai signs long-term extension". NQ Cowboys. 15 February 2023.
16. ^ "2023 North Queensland Cowboys season". www.rugbyleagueproject.org.
17. ^ a b c d e f g h "Full list of winners from the Cowboys 2023 Presentation Night". NQ Cowboys. 20 September 2023.
18. ^ "Roosters overpower Cowboys to lock in home semi-final". NRL.com. 16 September 2023.

* v
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2023 in rugby league

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International Rugby League|

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* 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

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]: 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
*[PA]: Points against
*[PD]: Points difference
*[Pts]: Competition points