2022 North Queensland Cowboys season
The 2022 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 28th in the club's history. Coached by Todd Payten and captained by Jason Taumalolo and Chad Townsend, they competed in the NRL's 2022 Telstra Premiership.
| 2022 North Queensland Cowboys season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NRL Rank | 3rd | |||
| Play-off result | Lost preliminary final | |||
| 2022 record | Wins: 17; draws: 0; losses: 7 | |||
| Points scored | For: 685; against: 415 | |||
| Team information | ||||
| CEO | Jeff Reibel | |||
| Coach | Todd Payten | |||
| Captain | ||||
| Stadium | Queensland Country Bank Stadium | |||
| Avg. attendance | 18,376 | |||
| High attendance | 25,372 (vs. Parramatta Eels, Prelim final) | |||
| Top scorers | ||||
| Tries | Jeremiah Nanai Murray Taulagi (17) | |||
| Goals | Valentine Holmes (100) | |||
| Points | Valentine Holmes (244) | |||
| ||||
The Cowboys returned to the finals after four seasons in the bottom four, finishing one game short of the Grand Final. They finished the regular season in the third position and won 17 games, their equal-highest ever (along with 2015).[1]
Season summary
Milestones
- Round 1: Peta Hiku, Jamayne Taunoa-Brown and Chad Townsend made their debuts for the club.
- Round 1: Tom Gilbert scored his first NRL try.
- Round 2: Mitchell Dunn played his 50th NRL game for the club.
- Round 3: Reece Robson played his 50th NRL game.
- Round 3: Griffin Neame scored his first NRL try.
- Round 10: Reuben Cotter scored his first NRL try.
- Round 10: Peta Hiku scored his first try for the club.
- Round 11: Tom Dearden played his 50th NRL game.
- Round 13: Brendan Elliot made his debut for the club.
- Round 16: Luciano Leilua made his debut for the club.
- Round 16: Luciano Leilua played his 100th NRL game.
- Round 18: Tom Chester made his NRL debut.
- Round 21: Valentine Holmes played his 50th NRL game for the club.
- Round 21: Luciano Leilua and Chad Townsend scored their first tries for the club.
Squad
Squad movement
Gains
| Player | Signed From | Until End of | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Iosefo Baleiwairiki |  Fiji Rugby Sevens | 2022 | |
| Brendan Elliot |  Leigh Centurions | 2022 | |
| Brendan Frei |  Norths Devils (mid-season) | 2022 | |
| Peta Hiku |  New Zealand Warriors | 2023 | |
| Luciano Leilua |  Wests Tigers (mid-season) | 2025 | |
| Taniela Sadrugu | Fiji Rugby Sevens | 2022 | |
| Gehamat Shibasaki |  Green Rockets Tokatsu (mid-season) | 2022 | |
| Jamayne Taunoa-Brown | New Zealand Warriors | 2024 | |
| Chad Townsend | New Zealand Warriors | 2024 |
Losses
| Player | Signed To | Until End of | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daejarn Asi | New Zealand Warriors (mid-season) | 2022 | |
| Javid Bowen | Retired | – | |
| Lachlan Burr | Retired | – | |
| Peter Hola |  Canberra Raiders | 2023 | |
| Francis Molo |  St. George Illawarra Dragons | 2024 | |
| Corey Jensen |  Brisbane Broncos | 2023 | |
| Shane Wright |  Salford Red Devils | 2023 |
Re-signings
Ladder
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Penrith Panthers (P) |
24 | 20 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 636 | 330 | +306 | 42 |
| 2 |  Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks |
24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 573 | 364 | +209 | 38 |
| 3 |  North Queensland Cowboys |
24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 1 | 633 | 361 | +272 | 36 |
