2020 North Queensland Cowboys season
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| 2020 North Queensland Cowboys season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NRL Rank | 14th | |||
| Play-off result | Missed finals | |||
| 2020 record | Wins: 5; draws: 0; losses: 15 | |||
| Points scored | For: 368; against: 520 | |||
| Team information | ||||
| CEO | Jeff Reibel | |||
| Coach | Paul Green (resigned on July 20) Josh Hannay (interim) | |||
| Captain | ||||
| Stadium | Queensland Country Bank Stadium | |||
| Avg. attendance | 6,712[1] | |||
| High attendance | 22,459 (vs. Brisbane, Round 1) | |||
| Top scorers | ||||
| Tries | Kyle Feldt (19) | |||
| Goals | Valentine Holmes (24) | |||
| Points | Kyle Feldt (122) | |||
| ||||
The 2020 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 26th in the club's history. Coached by Paul Green and captained by Michael Morgan, they competed in the NRL's 2020 Telstra Premiership. The 2020 season was the club's first at their new home ground, Queensland Country Bank Stadium, after 25 seasons at Willows Sports Complex.[2] On 20 July, Green resigned as head coach after just three wins from the opening 10 games. He was replaced by assistant coach Josh Hannay, who took over as interim head coach until the end of the season.[3]
Season summary
Milestones
- Round 1: Valentine Holmes, Esan Marsters and Reece Robson made their debuts for the club.
- Round 1: Valentine Holmes scored his first try for the club.
- Round 2: The club played the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs in the first match without fans in Australian first grade history.
- Round 3: Reece Robson scored his first try in the NRL.
- Round 4: Tom Gilbert made his NRL debut.
- Round 5: Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow made his NRL debut.
- Round 6: Connelly Lemuelu made his NRL debut.
- Round 6: Esan Marsters scored his first try for the club.
- Round 10: Daejarn Asi made his NRL debut.
- Round 10: Daejarn Asi scored his first NRL try.
- Round 11: Ben Hampton played his 100th NRL game.
- Round 13: Emry Pere made his NRL debut.
- Round 13: Francis Molo played his 50th NRL game.
- Round 14: Mitchell Dunn and Connelly Lemuelu scored their first NRL tries.
- Round 15: The club were held scoreless for the first time since Round 1, 2012.
- Round 19: Ben Condon made his NRL debut.
Squad
Squad movement
Gains
| Player | Signed From | Until End of | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Valentine Holmes | New York Jets | 2025 |
|
| Connelly Lemuelu | File:Canterbury colours.svg Canterbury Bulldogs | 2021 |
|
| Esan Marsters | File:Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers | 2022 |
|
| Reece Robson | File:St. George colours.svg St George Illawarra Dragons | 2023 |
Losses
| Player | Signed To | Until End of | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carlin Anderson | File:Townsville Blackhawks colours.png Townsville Blackhawks | 2020 |
|
| Kurt Baptiste | File:Balmain colours.svg Easts Tigers | 2020 |
|
| Logan Bayliss-Brow | File:Balmain colours.svg Easts Tigers | 2020 |
|
| Scott Bolton | Retired | – |
|
| Javid Bowen | File:Northern Pride colours.png Northern Pride | 2020 |
|
| Gideon Gela-Mosby | File:Northern Pride colours.png Northern Pride | 2020 |
|
| Jordan Kahu | File:Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos | 2020 |
|
| Te Maire Martin | Retired | – |
|
| Matthew Scott | Retired | – |
|
| Enari Tuala | File:Newcastle colours.svg Newcastle Knights | 2020 |
|
| Kurt Wiltshire | File:Wests Tigers colours.svg Wests Tigers Mackay | 2020 |
Re-signings
Ladder
Fixtures
NRL Nines
The NRL Nines is a pre-season rugby league nines competition featuring all 16 NRL clubs. The 2020 competition was played over two days on February 14 and 15 at HBF Park in Perth. The Cowboys finished first in Pool 4 and defeated the South Sydney Rabbitohs, Gold Coast Titans and St George Illawarra Dragons on their way to winning the competition.
