2008 North Queensland Cowboys season

2008 North Queensland Cowboys season
NRL Rank 15th
Play-off result Missed finals
2008 record Wins: 5; Draws: 0; Losses: 19
Points scored For: 474; Against: 638
Team information
CEO Peter Parr
Coach Graham Murray (Resigned on 19 May)
Ian Millward (Interim)
Captain
Stadium Dairy Farmers Stadium
Avg. Attend. 18,102
High. Attend. 24,332 (vs. Brisbane Broncos, Round 25)
Top scorers
Tries Ashley Graham (10)
John Williams (10)
Goals John Williams (96)
Points Johnathan Thurston (39)
< 2007 2009 >

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.[1] 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

Squad List

North Queensland Cowboys NRL Squad 2008
First team squad Coaching staff

Head coach

Assistant coaches

Legend:
  • (c) Captain
  • (vc) Vice captain

Squad Movement

2008 Gains

Player Signed From Until End of
Daniel Abraham Newcastle Knights
2008
Travis Burns Manly Sea Eagles
2009
George Gatis Huddersfield Giants (mid-season)
2008
Ben Harris Bradford Bulls
2010
Chris Sheppard Northern Pride (mid-season)
2008
Anthony Perkins Melbourne Storm
2009
Anthony Watts Cronulla Sharks
2010
Dayne Weston Cronulla Sharks
2009
John Williams Sydney Roosters
2010

2008 Losses

Player Signed To Until End of
Brett Anderson Melbourne Storm
2009
Brenton Bowen Gold Coast Titans
2009
Paul BowmanRetired
-
David Faiumu Huddersfield Giants (mid-season)
2009
Rod Jensen Huddersfield Giants
2009
Karl Johnson Newcastle Knights
2008
Scott MintoRetired
-
Shane Muspratt Mackay Cutters
2008
Jason SmithRetired
-
Neil Sweeney Newcastle Knights
2008
Colin WilkieReleased
-

Ladder

Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
1 Melbourne 2417072584282+30238
2 Manly-Warringah 2417072645355+29038
3 Cronulla 2417072451384+6738
4 Sydney Roosters 2415092511446+6534
5 Brisbane 2414192560452+10833
6 Canberra 24130112640527+11330
7 St. George Illawarra 24130112489378+11130
8 New Zealand 24130112502567-6530
9 Newcastle 24120122516486+3028
10 Wests Tigers 24110132528560-3226
11 Parramatta 24110132501547-4626
12 Penrith 24101132504611-10725
13 Gold Coast 24100142476586-11024
14 South Sydney 2480162453666-21320
15 North Queensland 2450192474638-16414
16 Bulldogs 2450192433782-34914

Fixtures

Pre-season

Date Round Opponent Venue Score Tries Goals Attendance
16 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 Attendance
14 MarchRound 1 Gold Coast TitansSkilled Park18 – 36 Thurston (2), Harris Thurston (3/3) 26,974
22 MarchRound 2 Wests TigersDairy Farmers Stadium10 – 30 Graham, Harris Thurston (1/2) 20,655
28 MarchRound 3 Brisbane BroncosSuncorp Stadium2 – 36 - Thurston (1/1) 50,612
5 AprilRound 4 Parramatta EelsDairy Farmers Stadium38 – 14 Graham, Henry, Lillyman, Smith, Watts, Webb Thurston (7/7) 19,231
12 AprilRound 5 St George Illawarra DragonsWIN Stadium20 – 16 Smith, Thurston, Watts Thurston (4/4) 11,639
19 AprilRound 6 WarriorsDairy Farmers Stadium48 – 20 Bowen (3), Harris (2), Graham, Smith, Southern, J Williams Thurston (6/8), Graham (0/1) 20,544
26 AprilRound 7 Melbourne StormDairy Farmers Stadium10 – 12 Henry, J Williams Thurston (1/2) 24,053
4 MayRound 8 South Sydney RabbitohsANZ Stadium24 – 28 Graham, Vaeau, Webb, J Williams Thurston (4/4) 9,818
10 MayRound 9 Cronulla SharksDairy Farmers Stadium18 – 24 Henry, O'Donnell, Webb Thurston (3/3) 17,065
17 MayRound 10 Manly Sea EaglesCentral Coast Stadium6 – 38 Farrar J Williams (1/1) 9,343
Round 11Bye
31 MayRound 12 Penrith PanthersDairy Farmers Stadium18 – 19 Abraham, Burns, Graham Thurston (3/4) 16,553
7 JuneRound 13 Wests TigersCampbelltown Stadium16 – 40 Harris, Slyney, T Williams J Williams (2/3) 10,488
16 JuneRound 14 Newcastle KnightsDairy Farmers Stadium18 – 30 Farrar (2), Bartlett Thurston (3/4) 14,234
21 JuneRound 15 Melbourne StormOlympic Park20 – 48 Cashmere, Henry, Webb, J Williams Thurston (2/4) 10,880
28 JuneRound 16 South Sydney RabbitohsDairy Farmers Stadium28 – 29 Graham (2), Cashmere, Harris, J Williams J Williams (4/5) 15,631
Round 17Bye
12 JulyRound 18 WarriorsMt Smart Stadium14 – 24 J Williams (2), Graham Thurston (1/3) 7,772
18 JulyRound 19 Brisbane BroncosDairy Farmers Stadium18 – 32 Southern, Tronc, J Williams J Williams (3/3) 22,048
25 JulyRound 20 Parramatta EelsParramatta Stadium4 – 16 J Williams J Williams (0/1) 7,253
2 AugustRound 21 Sydney RoostersDairy Farmers Stadium20 – 32 Henry, O'Donnell, Weston, T Williams Thurston (2/4) 14,601
9 AugustRound 22 Canterbury BulldogsSuncorp Stadium36 – 12 T Williams (2), Burns, Cashmere, Faumuina, Graham, Webb J Williams (4/7) 8,549
16 AugustRound 23 Gold Coast TitansDairy Farmers Stadium20 – 26 O'Donnell, Weston, J Williams, T Williams J Williams (2/4) 17,605
23 AugustRound 24 Newcastle KnightsEnergyAustralia Stadium24 – 38 O'Donnell (2), Payne, T Williams J Williams (4/4) 10,323
30 AugustRound 25 Canberra RaidersDairy Farmers Stadium22 – 10 Burns, Harris, Thurston, Webb J Williams (3/4) 14,998
6 SeptemberRound 26 Cronulla SharksToyota Stadium22 – 28 Graham, Scott, Tronc, T Williams J Williams (3/3), Thurston (0/1) 7,057
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw   Bye

