2016 North Queensland Cowboys season

2016 North Queensland Cowboys season
2016 North Queensland Cowboys season
NRL Rank	4th
2016 record	Wins: 15; draws: 0; losses: 9
Points scored	For: 584; against: 355
Team information
CEO	Greg Tonner
Coach	Paul Green
Captain	Johnathan Thurston ; Matthew Scott;
Stadium	1300SMILES Stadium
Avg. attendance	16,692
High attendance	25,163 (vs. Brisbane Broncos, Round 11)
Top scorers
Tries	Kyle Feldt (15)
Goals	Johnathan Thurston (98)
Points	Johnathan Thurston (201)

The 2016 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 22nd in the club's history and their first as defending premiers. Coached by Paul Green and co-captained by Johnathan Thurston and Matthew Scott, they competed in the NRL's 2016 Telstra Premiership. In the pre-season the Cowboys competed in the 2016 Auckland Nines tournament, reaching the quarter-finals. The team finished the regular season in 4th, losing in the preliminary final to the eventual premiers, the Cronulla Sharks.

Season summary

Milestones

Round 1: Johnathan Thurston scored his 1,800th point in the NRL.
Round 3: Lachlan Coote scored his 50th try in the NRL.
Round 5: Javid Bowen made his NRL debut.
Round 5: James Tamou played his 150th game for the club.
Round 5: Javid Bowen scored his first NRL try.
Round 7: Justin O'Neill played his 100th NRL game.
Round 7: Johnathan Thurston scored his 1,000th point at 1300SMILES Stadium.
Round 9: Kane Linnett scored his 50th NRL try.
Round 10: Ethan Lowe played his 50th game for the club.
Round 11: Johnathan Thurston played his 250th game for the club.
Round 12: Jahrome Hughes made his debut for the club.
Round 12: Jahrome Hughes scored his first NRL try.
Round 13: Ray Thompson played his 100th game for the club.
Round 13: Gavin Cooper scored his 50th try for the club.
Round 14: Jason Taumalolo played his 100th game for the club.
Round 17: Gavin Cooper played his 150th game for the club.
Round 18: Josh Chudleigh made his NRL debut.
Round 18: Josh Chudleigh scored his first NRL try.
Round 26: Lachlan Coote and Jake Granville played their 50th games for the club.
Finals Week 1: Ben Hannant played his 50th game for the club.
Finals Week 2: Justin O'Neill played his 50th game for the club.
Finals Week 2: Kalyn Ponga made his NRL debut.
Finals Week 2: Michael Morgan played his 100th game for the club.
Finals Week 3: John Asiata played his 50th game for the club.

Squad List

North Queensland Cowboys NRL Squad 2016
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First team squad								Coaching staff
John Asiata – LK, SR Scott Bolton – PR, LK Javid Bowen – CE, WG Josh Chudleigh – HK Gavin Cooper – SR Lachlan Coote – FB Kyle Feldt – WG Jake Granville – HK Ben Hannant – PR Coen Hess – SR Sam Hoare – PR		Shaun Hudson – CE, FB Jahrome Hughes – FB, FE Patrick Kaufusi – PR Rory Kostjasyn – HK, LK Kyle Laybutt – FE Kane Linnett – CE Ethan Lowe – SR Patrick Mago – SR Tautau Moga – CE, WG Michael Morgan – FE, FB Justin O'Neill – CE, WG		Kalyn Ponga – FB Matthew Scott (c) – PR Ben Spina – PR, LK James Tamou – PR Jason Taumalolo – LK Ray Thompson – HK, HB Johnathan Thurston (c) – PR Braden Uele – PR Antonio Winterstein – WG, CE				Head coach Paul Green Assistant coaches David Furner Todd Payten Legend: (c) Captain(s) (vc) Vice-captain(s) Updated: 10 October 2015 Source(s): Cowboys Squad 2016

Squad Movement

Gains

Player	Signed From	Until End of	Notes
Shaun Hudson	Gold Coast Titans	2017	^[1]
Jahrome Hughes	Townsville Blackhawks	2016	^[2]
Patrick Mago	Canberra Raiders	2016	^[3]

Losses

Player	Signed To	Until End of	Notes
Glenn Hall	Townsville Blackhawks	2016	^[4]
Viliame Kikau	Penrith Panthers	2017	^[5]
Cameron King	Parramatta Eels	2016	^[6]
Robert Lui	Salford Red Devils	2016	^[7]
Hezron Murgha	Townsville Blackhawks	2016	^[8]
Zac Santo	Canberra Raiders	2016	^[9]
Scott Schulte	Parramatta Eels	2016	^[10]
Kelepi Tanginoa	Parramatta Eels	2016	^[11]
Matthew Wright	Manly Sea Eagles (mid-season)	2018	^[12]

