The 2015 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 21st in the club's history. The team is based in Townsville, Queensland, Australia. Coached by Paul Green and co-captained by Johnathan Thurston and Matthew Scott, they competed in the NRL's 2015 Telstra Premiership. The Cowboys celebrated 20 years as a club in 2015 and played in the first all-Queensland grand final, defeating the Brisbane Broncos 17–16 in golden point to win their first premiership.
Season summary After going through their pre-season trials undefeated, the Cowboys started their 2015 season with three straight losses. The side hit back with three consecutive wins on Monday Night Football over the Melbourne Storm, Penrith Panthers and South Sydney Rabbitohs, on their way to a club record 11-game winning streak. The Cowboys finished in 3rd place, winning 17 games, giving the club their most successful regular season in its history.
Milestones Round 1: Jake Granville, Ben Hannant and Justin O'Neill made their debut for the club. Round 2: Kelepi Tanginoa made his debut for the club. Round 3: Lachlan Coote made his debut for the club. Round 3: Kane Linnett played his 100th NRL game. Round 7: Ben Hannant played his 200th NRL game. Round 7: Johnathan Thurston played his 250th NRL game. Round 11: The club played their 500th premiership game. Round 15: The club recorded their longest winning streak with their 11th straight win. Round 15: Rory Kostjasyn played his 50th game for the club. Round 16: Patrick Kaufusi made his NRL debut. Round 19: Gavin Cooper played his 200th NRL game. Round 21: Lachlan Coote played his 100th NRL game. Round 21: Matthew Scott played his 200th game for the club. Round 22: Antonio Winterstein played his 100th game for the club. Round 22: Antonio Winterstein scored his 50th try for the club. Round 24: Coen Hess made his NRL debut. Round 24: Coen Hess scored his first NRL try. Round 25: Antonio Winterstein played his 150th NRL game. Round 26: The club won the 2015 NRL Club Championship. Round 26: Paul Green coached his 50th NRL game. Finals Week 2: Kane Linnett played his 100th game for the club. Finals Week 3: Scott Bolton played his 150th game for the club. Finals Week 3: The club qualified for their second Grand Final. Grand Final: Rory Kostjasyn played his 100th NRL game. Grand Final: The club won its first NRL premiership.
Squad List
2015 NRL Squad
Squad Movement
2015 Gains Player Signed from Until end of NotesJake Granville Brisbane BroncosBen Hannant Brisbane BroncosJustin O'Neill Melbourne StormKelepi Tanginoa Parramatta Eels
2015 losses Player Signed to Until end of Notes Anthony Mitchell Townsville BlackhawksCurtis Rona Canterbury BulldogsAshton Sims Warrington WolvesTariq Sims Newcastle KnightsBrent TateRetiredRicky Thorby Townsville BlackhawksJoel RiethmullerReleased
Re-signings Player Club Until end of Notes John Asiata North Queensland CowboysScott Bolton North Queensland CowboysJosh Chudleigh North Queensland CowboysBen Hannant North Queensland CowboysCoen Hess North Queensland Cowboys Kyle Laybutt North Queensland CowboysEthan Lowe North Queensland CowboysMichael Morgan North Queensland Cowboys Gideon Gela-Mosby North Queensland CowboysBen Spina North Queensland Cowboys Jason Taumalolo North Queensland Cowboys Ray Thompson North Queensland Cowboys
Ladder
Fixtures
NRL Auckland Nines
The NRL Auckland Nines is a pre-season rugby league nines competition featuring all 16 NRL clubs. The 2015 competition was played over two days on January 31 and February 1 at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand. The Cowboys featured in the Waiheke pool and played Melbourne, Penrith and South Sydney. The top two teams of each pool qualified for the quarter-finals. The Cowboys, who were the defending champions, were knocked out in the quarter-finals.