Statistics

NameAppTGFGPts
Abraham, DanielDaniel Abraham61--4
Bartlett, MatthewMatthew Bartlett61--4
Bolton, ScottScott Bolton4----
Boor, BrandonBrandon Boor2----
Bowen, MatthewMatthew Bowen63--12
Bowie, SamSam Bowie1----
Burns, TravisTravis Burns143--12
Byrnes, GregGreg Byrnes3----
Cashmere, RayRay Cashmere243--12
Faiumu, DavidDavid Faiumu4----
Farrar, BenBen Farrar183--12
Faumuina, SioneSione Faumuina141--4
Faust, SamSam Faust10----
Gatis, GeorgeGeorge Gatis1----
Geia, ObeObe Geia2----
Graham, AshleyAshley Graham2210--40
Harlen, LukeLuke Harlen5----
Harris, BenBen Harris247--28
Henry, MarkMark Henry235--20
Lillyman, JacobJacob Lillyman111--4
Nicolau, JacksonJackson Nicolau1----
O'Donnell, LukeLuke O'Donnell155--20
Payne, AaronAaron Payne241--4
Scott, MatthewMatthew Scott61--4
Sheppard, ChrisChris Sheppard1----
Slyney, NickNick Slyney21--4
Smith, JustinJustin Smith113--12
Southern, SteveSteve Southern182--8
Thurston, JohnathanJohnathan Thurston17439-94
Tronc, ShaneShane Tronc182--8
Vaeau, BenBen Vaeau111--4
Watts, AnthonyAnthony Watts122--8
Webb, CarlCarl Webb216--24
Weston, DayneDayne Weston192--8
Williams, JohnJohn Williams201028-96
Williams, TyTy Williams127--28
Totals 85 67 0 474

Source:[2]

Representatives

The following players have 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 Cup
Ray Cashmere
City
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Ben Harris
Country
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Jacob Lillyman
-
-
Queensland
-
-
-
-
-
Luke O'Donnell
-
-
-
-
-
Prime Minister's XIII
-
-
Johnathan Thurston
-
Australia
Queensland
Queensland
Queensland
-
-
Australia
Carl Webb
-
Australia
Queensland
-
-
Prime Minister's XIII
Indigenous
-
Ty Williams
-
-
-
-
-
-
Indigenous
-

Honours

League

Club

Feeder Clubs

National Youth Competition

Queensland Cup

References

  1. ↑ http://www.smh.com.au/news/news/discard-joins-the-merrygoround-keen-to-coach-at-another-club/2008/04/01/1206850910728.html
  2. ↑ http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/seasons/nrl-2008/north-queensland-cowboys/summary.html

Coordinates: 19°18′58″S 146°42′43″E / 19.31611°S 146.71194°E / -19.31611; 146.71194 (Willow Sports Complex)

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