North Queensland Cowboys

Sean Fagan of RL1908.com

The Townsville based North Queensland Cowboys entered the premiership in 1995. With almost a decade under their belts this region rich in Rugby League talent and history had hoped to achieve more - only their performance in 2004 providing any real joy. On the positive side of the equation they are least still playing - two of their fellow entrants of 1995 have long since disappeared.

Rugby league has a long history in the north of Queensland, almost extending back to the first years of the sport in Australia.

Rugby league began in Australia's northern most region when a local competition was established in Townsville in 1914. During the 1915 season a Townsville representative side was chosen to travel to and play in Brisbane. Nine players from that Townsville side were then selected for Queensland against NSW - a record which so far hasn't been repeated.

In 1918 Townsville travelled up to Cairns and later to Central Queensland as the game of rugby league started to take hold in the country areas of the state. The team included the region's first Australian player H. ‘Mucker' Frewin and the great Arch Foley.

Foley would become the driving force behind the development of the game in North Queensland. His efforts were recognised in 1948 when the regional competition was named in his honour - The Foley Shield. Foley was a foundation member of the Souths club. Souths were initially a rugby union club before changing over to the new game in Townsville.

With Foley as captain, Townsville twice disposed of a classy Toowoomba side on its 1921 tour to the North. Foley was a friend of the QRL's Harry Sunderland, and both were instrumental in arranging for the 1928 English Lions to play in Townsville.

In a match held at the Sports Reserve, the locals headed the English visitors by 16-15 at half-time. With mighty Jim Sullivan playing fullback and kicking six goals, the English turned the tide and won by 30-16. The Lions returned during their 1932 tour and defeated North Queensland (in Townsville) and Far North Queensland (in Cairns).

The Lions returned on further tours, however it was not until 1966 the locals won a game (17-15). Touring sides from New Zealand and France were also regular visitors from the 1950s onwards.

Townsville won the 1949 Foley Shield, the second year of the competition, with 1948/49 Kangaroo tourist H. ‘Frosty' Benton as captain-coach. The shield is still played for today and there have been fierce battles involving both famous and lesser known names in its 50 years plus history. Teams include Cairns, Mackay, Mt. Isa, Innisfail and Herbert River.

During the 1980s a North Queensland side played in the State League alongside Brisbane clubs and teams from country areas including Gold Coast, Toowoomba, Wide Bay, Ipswich and Central Queensland. In 1991 North Queensland won the Final defeating Central Qld.

The region has supplied many players to Brisbane and Sydney clubs since WW2. Recent players to move south include internationals Gene Miles, Greg Dowling, Gavin Allen, Gorden Tallis and Danny Moore. Talk of a North Queensland team playing in the expanded Sydney competition escalated after the successful entry of the Brisbane Broncos in 1988.

In November 1993 the NSWRL announced that the North Queensland Cowboys would be one of four new clubs in 1995.

The ‘Cowboys' name met with some disappointment from the local community. Apparently the popularly preferred name of ‘Crocodiles' was unable to be used after objections were raised by the regional rugby union administration (who somehow found no objection to the Townsville NBL team using the name not long after).

The predominant use of blue and gold colours in the playing strip is reflective of the Townsville representative jersey.

The initial Cowboys side of 1995 was built around players brought up from the other Winfield Cup clubs including Dean Schifilliti, Martin Bella, Ian Russell, Jason Martin and Willie Morganson. The club's most noteworthy acquisition was Great Britain Test backline star Jonathan Davies, though he did not arrive until May.

The 1995 produced few on-field highlights. A spectacular solo try by Davies against Newcastle was the best seen in years, unfortunately it was in the middle of a 44-14 thrashing by the Knights.

The North Queensland Cowboys won only two games and finished with the ‘wooden spoon'. Captain Schifilliti was injured in the first game and was out for the season, while Bella was sacked by the club. On the up side the home crowds averaged over 21,000.

With six victories in 1996 the Cowboys moved up to a 17th place finish. The finest moment was the second last game of the season when the club broke through for its first win in Sydney.

The Cowboys raced to a 16-0 lead over St George at Kogarah Oval. The Saints, who were heading for the Grand Final, fought back but North Queensland prevailed by 24-20. Much of the credit for the win went to the halves, Andrew and Ian Dunemann.

Local players Paul Bowman, Peter Jones, Justin Loomans and Reggie Cressbrook were coming to the fore under the coaching of Graham Lowe and on-field direction of Adrian Vowles and Jason Death.

The North Queensland Cowboys were aligned to the Super League and featured in the 10 team 1997 competition. At the end of the season just two points covered the last 5 clubs, but as luck would have it the Cowboys were the bottom one. Much was expected of the 1997 team when major imports Ian Roberts, Steve Walters, Owen Cunningham, Jason Ferris and John Lomax arrived.