Pool Play Waiheke poolTeam South Sydney Rabbitohs33005420+346 North Qld Cowboys32014335+84 Melbourne Storm31023245-132 Penrith Panthers30031645-290
Date Time (Local) Round Opponent Venue Score Tries Goals Saturday, 31 January1:20pmRound 1 Melbourne StormEden Park17 – 8Lowe (bonus try), O'Neill, WrightWright (2)Saturday, 31 January5:40pmRound 2 South Sydney RabbitohsEden Park12 – 19O'Neill (2), Cooper-Sunday, 1 February12:25pmRound 3 Penrith PanthersEden Park14 – 8Feldt, Moga, TaumaloloLui (1)Sunday, 1 February2:30pmQuarter-final Parramatta EelsEden Park11 – 17Granville (bonus try), O'NeillMorgan (1) Legend:
Pre-season Date Round Opponent Venue Score Tries Goals AttendanceSaturday, 7 FebruaryTrial 1 Brisbane BroncosStadium Mackay18 – 6Feldt, Granville, LuiFeldt (3)-Saturday, 14 FebruaryTrial 2 Townsville BlackhawksJack Manski Oval24 – 12Bowen, Feldt, Kikau, King, NiemoellerBambling (1), Feldt (1)-Saturday, 21 FebruaryTrial 3 Gold Coast TitansBarlow Park30 – 10Moga (2), Cooper, Granville, Tanginoa, WrightThurston (3)- Legend:
Regular season
Date Round Opponent Venue Score Tries Goals AttendanceSaturday, 7 MarchRound 1 Sydney Roosters1300SMILES Stadium 4 – 28 O'Neill Thurston (0/1)17,123Saturday, 14 MarchRound 2 Newcastle Knights1300SMILES Stadium14 – 16 Lowe, Scott Thurston (3/3), Feldt (0/1) 13,006Friday, 20 MarchRound 3 Brisbane BroncosSuncorp Stadium22 – 44Feldt (2), Morgan, O'NeillThurston (3/4)40,047Monday, 30 MarchRound 4 Melbourne Storm1300SMILES Stadium18 – 17Winterstein (2), WrightThurston (2/3, 2 FG)11,609Monday, 6 AprilRound 5 Penrith PanthersSportingbet Stadium30 – 10Wright (3), Coote, LoweThurston (5/6)8,409Monday, 13 AprilRound 6 South Sydney RabbitohsANZ Stadium30 – 12Thurston (2) Granville, O'Neill, WintersteinThurston (5/6)13,866Saturday, 18 AprilRound 7 New Zealand Warriors1300SMILES Stadium28 – 24Granville (3), Coote, LinnettThurston (4/5)16,038Saturday, 25 AprilRound 8 Newcastle KnightsHunter Stadium26 – 24O'Neill (2), Bolton, Coote, MorganThurston (3/5)15,518Saturday, 9 MayRound 9 Canterbury Bulldogs1300SMILES Stadium23 – 16Morgan (2), Cooper, WrightThurston (3/5, 1 FG)15,794Friday, 15 MayRound 10 Brisbane Broncos1300SMILES Stadium31 – 20Morgan (3), Cooper, LoweThurston (4/5), Coote (1 FG)24,531Saturday, 23 MayRound 11 Wests TigersCampbelltown Stadium8 – 0WintersteinLowe (2/2)8267Saturday, 30 MayRound 12 Manly Sea Eagles1300SMILES Stadium18 – 14Scott (2), CooperThurston (3/3)14,196Monday, 8 JuneRound 13 Parramatta EelsPirtek Stadium36 – 30Cooper (3), Linnett, Morgan, WrightThurston (6/6)9812Round 14ByeSaturday, 20 JuneRound 15 Canberra RaidersGIO Stadium21 – 20Cooper, Winterstein, WrightThurston (4/5, 1 FG)10,170Saturday, 27 JuneRound 16 Cronulla Sharks1300SMILES Stadium18 – 24Granville, O'Neill, WintersteinLowe (3/4)18,826Saturday, 4 JulyRound 17 St George Illawarra DragonsWIN Stadium18 – 12Linnett (2), GranvilleLowe (3/4)11,183Round 18ByeMonday, 20 JulyRound 19 Manly Sea EaglesBrookvale Oval30 – 12Winterstein (2), Granville, Linnett, MorganThurston (5/6)7,643Monday, 27 