Re-signings

Player	Club	Until End of	Notes
Javid Bowen	North Queensland Cowboys	2018	^[13]
Josh Chudleigh	North Queensland Cowboys	2018	^[14]
Lachlan Coote	North Queensland Cowboys	2018	^[15]
Jake Granville	North Queensland Cowboys	2018	^[16]
Sam Hoare	North Queensland Cowboys	2018	^[17]
Patrick Kaufusi	North Queensland Cowboys	2017	^[18]
Kane Linnett	North Queensland Cowboys	2018	^[19]
Ethan Lowe	North Queensland Cowboys	2018	^[20]
Justin O'Neill	North Queensland Cowboys	2018	^[21]
Antonio Winterstein	North Queensland Cowboys	2018	^[22]

Ladder

2016 NRL season v t e
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	B	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	Melbourne Storm	24	19	0	5	2	563	302	+261	42
2	Canberra Raiders	24	17	1	6	2	688	456	+232	39
3	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks (P)	24	17	1	6	2	580	404	+176	39
4	North Queensland Cowboys	24	15	0	9	2	584	355	+229	34
5	Brisbane Broncos	24	15	0	9	2	554	434	+120	34
6	Penrith Panthers	24	14	0	10	2	563	463	+100	32
7	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	24	14	0	10	2	506	448	+58	32
8	Gold Coast Titans	24	11	1	12	2	508	497	+11	27
9	Wests Tigers	24	11	0	13	2	499	607	−108	26
10	New Zealand Warriors	24	10	0	14	2	513	601	−88	24
11	St. George Illawarra Dragons	24	10	0	14	2	341	538	−197	24
12	South Sydney Rabbitohs	24	9	0	15	2	473	549	−76	22
13	Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles	24	8	0	16	2	454	563	−109	20
14	Parramatta Eels	24	13	0	11	2	298	324	−26	18¹
15	Sydney Roosters	24	6	0	18	2	443	576	−133	16
16	Newcastle Knights	24	1	1	22	2	305	800	−495	7

¹ Parramatta were deducted 12 competition points and their for/against tally accumulated between rounds 1-9 for gross long-term salary cap breaches.

Fixtures

NRL Auckland Nines

The NRL Auckland Nines is a pre-season rugby league nines competition featuring all 16 NRL clubs. The Cowboys, whose side featured a returning Matthew Bowen, finished first in their pool before being eliminated by the Melbourne Storm in the quarter-finals.

Pool Play

Rangitoto Pool
Team v t e	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
North Queensland Cowboys	3	2	1	55	36	+19	4
Newcastle Knights	3	2	1	48	58	−10	4
Penrith Panthers	3	1	2	48	37	+11	2
Wests Tigers	3	1	2	36	56	−20	2

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

Date	Time (Local)	Round	Opponent	Venue	Score	Tries	Goals
Saturday, 6 February	1:20pm	Round 1	Newcastle Knights	Eden Park	28 – 12	Cooper (3), Gela-Mosby (2), O'Neill	M. Bowen (1), Morgan (1)
Saturday, 6 February	5:40pm	Round 2	Wests Tigers	Eden Park	12 – 13	Gela-Mosby (2), Winterstein	-
Sunday, 7 February	11:50am	Round 3	Penrith Panthers	Eden Park	15 – 11	Cooper, Hess, Lowe	Coote (1)
Sunday, 7 February	2:30pm	Quarter-final	Melbourne Storm	Eden Park	6 – 14	Kostjasyn	Coote (1)
Legend: Win Loss

Pre-season

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Score	Tries	Goals	Attendance
Saturday, 6 February	Trial 1	Brisbane Broncos	Salter Oval	26 – 48	Chudleigh, Creith, Hughes, Mago, Ponga	Laybutt (3/5)	8,122
Thursday, 11 February	Trial 2	Townsville Blackhawks	Jack Manski Oval	18 – 16	Cooper, Morgan, O'Neill	Thurston (3/3)	-
Sunday, 21 February	Trial 3	Leeds Rhinos	Headingley Stadium	38 – 4	O'Neill (2), Coote, Feldt, Linnett, Morgan, Thurston	Thurston (5/7)	19,778
Legend: Win Loss Draw