The Cowboys had another success in Sydney, this time over Canterbury at Belmore. But also managed to lose to Perth (twice), Hunter and Auckland much to the despair of coach Tim Sheens.

Steve Walters became the club's first Australian representative when he played for the Super League Test side. John Buttigieg (prop) and Luke Phillips (wing) also made an impression during the season, though the latter was soon signed by Manly.

In 1998 the North Queensland Cowboys shocked the rest of the clubs by leading the competition after the first four rounds. In the fifth match they got a dose of reality from the Broncos and were belted by 58-4. They never recovered, finishing in equal 14th place.

The few moments favourably recalled include the debut of teenager Josh Hannay and the ‘great escape' match against Penrith. Down by 26-0 at half-time North Queensland set Penrith Park alight as they went about winning by 36-28 in a stunning result.

The 1999 season came and went with no improvement, the only notable mention was the impressive debut of five-eighth Scott Prince. In 2000 the Cowboys acquired Julian O'Neill and Tim Brasher who provided good value, but even they couldn't stop the club claiming their third last placed finish in six seasons.

Two highlights at home saw North Queensland post 50 points against both the Northern Eagles and St George - Illawarra. Meanwhile improving Scott Prince was snared for 2001 by fellow Queenslanders the Broncos.

The 2001 season saw four local juniors play for Queensland in a landmark achievement for the Cowboys - Paul Bowman, the rookie Nathan Fien, John Buttigieg and John Doyle.

On the club scene a last round upset win over the New Zealand Warriors saved them from the wooden spoon. Brasher was injured before the season started, which was slightly off-set by the return to form of Glenn Morrison. Off the field coach Tim Sheens was sacked and News Ltd stepped in to rescue the club from financial oblivion.

After a disastrous 0-4 start to the 2002 season, which saw coach Murray Hurst replaced by Graham Murray, the Cowboys produced a steady improvement. North Queensland rose to 11th place and three more wins would have seen them in the finals race.

The club also started to reap the rewards from their rich junior nursery, with players like Matt Bowen, Ty Williams and Jaiman Lowe among the youngsters to excel. They also benefited from the great form of Matt Sing, who arguably was one of the club's best ever buys.

The 2003 side was boosted by Kevin Campion and Paul Rauhihi. The club reached the fringes of the Top 8 before faltering in the back half of the season. A run of frustrating losses by a few points ended any hope of the Cowboys featuring in September football for the first time. Bowen and Josh Hannay progressed to the Queensland State of Origin team as the club's standing improved.

The 2004 season appeared certain to produce another year of despair as the Cowboys had one victory in the opening seven weeks. However, with Travis Norton leading the way, North Queensland rose up the ladder, eventually claiming eighth place for the semi-finals.

Confronting the minor premiers Canterbury at Stadium Australia seemed likely to provide a fast end to the Cowboys best ever seen season - but the men from the far north had other plans. Utilising their fast and nippy players through the ruck, with Bowen the most prominent, North Queensland had the Bulldogs back-pedalling. After racing to a 16-0 lead, the Cowboys held out their more fancied opponents 30-22 and win a semi-final at their first attempt.

A loss by Brisbane in another semi meant for the first time an all-Queensland semi-final. With the far north of the state in a fever over the Cowboys, the Broncos selflessly offered to move the match from Lang Park to Townsville - which the NRL agreed to. In one of Rugby League's most memorable nights the two Queensland teams battled out a solid and tough match. In front of a full-house and unprecedented television ratings North Queensland continued their fairy-tale by beating Brisbane (for the first time) 10-0.

While the Cowboys flew back to Sydney for the Final, hundreds of loyal fans followed on buses. Against the Roosters the North Queenslanders were not overawed and again seemed capable of producing the upset. On the last play of the match - and only five points behind - the Cowboys were unfortunate to not earn a penalty on the doorstep of the Roosters' goal line.

The Cowboys had come within one play of reaching the Grand Final and returned north to a heroes' welcome. The club and its supporters also celebrated the inclusion of Bowen and Sing in the Kangaroos' Tri-Nations squad.

The 2005 season saw the Cowboys "go one better", securing a place in the Grand Final against the Wests Tigers. While North Queensland competed strongly throughout the match, they were unable to control the game and were beaten. Whether this group of players has reached its peak remains to be seen - a return to the Grand Final in 2006 is a distinct possibility.

Copyright © 2006 - Sean Fagan. All rights reserved - the article above may not be reproduced (in full or part) in any form without written permission.