JulyRound 20 Parramatta Eels1300SMILES Stadium46 – 4Taumalolo (2), Coote, Kostjasyn, Linnett, Winterstein, WrightThurston (7/8)13,767 Saturday, 1 AugustRound 21 Canberra Raiders1300SMILES Stadium32 – 24Winterstein (2), Cooper, Granville, MorganThurston (6/7)16,207Saturday, 8 AugustRound 22 Cronulla SharksRemondis Stadium18 – 30Linnett, Winterstein, WrightThurston (3/4)13,878Thursday, 13 AugustRound 23 South Sydney Rabbitohs1300SMILES Stadium18 – 31Coote, Morgan, O'NeillThurston (3/3)16,685Saturday, 22 AugustRound 24 New Zealand WarriorsMt Smart Stadium50 – 16Feldt (3), O'Neill (2), Hess, Linnett, Spina, ThurstonThurston (7/9)14,412Saturday, 29 AugustRound 25 Melbourne StormAAMI Park6 – 14FeldtThurston (1/1)15,214Saturday, 5 SeptemberRound 26 Gold Coast Titans1300SMILES Stadium42 – 12Linnett (2), Winterstein (2), Cooper, Coote, Granville, Tamou, ThompsonThurston (2/4), Feldt (1/3), Lowe (0/2)16,977 Legend:
Finals
Date Round Opponent Venue Score Tries Goals AttendanceSaturday, 12 SeptemberQualifying Final Brisbane BroncosSuncorp Stadium 16 – 12 Thurston, Winterstein Thurston (2/3) 50,388Saturday, 19 SeptemberSemi-final Cronulla Sharks1300SMILES Stadium39 – 0 Michael Morgan (2), Bolton, Feldt, Lowe, O'Neill, Winterstein Thurston (5/8, 1 FG)21,683Saturday, 26 SeptemberPreliminary Final Melbourne StormAAMI Park32 –12 Cooper (2), Michael Morgan (2), O'Neill (2) Thurston (4/6) 29,315Sunday, 4 OctoberGrand Final Brisbane BroncosANZ Stadium17 – 16Feldt, O'Neill, Tamou Thurston (2/3, 1 FG) 82,758 Legend:
Statistics NameAppTGFGPts25----202--82711--44266-125981-342810--403----28----11--49----1----2----231--42810--402848-324----6----2315--602613--52253--1251--4242--83----262--891--42549362082616--64179--36 Totals 119 102 7 687
Representatives The following players have played a representative match in 2015
All Stars match ANZAC Test Melanesian Cup Polynesian Cup State of Origin 1 State Of Origin 2 State of Origin 3 Viliame Kikau Tautau Moga Michael Morgan Matthew Scott James Tamou Jason Taumalolo Ray Thompson Johnathan Thurston Antonio Winterstein
Honours
League Golden Boot: Johnathan Thurston Clive Churchill Medal: Johnathan Thurston Dally M Medal: Johnathan Thurston Dally M Halfback of the Year: Johnathan Thurston Dally M Lock of the Year: Jason Taumalolo Dally M Captain of the Year: Matthew Scott and Johnathan Thurston Rugby League Players Association Player of the Year: Johnathan Thurston NYC Team of the Year: Gideon Gela-Mosby, Coen Hess, Viliame Kikau
Club Paul Bowman Medal: Johnathan Thurston Players' Player: Jake Granville Member's Player of the Year: Jake Granville Club Person of the Year: Glenn Hall Most Improved: Justin O'Neill Rookie of the Year: Coen Hess NYC Player of the Year: Andrew Niemoeller Townsville Bulletin's Fan Choice Award: Johnathan Thurston
Feeder Clubs
National Youth Competition North Queensland Cowboys - 2nd, lost preliminary final
Queensland Cup Mackay Cutters - 8th, missed finals Northern Pride - 6th, lost elimination final Townsville Blackhawks - 1st, lost Grand Final
References