2001 North Queensland Cowboys season

The 2001 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 7th in the club's history. Coached by Tim Sheens and captained by Paul Bowman, they competed in the NRL's 2001 Telstra Premiership.

2001 North Queensland Cowboys season
NRL Rank13th
Play-off resultMissed finals
2001 recordWins: 6; draws: 2; losses: 18
Points scoredFor: 514; against: 771
Team information
CoachTim Sheens (resigned on 25 May)
Murray Hurst
Captain
StadiumDairy Farmers Stadium
Avg. attendance13,133
High attendance21,729 (vs. Brisbane Broncos, Round 1)
Top scorers
TriesGlenn Morrison (13)
GoalsJulian O'Neill (56)
PointsJulian O'Neill (156)
< 2000 2002 >

Following a mid-season club taker over by News Limited, Sheens resigned as head coach on 25 May and was replaced by his assistant, Murray Hurst.

Season summary

2001 was another season that started with high hopes but ended in disaster for the club. It got off to an awful start before a ball was even kicked, when club captain Tim Brasher injured his knee in the pre-season, resulting in a complete reconstruction and ruling him out for the year.[1] The club struggled to replace the outgoing Scott Prince in the halves and Brasher at fullback, winning just two games after 11 games to sit in last place on the ladder.

Their Round 6 win over the Wests Tigers was shrouded in controversy when Tigers' winger John Hopoate, in an attempt to unsettle several of his opponents, inserted his finger in three players' anuses, the first occurring during the seventh minute of play. Hopoate was subsequently suspended for 12 games.[2]

Following the Round 11 loss to the Canterbury Bulldogs, Tim Sheens took a period of stress-leave and later resigned from the club on 25 May after News Limited took full control of the club.[3] He was replaced by his assistant, former Tongan national team coach Murray Hurst.

The change did little to alter the fortunes of the side, winning just four of their last 15 games. A win in Round 26 over the Warriors in Auckland spared the side of a second straight wooden spoon, finishing ahead of the Penrith Panthers on points differential.

Despite the issues on and off the field, there were a number of bright spots throughout the season, including the emergence of Matthew Bowen. Bowen, who made his debut in Round 2, would go onto play 270 games, scoring 130 tries, and representing Australia and Queensland during his 13-year career at the club.[4] Another positive was the selection of four players in the victorious Queensland squad for the 2001 State of Origin series, the most for the club at the time. All four players selected (Paul Bowman, John Buttigieg, John Doyle and Nathan Fien) were local products who came through the junior ranks of the club.[5]

Milestones

Squad List
North Queensland Cowboys NRL Squad 2001
First team squad Coaching staff

Head coach

Assistant coach

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


Squad Movement

2001 Gains
Player Signed From
Trent Leis Redcliffe Dolphins
Tim Maddison Cronulla Sharks
Danny Moore London Broncos
Adam Nable Wests Tigers
Lee Oudenryn Auckland Warriors
Scott Whiting Wests Panthers

2001 Losses
Player Signed To
Graham Appo Huddersfield Giants
Greg Bourke Burleigh Bears
Scott Donald Parramatta Eels
Noel GoldthorpeReleased
Paul Green Sydney Roosters
Chad Halliday Parramatta Eels
Jason Nicol Salford City Reds
Scott Prince Brisbane Broncos
Ben Rauter Wakefield Trinity Wildcats

Ladder
2001 NRL season
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 Parramatta Eels 262024839406+43342
2 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 261736617568+4937
3 Newcastle Knights (P) 261619782639+14333
4 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 261529594513+8132
5 Brisbane Broncos 2614111696511+18529
6 Sydney Roosters 2613112647589+5827
7 St. George Illawarra Dragons 2612212661573+8826
8 New Zealand Warriors 2612212638629+926
9 Melbourne Storm 2611114704725-2123
10 Northern Eagles 2611114603750-14723
11 Canberra Raiders 269116600623-2319
12 Wests Tigers 269116474746-27219
13 North Queensland Cowboys 266218514771-25714
14 Penrith Panthers 267019521847-32614

