The 2008 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 14th season in the club's history. They were coached by Graham Murray and captained by Johnathan Thurston, they competed in the National Rugby League's 2008 Telstra Premiership.

On 19 May, Murray resigned as head coach after just three wins from the opening 10 games. He was replaced by assistant coach Ian Millward, who took over as interim head coach until the end of the season. The Cowboys finished the season in 15th place, avoiding the wooden spoon by points differential.

Season summary The Cowboys entered the 2008 season optimistic about the finals chances after a preliminary final appearance in 2007. The club got off to the worst possible start, losing three straight games. They would win their next three but it proved to be a false dawn, as the side went on a club record 13-game losing streak. They finished the season with two wins from their final five games, finishing in 15th place and narrowly avoiding the wooden spoon. The season was plagued by injury, with key players Matthew Bowen, Luke O'Donnell, Matthew Scott and Johnathan Thurston all missing considerable playing time due to injuries.

On April 2, the Cowboys signed former assistant coach and then-Canberra Raiders coach Neil Henry as their head coach for the 2009 season. A month later, Graham Murray re-signed as head coach and was replaced by his assistant Ian Millward as interim head coach for the rest of 2008. Millward's first win as head coach occurred in Round 22, as the Cowboys defeated the Canterbury Bulldogs 36–12 at Suncorp Stadium.

Despite the poor season, the club still maintained the fourth highest home crowd average in the NRL with an average of 18,102.

Milestones Round 1: Matthew Scott played his 50th game for the club. Round 1: Travis Burns and Ben Harris made their debuts for the club. Round 2: Dayne Weston made his debut for the club. Round 2: Obe Geia made his NRL debut. Round 4: Anthony Watts and John Williams made their debuts for the club. Round 8: Daniel Abraham made his debut for the club. Round 14: Nick Slyney made his NRL debut. Round 15: Greg Byrnes made his NRL debut. Round 16: Ashley Graham played his 50th game for the club. Round 16: Brandon Boor and Sam Bowie made their NRL debuts. Round 19: Luke Harlen made his debut for the club. Round 21: The club recorded their longest losing streak with their 13th straight loss. Round 22: Ray Cashmere played his 50th game for the club. Round 25: Shane Tronc played his 100th game for the club.

Squad list

Squad movement

2008 gains Player Signed from Until end of Daniel Abraham Newcastle Knights Travis Burns Manly Sea Eagles George Gatis Huddersfield Giants (mid-season) Ben Harris Bradford Bulls Chris Sheppard Northern Pride (mid-season) Anthony Perkins Melbourne Storm Anthony Watts Cronulla Sharks Dayne Weston Cronulla Sharks John Williams Sydney Roosters

2008 losses Player Signed to Until end of Daniel Abraham Mackay Cutters (mid-season) Brett Anderson Melbourne Storm Brenton Bowen Gold Coast Titans Paul BowmanRetired David Faiumu Huddersfield Giants (mid-season) Jamie Frizzo Northern Pride (mid-season) Karl Johnson Newcastle Knights Scott MintoRetired Shane Muspratt Mackay Cutters Jason SmithRetired Neil Sweeney Newcastle Knights Colin WilkieReleased

Ladder

Fixtures

Pre-season Date Round Opponent Venue Score Tries Goals Attendance16 FebruaryTrial 1 Brisbane BroncosBrowne Park10 – 20 Nicolau, Thompson Nicolau (1/2) -23 FebruaryTrial 2 Gold Coast TitansBarlow Park22 – 30 Webb (2), Faust, T Williams Graham (3/4) -1 MarchTrial 3 Canberra RaidersDairy Farmers Stadium32 – 12 O'Donnell (3), Bowen, Southern, Webb Graham (3/4), Burns (1/2) -