| 4 |  Parramatta Eels |
24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 608 | 489 | +119 | 34 |
| 5 |  Melbourne Storm |
24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 657 | 410 | +247 | 32 |
| 6 |  Sydney Roosters |
24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 635 | 434 | +201 | 32 |
| 7 |  South Sydney Rabbitohs |
24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 604 | 474 | +130 | 30 |
| 8 | Canberra Raiders |
24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 1 | 524 | 461 | +63 | 30 |
| 9 | Brisbane Broncos |
24 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 1 | 514 | 550 | −36 | 28 |
| 10 | St. George Illawarra Dragons |
24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 469 | 569 | −100 | 26 |
| 11 |  Manly Warringah Sea Eagles |
24 | 9 | 0 | 15 | 1 | 490 | 595 | −105 | 20 |
| 12 |  Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs |
24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 1 | 383 | 575 | −192 | 16 |
| 13 |  Gold Coast Titans |
24 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 455 | 650 | −205 | 14 |
| 14 |  Newcastle Knights |
24 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 372 | 662 | −290 | 14 |
| 15 | New Zealand Warriors |
24 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 1 | 408 | 700 | −292 | 14 |
| 16 | Wests Tigers |
24 | 4 | 0 | 20 | 1 | 352 | 679 | −327 | 10 |
Fixtures
Pre-season
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 19 February | Trial 1 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | Barlow Park | 24 – 12 | Bourke, Z. Laybutt, Lipp, Niko | Asi (4/4) | 7,128 | |||
| Saturday, 26 February | Trial 2 | Brisbane Broncos | BB Print Stadium | 26 – 6 | Taulagi (2), Holmes, Tabuai-Fidow | Holmes (4/4), Drinkwater (1/1) | 4,545 | |||
| Legend: Win Loss Draw Bye | ||||||||||
Regular season
Finals
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, 10 September | Qualifying | Cronulla Sharks | PointsBet Stadium | 32 – 30 | Dearden, Tom Gilbert, Hiku, Taulagi, Taumalolo | Holmes (5/6, 1 FG) | 12,447 |
| Friday, September 23 | Preliminary | Parramatta Eels | Queensland Country Bank Stadium | 20 – 24 | Cotter, Leilua, Taulagi | Holmes (4/5) | 25,372 |
| Legend: Win Loss Draw | |||||||
Statistics
| Name | App | T | G | FG | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tom Chester | 1 | – | – | – | - |
| Reuben Cotter | 18 | 2 | – | – | 8 |
| Tom Dearden | 23 | 9 | – | – | 36 |
| Scott Drinkwater | 22 | 11 | 4 | – | 52 |
| Mitchell Dunn | 2 | – | – | – | - |
| Brendan Elliot | 3 | – | – | – | - |
| Kyle Feldt | 20 | 11 | – | – | 44 |
| Tom Gilbert | 24 | 3 | – | – | 12 |
| Jake Granville | 14 | – | – | – | - |
| Coen Hess | 23 | 1 | – | – | 4 |
| Peta Hiku | 26 | 5 | – | – | 20 |
| Valentine Holmes | 24 | 10 | 100 | 3 | 244 |
| Luciano Leilua | 11 | 3 | – | – | 12 |
| Connelly Lemuelu | 4 | 2 | – | – | 8 |
| Heilum Luki | 14 | 4 | – | – | 16 |
| Jordan McLean | 22 | – | – | – | - |
| Jeremiah Nanai | 23 | 17 | – | – | 68 |
| Griffin Neame | 23 | 4 | – | – | 16 |
| Reece Robson | 26 | 7 | – | – | 28 |
| Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow | 23 | 7 | – | – | 28 |
| Murray Taulagi | 25 | 17 | – | – | 68 |
| Jason Taumalolo | 25 | 1 | – | – | 4 |
| Jamayne Taunoa-Brown | 16 | – | – | – | - |
| Chad Townsend | 26 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 17 |
| Totals | 116 | 108 | 4 | 685 |
Representatives
The following players played a representative match in 2022.