Regular season

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Score	Tries	Goals	Attendance
Saturday, 5 March	Round 1	Cronulla Sharks	1300SMILES Stadium	20 – 14	Linnett, Lowe, O'Neill	Thurston (4/4)	15,519
Saturday, 12 March	Round 2	Parramatta Eels	Pirtek Stadium	16 – 20	Lowe, O'Neill, Taumalolo	Thurston (2/3)	12,194
Thursday, 17 March	Round 3	Sydney Roosters	1300SMILES Stadium	40 – 0	Bolton, Coote, Feldt, Linnett, Morgan, Taumalolo, Winterstein	Thurston (6/7)	8,099
Friday, 25 March	Round 4	Brisbane Broncos	Suncorp Stadium	20 – 21	Granville, Morgan, Lowe	Thurston (4/4)	46,176
Saturday, 2 April	Round 5	St George Illawarra Dragons	1300SMILES Stadium	36 – 0	Feldt (2), Bolton, Bowen, Cooper, O'Neill	Thurston (6/6)	17,444
Saturday, 9 April	Round 6	Penrith Panthers	Pepper Stadium	23 – 18	Bowen, Cooper, Feldt, O'Neill	Thurston (3/4), Coote (1 FG)	13,725
Friday, 15 April	Round 7	South Sydney Rabbitohs	1300SMILES Stadium	44 – 18	O'Neill (2), Cooper, Feldt, Lowe, Morgan, Thurston, Winterstein	Thurston (6/8)	15,487
Saturday, 23 April	Round 8	Parramatta Eels	1300SMILES Stadium	32 – 16	Morgan (2), Cooper, Coote, Winterstein	Thurston (6/7)	19,308
Saturday, 30 April	Round 9	Manly Sea Eagles	Brookvale Oval	34 – 18	Feldt (2), Cooper, Linnett, Morgan, Winterstein	Thurston (5/6)	11,734
Saturday, 14 May	Round 10	Melbourne Storm	Suncorp Stadium	14 – 15	Cooper, Morgan	Thurston (3/3)	52,347
Friday, 20 May	Round 11	Brisbane Broncos	1300SMILES Stadium	19 – 18	Coote, O'Neill, Scott	Thurston (3/3, 1 FG)	25,163
Saturday, 28 May	Round 12	St George Illawarra Dragons	WIN Stadium	10 – 14	Feldt, Hughes	Lowe (1/2)	10,032
Saturday, 4 June	Round 13	Newcastle Knights	1300SMILES Stadium	46 – 16	Feldt (2), Ray Thompson (2), Cooper, Granville, Kostjasyn, Winterstein	Thurston (7/8)	14,651
Monday, 13 June	Round 14	Cronulla Sharks	Southern Cross Group Stadium	10 – 13	Winterstein	Thurston (3/3)	13,119
	Round 15	Bye
Monday, 27 June	Round 16	Manly Sea Eagles	1300SMILES Stadium	30 – 26	Taumalolo (2), Coote, Tamou, Winterstein	Thurston (5/5)	15,584
Sunday, 3 July	Round 17	South Sydney Rabbitohs	Barlow Park	20 – 0	Bowen, Scott, Thurston	Thurston (4/5)	14,923
Monday, 11 July	Round 18	Canberra Raiders	GIO Stadium	12 – 26	Chudleigh, Hess	Lowe (2/2)	8,328
	Round 19	Bye
Thursday, 21 July	Round 20	Canterbury Bulldogs	1300SMILES Stadium	36 – 0	Winterstein (3), O'Neill (2), Bowen, Lowe	Lowe (2/3), Thurston (2/4)	11,260
Saturday, 30 July	Round 21	Melbourne Storm	1300SMILES Stadium	8 – 16	Winterstein	Lowe (2/2)	20,256
Sunday, 7 August	Round 22	Wests Tigers	Leichhardt Oval	14 – 26	Linnett, Lowe	Thurston (3/3)	14,246
Sunday, 14 August	Round 23	Sydney Roosters	Allianz Stadium	10 – 22	Linnett, Lowe	Thurston (1/2)	8,760
Saturday, 20 August	Round 24	New Zealand Warriors	1300SMILES Stadium	34 – 6	Feldt (2), Morgan, O'Neill, Taumalolo, Ray Thompson	Thurston (5/6)	15,676
Thursday, 25 August	Round 25	Canterbury Bulldogs	Belmore Sports Ground	24 – 16	Lowe (2), Hess, Taumalolo	Thurston (4/5)	10,144
Saturday, 3 September	Round 26	Gold Coast Titans	1300SMILES Stadium	32 – 16	Cooper (2), O'Neill, Tamou, Winterstein	Thurston (6/6)	21,495
Legend: Win Loss Draw Bye

Finals


Qualifying and elimination finals			Semi-finals		Preliminary finals		Grand Final



10 Sept, Melbourne Rectangular Stadium

1	Melbourne	16

4	North Queensland	10	16 Sept, Willows Sports Complex

			North Queensland	26

9 Sept, Lang Park			Brisbane	20	24 Sept, Melbourne Rectangular Stadium

5	Brisbane	44			Melbourne	14

8	Gold Coast	28			Canberra	12	2 Oct, Stadium Australia

							Melbourne	12

11 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium					23 Sept, Sydney Football Stadium		Cronulla	14