Pool Play
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| File:North Queensland colours.svg North Queensland Cowboys | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 18 | +9 | 4 |
| File:Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 25 | 14 | +11 | 2 |
| File:Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 23 | 25 | −2 | 2 |
| File:Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne Storm | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 30 | −18 | 0 |
Source: [citation needed]
| Date | Time (Local) | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 14 February | 7:05 pm | Round 1 | File:Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos | HBF Park | 17 – 11 | Drinkwater (bonus try), Hess, Tabuai-Fidow | Clifford (2) | ||||
| Sunday, 15 Saturday | 1:45 pm | Round 2 | File:Manly Sea Eagles colours.svg Manly Sea Eagles | HBF Park | 10 – 7 | Opacic, Taulagi | Drinkwater (1) | ||||
| Legend: Win Loss | |||||||||||
Finals
| Date | Time (Local) | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, 15 Saturday | 3:55 pm | Quarter | File:South Sydney colours.svg South Sydney Rabbitohs | HBF Park | 20 – 6 | Drinkwater (bonus try), Hess (bonus try), Tabuai-Fidow | Clifford (2), Feldt (1) | ||||
| Sunday, 15 Saturday | 5:45 pm | Semi | File:Gold Coast Titans colours.svg Gold Coast Titans | HBF Park | 19 – 8 | Feldt (bonus try), Drinkwater, Tabuai-Fidow, Wright | Feldt (1) | ||||
| Sunday, 15 Saturday | 7:00 pm | Final | File:St. George colours.svg St George Illawarra Dragons | HBF Park | 23 – 14 | Robson (bonus try), Clifford, Hess, Tabuai-Fidow | Clifford (2), Drinkwater (1) | ||||
| Legend: Win Loss | |||||||||||
Pre-season
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 22 February | Trial 1 | File:Brisbane colours.svg Brisbane Broncos | Barlow Park | 18 – 16 | Cotter (2), Gilbert, Lemuelu | Clifford (1/4) | – | |||
| Saturday, 29 February | Trial 2 | File:Melbourne colours.svg Melbourne Storm | Casey Fields | 14 – 22 | Feldt, Holmes, O'Neill | Holmes (1/3) | – | |||
| Legend: Win Loss Draw Bye | ||||||||||
Regular season
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia, the regular season was suspended after Round 2.[19] On 9 April, the NRL announced that competition would re-commence on 28 May with a shortened 20-round regular season.[20] On 21 May, the full revised draw was released[21][22] From Round 7 onward, the Cowboys were allowed to host fans at their home games, starting with a limit of 2,000, before eventually rising to 10,000 from Round 9.
Statistics
| Name | App | T | G | FG | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daejarn Asi | 5 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| John Asiata | 11 | - | - | - | - |
| Jake Clifford | 14 | 3 | 1 | - | 20 |
| Ben Condon | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Gavin Cooper | 15 | 1 | 1 | - | 6 |
| Reuben Cotter | 10 | - | - | - | - |
| Scott Drinkwater | 16 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Mitchell Dunn | 17 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Kyle Feldt | 20 | 19 | 23 | - | 122 |
| Tom Gilbert | 12 | - | - | - | - |
| Jake Granville | 8 | - | - | - | - |
| Ben Hampton | 13 | 4 | - | - | 16 |
| Coen Hess | 15 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Peter Hola | 4 | - | - | - | - |
| Valentine Holmes | 12 | 4 | 24 | 1 | 65 |
| Corey Jensen | 8 | - | - | - | - |
| Connelly Lemuelu | 7 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Esan Marsters | 12 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Josh McGuire | 17 | - | - | - | - |
| Jordan McLean | 15 | - | - | - | - |
| Francis Molo | 20 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Michael Morgan | 6 | 2 | - | 1 | 9 |
| Justin O'Neill | 17 | 6 | - | - | 24 |
| Tom Opacic | 5 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Emry Pere | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| Reece Robson | 14 | 5 | - | - | 20 |
| Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow | 14 | 6 | - | - | 24 |
| Murray Taulagi | 4 | - | - | - | - |
| Jason Taumalolo | 16 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Shane Wright | 8 | - | - | - | - |
| Totals | 67 | 49 | 2 | 368 |
Representatives
The following players have played a representative match in 2020.