Regular season

Date Round Opponent Venue Score Tries Goals Attendance14 MarchRound 1 Gold Coast TitansSkilled Park18 – 36 Thurston (2), Harris Thurston (3/3) 26,97422 MarchRound 2 Wests TigersDairy Farmers Stadium10 – 30 Graham, Harris Thurston (1/2) 20,65528 MarchRound 3 Brisbane BroncosSuncorp Stadium2 – 36 - Thurston (1/1) 50,6125 AprilRound 4 Parramatta EelsDairy Farmers Stadium38 – 14 Graham, Henry, Lillyman, Smith, Watts, Webb Thurston (7/7) 19,23112 AprilRound 5 St George Illawarra DragonsWIN Stadium20 – 16 Smith, Thurston, Watts Thurston (4/4) 11,63919 AprilRound 6 WarriorsDairy Farmers Stadium48 – 20 Bowen (3), Harris (2), Graham, Smith, Southern, J Williams Thurston (6/8), Graham (0/1) 20,54426 AprilRound 7 Melbourne StormDairy Farmers Stadium10 – 12 Henry, J Williams Thurston (1/2) 24,0534 MayRound 8 South Sydney RabbitohsANZ Stadium24 – 28 Graham, Vaeau, Webb, J Williams Thurston (4/4) 9,81810 MayRound 9 Cronulla SharksDairy Farmers Stadium18 – 24 Henry, O'Donnell, Webb Thurston (3/3) 17,06517 MayRound 10 Manly Sea EaglesCentral Coast Stadium6 – 38 Farrar J Williams (1/1) 9,343Round 11Bye31 MayRound 12 Penrith PanthersDairy Farmers Stadium18 – 19 Abraham, Burns, Graham Thurston (3/4) 16,5537 JuneRound 13 Wests TigersCampbelltown Stadium16 – 40 Harris, Slyney, T Williams J Williams (2/3) 10,48816 JuneRound 14 Newcastle KnightsDairy Farmers Stadium18 – 30 Farrar (2), Bartlett Thurston (3/4) 14,23421 JuneRound 15 Melbourne StormOlympic Park20 – 48 Cashmere, Henry, Webb, J Williams Thurston (2/4) 10,88028 JuneRound 16 South Sydney RabbitohsDairy Farmers Stadium28 – 29 Graham (2), Cashmere, Harris, J Williams J Williams (4/5) 15,631Round 17Bye12 JulyRound 18 WarriorsMt Smart Stadium14 – 24 J Williams (2), Graham Thurston (1/3) 7,77218 JulyRound 19 Brisbane BroncosDairy Farmers Stadium18 – 32 Southern, Tronc, J Williams J Williams (3/3) 22,04825 JulyRound 20 Parramatta EelsParramatta Stadium4 – 16 J Williams J Williams (0/1) 7,2532 AugustRound 21 Sydney RoostersDairy Farmers Stadium20 – 32 Henry, O'Donnell, Weston, T Williams Thurston (2/4) 14,6019 AugustRound 22 Canterbury BulldogsSuncorp Stadium36 – 12 T Williams (2), Burns, Cashmere, Faumuina, Graham, Webb J Williams (4/7) 8,54916 AugustRound 23 Gold Coast TitansDairy Farmers Stadium20 – 26 O'Donnell, Weston, J Williams, T Williams J Williams (2/4) 17,60523 AugustRound 24 Newcastle KnightsEnergyAustralia Stadium24 – 38 O'Donnell (2), Payne, T Williams J Williams (4/4) 10,32330 AugustRound 25 Canberra RaidersDairy Farmers Stadium22 – 10 Burns, Harris, Thurston, Webb J Williams (3/4) 14,9986 SeptemberRound 26 Cronulla SharksToyota Stadium22 – 28 Graham, Scott, Tronc, T Williams J Williams (3/3), Thurston (0/1) 7,057 Legend:

Statistics NameAppTGFGPts61--461--44----2----63--121----143--123----243--124----183--12141--410----1----2----2210--405----247--28235--20111--41----155--20241--461--41----21--4113--12182--817439-94182--8111--4122--8216--24192--8201028-96127--28 Totals 85 67 0 474 Source:

Representatives The following players played a representative match in 2008.

City vs Country ANZAC Test State of Origin 1 State of Origin 2 State of Origin 3 Prime Minister's XIII Indigenous v Māori World CupRay Cashmere Ben Harris Jacob Lillyman Luke O'Donnell Johnathan Thurston Carl Webb Ty Williams

Honours

League Wally Lewis Medal: Johnathan Thurston

Club Paul Bowman Medal: Aaron Payne Player's Player: Aaron Payne Club Person of the Year: Aaron Payne Rookie of the Year: Nick Slyney Most Improved: Brandon Boor NYC Player of the Year: Nick Slyney

Feeder clubs

National Youth Competition North Queensland Cowboys - 16th, wooden spoon

Queensland Cup Mackay Cutters - 9th, missed finals Northern Pride - 3rd, lost preliminary final

References