Fixtures

Regular season
Date Round Opponent Venue Score Tries Goals Attendance
17 FebruaryRound 1 Brisbane BroncosDairy Farmers Stadium17 – 18Morrison, O'NeillO'Neill (4/5), Fien (1 FG)21,729
24 FebruaryRound 2 Melbourne StormColonial Stadium32 – 28Strickland (2), Buttigieg, Fien, O'Neill, RelfO'Neill (4/7)12,321
3 MarchRound 3 Sydney RoostersDairy Farmers Stadium8 – 32Buttigieg, MorrisonO'Neill (0/2)19,263
10 MarchRound 4 Penrith PanthersCazaly's Stadium18 – 32Hannay, Morrison, RelfO'Neill (3/3)13,500
17 MarchRound 5 Cronulla SharksToyota Park16 – 24Bowman, Morrison, RelfO'Neill (2/3)10,250
24 MarchRound 6 Wests TigersDairy Farmers Stadium24 – 10Bowman, Buttigieg, O'Neill, ShipwayO'Neill (4/6)12,357
1 AprilRound 7 St George Illawarra DragonsWIN Stadium12 – 48Fien, WarrenO'Neill (2/2)9,583
7 AprilRound 8 Parramatta EelsDairy Farmers Stadium14 – 14Bowman, Buttigieg, WarrenO'Neill (1/4)12,949
15 AprilRound 9 Canberra RaidersBruce Stadium26 – 34Bowen, Doyle, Leis, Morrison, WarrenLeis (3/4), O'Neill (0/1)7,191
22 AprilRound 10 Northern EaglesCazaly's Stadium22 – 24Bowen, Fien, O'NeillO'Neill (5/5)6,113
28 AprilRound 11 Canterbury BulldogsDairy Farmers Stadium14 – 26Jellick, MorrisonO'Neill (3/3)9,820
13 MayRound 12 Newcastle KnightsMarathon Stadium34 – 42Bowman (2), Jellick, Morrison, Paterson, WarrenLeis (4/4), O'Neill (1/2)18,039
20 MayRound 13 WarriorsDairy Farmers Stadium35 – 18Leis (2), Bowman, Fien, Luck, MorrisonLeis (3/6), O'Neill (2/3), Fien (1 FG)10,819
27 MayRound 14 Brisbane BroncosANZ Stadium6 – 50FienLeis (1/1)14,714
2 JuneRound 15 Melbourne StormDairy Farmers Stadium24 – 38O'Neill (3), BowenLeis (4/5)10,987
16 JuneRound 16 Sydney RoostersSFS24 – 50Bowman, Morrison, O'Neill, Shipway, WarrenLeis (1/2), O'Neill (1/3)6,432
23 JuneRound 17 Penrith PanthersPenrith Stadium26 – 20Doyle, Hannay, Luck, O'NeillO'Neill (5/5)7,326
7 JulyRound 18 Cronulla SharksDairy Farmers Stadium6 – 36MaddisonO'Neill (1/1)13,494
14 JulyRound 19 Wests TigersLeichhardt Oval18 – 20Jellick, Leis, Morrison, O'NeillO'Neill (1/4)4,724
21 JulyRound 20 St George Illawarra DragonsDairy Farmers Stadium34 – 10Bowman, Hannay, Jellick, Jones, Leis, MorrisonLeis (5/7)14,293
29 JulyRound 21 Parramatta EelsParramatta Stadium0 – 6213,192
4 AugustRound 22 Canberra RaidersDairy Farmers Stadium10 – 29Bowman, JonesO'Neill (1/2)11,261
12 AugustRound 23 Northern EaglesBrookvale Oval24 – 24Bowman (2), Bowen, Jellick, MorrisonO'Neill (2/5), Bowen (0/1)8,009
18 AugustRound 24 Canterbury BulldogsSydney Showground22 – 30Bowen, Bowman, JonesO'Neill (4/5), Bowen (1/1)6,715
25 AugustRound 25 Newcastle KnightsDairy Farmers Stadium18 – 34Morrison, O'Neill, RelfO'Neill (3/3)14,147
2 SeptemberRound 26 WarriorsEricsson Stadium30 – 18Gatis (2), Bowen, RelfO'Neill (7/8)24,568
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw   Bye

Statistics
NameAppTGFGPts
Geoff Bell10----
Matthew Bowen1561-26
Paul Bowman2512--48
Tarin Bradford2----
John Buttigieg154--16
Adam Connelly7----
Paul Dezolt5----
John Doyle112--8
Nathan Fien265-222
George Gatis82--8
Josh Hannay123--12
Brett Hetherington7----
Brian Jellick175--20
Peter Jones243--12
Naipolioni Kuricibi1----
Trent Leis17521-62
Micheal Luck162--8
Tim Maddison191--4
Bruce Mamando1----
John Manning1----
Jamie McDonald13----
Leigh McWilliams3----
Danny Moore2----
Glenn Morrison2313--52
Chris Muckert10----
Shane Muspratt12----
Adam Nable1----
Julian O'Neill231156-156
Lee Oudenryn3----
Nick Paterson121--4
Paul Pensini2----
Robert Relf215--20
Chris Sheppard17----
Mark Shipway172--8
Damien Smith3----
Daniel Strickland172--8
Shaun Valentine7----
Kyle Warren175--20
Totals89782514

Source:[6]

Representatives

The following players played a representative match in 2001.

City vs CountryState of Origin 1State of Origin 2State of Origin 3
Paul Bowman
-
Queensland
Queensland
Queensland
John Buttigieg
-
Queensland
-
Queensland
John Doyle
-
Queensland
-
Queensland
Nathan Fien
-
-
Queensland
-
Glenn Morrison
Country
-
-
-

Honours

Club

Feeder Clubs

NSWRL First Division

References
  1. "Eight freak off-field NRL injuries". Daily Telegraph. 20 March 2014.
  2. Willacy, Mark (29 March 2001). "Rugby league bottoms out again". abc.net.au. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  3. "Sheens and staff quit Cowboys" (fee required). AAP Sports News (Australia). 25 May 2001. Retrieved 18 April 2008.
  4. "Matt Bowen announces retirement". 29 August 2013.
  5. "Where Are They Now? John Buttigieg: Maroons hard-head". 6 July 2011. Archived from the original on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  6. "NRL 2001 - North Queensland Cowboys - Rugby League Project".

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