| All Stars match | State of Origin 1 | State of Origin 2 | State of Origin 3 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coen Hess | – |
Queensland |
– |
–
|
| Valentine Holmes | – |
– |
Queensland |
Queensland
|
| Esan Marsters | Māori All Stars |
– |
– |
–
|
Honours
Club
- Paul Bowman Medal: Jason Taumalolo[23]
- Players' Player: Josh McGuire[23]
- Coach's Award: Mitchell Dunn[23]
- Member's Player of the Year: Kyle Feldt[23]
- Club Person of the Year: John Asiata[23]
- Rookie of the Year: Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow[23]
Feeder Clubs
Queensland Cup
The Cowboys' three feeder clubs, the Mackay Cutters, Northern Pride and Townsville Blackhawks, each played just one game before the 2020 Queensland Cup season was postponed and later cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[24]
Women's team
QRL Women's Premiership
The Cowboys' women's team, the North Queensland Gold Stars, played just one game in the QRL Women's Premiership before the season was postponed and later cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[24]
References
- ↑ Crowds were limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic
- ↑ "Taking shape – our new home from 2020". cowboys.com.au. 4 July 2018. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
- ↑ "Green makes immediate exit from Cowboys". NRL. 20 July 2020.
- ↑ "Cowboys sign Holmes on long-term deal". cowboys.com.au. 24 November 2019. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
- ↑ "Cowboys sign Lemuelu". cowboys.com.au. 29 October 2019. Retrieved 29 October 2019.
- ↑ "Cowboys sign Kiwi international Marsters". cowboys.com.au. 14 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
- ↑ "Cowboys sign Junior Kangaroo". North Queensland Cowboys. 12 August 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 "Cowboys to farewell eight departing players". cowboys.com.au. 13 September 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2019.
- ↑ "Purcell poised to pounce with Easts Tigers". 9 March 2020.
- ↑ "Dolphins newbie to line up for Broncos against old club Capras". qrl.com.au. 14 February 2020. Retrieved 14 February 2020.
- ↑ "Northern Pride secure ex-Cowboy Javid Bowen for 2020". cairnspost.com.au. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
- ↑ "Northern Pride secure ex-Cowboy Javid Bowen for 2020". cairnspost.com.au. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
- ↑ "Kahu set to return to Broncos after short stint at Cowboys". November 2019.
- ↑ "Martin announces immediate retirement". 12 January 2020.
- ↑ Wiltshire puts NRL dream on hold, focus is Tigers (subscription required)
- ↑ "Cowboys re-sign Cotter". NQ Cowboys. 30 September 2020.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 "Cowboys re-sign forward trio". NQ Cowboys. 31 July 2020.
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 "Feldt, Wright re-sign with Cowboys". NQ Cowboys. 3 June 2020.
- ↑ "NRL season suspended: Greenberg, V'landys statements". 23 March 2020.
- ↑ "May 28: ARL Commission proposes date for NRL to restart". 9 April 2020.
- ↑ "Cowboys full 2020 draw released". 21 May 2020.
- ↑ "Rivalries and intrigue headline round three draw for NRL restart". 15 May 2020.
- ↑ 23.0 23.1 23.2 23.3 23.4 23.5 "2020 Presentation Night: Live Updates". NQ Cowboys. 2 October 2020.
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 "Major second-tier competitions cancelled across Australia". QRL. 27 March 2020.