| All Stars match | State of Origin 1 | State of Origin 2 | State of Origin 3 | Pacific Tests | Rugby League World Cup | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reuben Cotter | Indigenous All Stars | Queensland | Australia | |||
| Tom Dearden | Queensland | |||||
| Robert Derby | Papua New Guinea | |||||
| Peta Hiku | New Zealand | New Zealand | ||||
| Valentine Holmes | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | Australia | ||
| Jeremiah Nanai | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | Australia | ||
| Taniela Sadrugu | Fiji | |||||
| Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow | Indigenous All Stars | Samoa | ||||
| Murray Taulagi | Queensland | Australia | ||||
| Jason Taumalolo | Tonga | Tonga | ||||
| Jamayne Taunoa-Brown | Indigenous All Stars |
Honours
League
- Dally M Coach of the Year: Todd Payten[29]
- Dally M Centre of the Year: Valentine Holmes[30]
- Dally M Second Rower of the Year: Jeremiah Nanai
- Dally M Rookie of the Year: Jeremiah Nanai[31]
- Dally M Try of the Year: Scott Drinkwater[32]
Club
- Paul Bowman Medal: Jason Taumalolo[33]
- Players' Player: Tom Dearden[33]
- The Cowboys Way Award: Tom Dearden[33]
- Rookie of the Year: Jeremiah Nanai[33]
- JCU Education Award: Scott Drinkwater[33]
- Young Guns Cowboys Way Award: Robert Derby[33]
- Club Person of the Year: Tom Gilbert[33]
- Member's Player of the Year: Jeremiah Nanai[33]
Feeder Clubs
Queensland Cup
Mackay Cutters – 11th, missed finals
Northern Pride – 8th, lost elimination final
Townsville Blackhawks – 10th, missed finals
Women's team
QRL Women's Premiership
- North Queensland Gold Stars – 3rd, Premiers
References
- "'We'll be back': Payten's pledge after Prelim heartbreak". NQ Cowboys. 24 September 2022.
- Development players train with the Top 30 squad but cannot play NRL until after Round 10
- Players in the extended squad train with the Top 30 squad but are on train and trial or junior contracts
- "Fijian Rugby Sevens duo to join Cowboys for 2022 season". NQ Cowboys. 20 September 2021.
- "Cowboys sign Elliot". NQ Cowboys. 25 January 2022.
- "Frei joins Cowboys". NQ Cowboys. 23 May 2022.
- "Cowboys sign Hiku". NQ Cowboys. 24 May 2021.
- "Luciano Leilua granted early release". Wests Tigers. 14 June 2022.
- "North Queensland Cowboys sign Gehamat Shibasaki". Wide World of Sports. 16 July 2022.
- "Cowboys sign Taunoa-Brown". NQ Cowboys. 21 October 2021.
- "Cowboys sign Townsend". NQ Cowboys. 21 April 2021.
- "Cowboys half Asi signed for rest of season". NZ Warriors. 26 April 2022.
- "Tragic knee injury forces North Queensland Cowboys Javid Bowen centre into retirement". Townsville Bulletin. 26 October 2021.
- "Lachlan Burr retires". NQ Cowboys. 23 February 2022.
- "Raiders sign Peter Hola". Canberra Raiders. 21 October 2021.
- "Molo Dragons bound in 2022". St. George Illawarra Dragons. 16 March 2021.
- "Prop Corey Jensen Joins Broncos From 2022". broncos.com.au. 16 August 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
- "Cowboys forward Shane Wright has inked a deal with Salford while a club champion will not suit up next season". Townsville Bulletin. 21 August 2021.
- "Drinkwater signs long-term extension". NQ Cowboys. 2 September 2022.
- "Dunn, Granville return for 2023". NQ Cowboys. 18 July 2022.
- "Cowboys extend Hampton, Elliot". NQ Cowboys. 28 July 2022.
- "Dunn, Granville return for 2023". NQ Cowboys. 18 July 2022.
- "Cowboys re-sign Luki". NQ Cowboys. 18 February 2022.
- "Cowboys re-sign Jeremiah Nanai". NQ Cowboys. 4 April 2022.
- "Neame extends Cowboys contract". NQ Cowboys. 31 August 2022.
- "Robson signs extension". NQ Cowboys. 8 November 2022.
- "Sadrugu earns promotion". NQ Cowboys. 24 August 2022.
- "Cowboys re-sign Taulagi". NQ Cowboys. 8 September 2022.
- "Payten named 2022 NRL Dally M Coach of the Year". NQ Cowboys. 28 September 2022.
- "Nanai, Holmes named in Dally M Team of the Year". NQ Cowboys. 28 September 2022.
- "Nanai wins 2022 Dally M NRL Rookie of the Year Award". NQ Cowboys. 28 September 2022.
- "Drinkwater's Magic Round miracle wins try of the year". NQ Cowboys. 28 September 2022.
- "Taumalolo claims sixth Paul Bowman Medal". NQ Cowboys. 4 September 2022.
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