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 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. 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 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
Squad movement 1995 Gains 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 TeamPldWDLPFPAPDPts1 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles22 2002687248+439 402 Canberra Raiders222002634255+379403 Brisbane Broncos221705600364+236344 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks221606516287+229325 Newcastle Knights221507549396+153306 Sydney Bulldogs (P)221408468352+116287 St. George Dragons221309583382+201268 North Sydney Bears221129542331+211249 Sydney City Roosters2212010466406+602410 Auckland Warriors221309544493+512411 Western Reds2211011361549-1882212 Illawarra Steelers2210111519431+882113 Western Suburbs Magpies2210012459534-752014 Penrith Panthers229013481484-31815 Sydney Tigers227015309591-2821416 South Queensland Crushers226115303502-1991317 Gold Coast Seagulls224117350628-278918 South Sydney Rabbitohs224117319686-367919 Parramatta Eels223019310690-380620 North Queensland Cowboys222020269660-3914 Auckland Warriors were stripped of 2 competition points due to exceeding the replacement limit in round 3.
Fixtures Regular season
Date Round Opponent Venue Score Tries Goals Attendance11 MarchRound 1 Sydney BulldogsStockland Stadium16 – 32 Gibson, Groves Dunemann (3/4), Gibson (1/1) 23,15619 MarchRound 2 Sydney City RoostersSydney Football Stadium16 – 34 Bouveng, Galea, Mathiou Duneman (2/3) 6,58526 MarchRound 3 Sydney TigersParramatta Stadium16 – 38 Bouveng, Galea, Morganson Duneman (2/4) 5,4241 AprilRound 4 Canberra RaidersStockland Stadium8 – 14 Bartlett, Bouveng Vowles (0/2) 23,5618 AprilRound 5 Brisbane BroncosStockland Stadium12 – 20 Galea, Loomans, Spina Jones (0/1), Vowles (0/3) 24,85516 AprilRound 6 North Sydney BearsNorth Sydney Oval6 – 60 Morganson Vowles (1/1) 6,70722 AprilRound 7 Manly Sea EaglesStockland Stadium14 – 36 Loomans (2), Bouveng Holmes (1/3) 22,16730 AprilRound 8 Illawarra SteelersSteelers Stadium14 – 10 Bouveng (2), Vowles Vowles (1/2), Holmes (0/2) 8,9146 MayRound 9 Parramatta EelsParramatta Stadium4 – 20 Bouveng Vowles (0/1) 4,14520 MayRound 10 Sydney City RoostersStockland Stadium16 – 20 Loomans (2), Bouveng Davies (2/5) 20,8604 JuneRound 11 Newcastle KnightsMarathon Stadium14 – 44 Christensen, Davies, Gibson Davies (1/3) 15,57710 JuneRound 12 Cronulla SharksCaltex Field10 – 34 Loomans, Martin Holmes (1/1), Morganson (0/1) 5,12824 JuneRound 13 Sydney TigersStockland Stadium14 – 28 Dunemann, Loomans Davies (3/5) 20,1131 JulyRound 14 Penrith PanthersPenrith Stadium10 – 40 Bouveng Davies (3/3) 5,7748 JulyRound 15 Western Suburbs MagpiesStockland Stadium31 – 12 Bartlett, Dunemann, Gibson, Martin, Skardon Davies (5/6, 1 FG) 18,11215 JulyRound 16 South Sydney RabbitohsSydney Football Stadium16 – 30 Loomans (2), Galea Cressbrook (1/1), Davies (1/3) 4,22522 JulyRound 17 Gold Coast SeagullsStockland Stadium8 – 10 Martin Davies (2/2) 20,06729 JulyRound 18 Auckland WarriorsStockland Stadium10 – 28 Jones, Vowles Davies (1/2) 23,5216 AugustRound 19 South Queensland CrushersSuncorp Stadium6 – 22 Bowman Davies (1/2) 17,10512 AugustRound 20 Western RedsStockland Stadium10 – 12 Blackman, Jones Cressbrook (1/3) 19,67520 AugustRound 21 St George DragonsStockland Stadium14 – 50 Skardon, Vowles Cressbrook (3/3) 22,28327 AugustRound 22 Sydney BulldogsBelmore Oval4 – 66 Skardon Cressbrook (0/1) 18,818 Legend:
Statistics NameAppTGFGPts2----212--814----31--4169--3671--4101--48-5-1091191431327-225----194--162031-14171--44----5-2-4122--83----169--362----83--1271--41----4----82--82----1----9----11----1----11----20----163--121----6----131--412----2032-1611---- Totals 49 36 1 269 Source:
Representatives The following players played a representative match in 1995.
World CupJonathan Davies Kevin Ellis Robert Piva
Honours Club Player of the Year: Wayne Sing Players' Player: Wayne Sing Club Person of the Year: Paul Galea
References