6	Penrith	28			Cronulla	32

7	Canterbury	12	17 Sept, Canberra Stadium		North Queensland	20

			Canberra	22

10 Sept, Canberra Stadium			Penrith	12

2	Canberra	14

3	Cronulla	16

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Score	Tries	Goals	Attendance
Saturday, 10 September	Qualifying Final	Melbourne Storm	AAMI Park	16 – 10	Feldt, Winterstein	Thurston (1/2)	21,233
Friday, 16 September	Semi-final	Brisbane Broncos	1300SMILES Stadium	26 – 20	O'Neill (2), Hess, Morgan	Thurston (5/6)	23,804
Friday, 23 September	Preliminary Final	Cronulla Sharks	Allianz Stadium	32 –20	Feldt (2), Coote, Hess	Thurston (2/4)	36,717
Legend: Win Loss Draw

Statistics

Name	App	T	G	FG	Pts
John Asiata	19	-	-	-	-
Scott Bolton	27	2	-	-	8
Javid Bowen	10	4	-	-	16
Josh Chudleigh	1	1	-	-	4
Gavin Cooper	26	9	-	-	36
Lachlan Coote	27	5	-	1	21
Kyle Feldt	24	15	-	-	60
Jake Granville	25	2	-	-	8
Ben Hannant	24	-	-	-	-
Coen Hess	8	4	-	-	16
Jahrome Hughes	1	1	-	-	4
Patrick Kaufusi	12	-	-	-	-
Rory Kostjasyn	26	1	-	-	4
Kane Linnett	22	5	-	-	20
Ethan Lowe	25	9	7	-	50
Tautau Moga	1	-	-	-	-
Michael Morgan	22	9	-	-	36
Justin O'Neill	25	13	-	-	52
Kalyn Ponga	2	-	-	-	-
Matthew Scott	23	2	-	-	8
Ben Spina	2	-	-	-	-
James Tamou	25	2	-	-	8
Jason Taumalolo	27	6	-	-	24
Ray Thompson	7	3	-	-	12
Johnathan Thurston	24	2	96	1	201
Antonio Winterstein	24	13	-	-	52
Totals		108	103	2	640

Representatives

The following players have played a representative match in 2016.

	All Stars match	ANZAC Test	Polynesian Cup	City vs Country	Residents match	State of Origin 1	State Of Origin 2	State of Origin 3	Four Nations
John Asiata	-	-	Samoa	-	-	-	-	-	-
Gavin Cooper	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	Queensland	-
Jahrome Hughes	-	-	-	-	Queensland	-	-	-	-
Patrick Kaufusi	-	-	Tonga	-	-	-	-	-	-
Rory Kostjasyn	-	-	-	Country	-	-	-	-	-
Kane Linnett	-	-	-	Country	-	-	-	-	-
Michael Morgan	-	Australia	-	-	-	Queensland	Queensland	-	Australia
Justin O'Neill	-	-	-	-	-	Queensland	Queensland	Queensland	Australia
Matthew Scott	-	Australia	-	-	-	Queensland	Queensland	Queensland	Australia
James Tamou	-	Australia	-	-	-	New South Wales	New South Wales	New South Wales	-
Jason Taumalolo	-	New Zealand	-	-	-	-	-	-	New Zealand
Johnathan Thurston	-	Australia	-	-	-	Queensland	Queensland	Queensland	Australia
Antonio Winterstein	-	-	Samoa	-	-	-	-	-	-
Matthew Wright	World All Stars	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-

Honours

League

Dally M Medal: Jason Taumalolo
Dally M Lock of the Year: Jason Taumalolo
Rugby League Players Association Player of the Year: Jason Taumalolo
NYC Team of the Year: Gideon Gela-Mosby, Kalyn Ponga, Brandon Smith

Club

Paul Bowman Medal: Jason Taumalolo
Players' Player: Jason Taumalolo
Member's Player of the Year: Jason Taumalolo
Club Person of the Year: John Asiata
Most Improved: Ethan Lowe
Rookie of the Year: Javid Bowen
NYC Player of the Year: Brandon Smith
Townsville Bulletins' Fan Choice Award: Michael Morgan

Feeder Clubs

National Youth Competition

North Queensland Cowboys - 2nd, lost preliminary final

Queensland Cup

Mackay Cutters - 14th, missed finals
Northern Pride - 8th, missed finals
Townsville Blackhawks - 3rd, lost semi final

References

27°27′53″S 153°0′34″E / 27.46472°S 153.00944°E / -27.46472; 153.00944

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