2023 North Queensland Cowboys Preview

Coming off the back of a resurgent season in 2022, the North Queensland Cowboys will be out to prove they are more than a one-hit wonder in 2023.

Preview

SQUAD

Jake Bourke, Tom Chester, Reuben Cotter, Tom Dearden, Scott Drinkwater, Mitch Dunn, Brendan Elliott, Kyle Feldt, Jack Gosiewski, Jake Granville, Ben Hampton, Coen Hess, Peta Hiku, Valentine Holmes, Luciano Leilua, Jordan Lipp, Heilum Luki, Jordan McLean, Laitia Moceidreke, Jeremiah Nanai, Griffin Neame, Riley Price, Reece Robson, Taniela Sadrugu, Gehamat Shibasaki, James Tamou, Murray Taulagi, Jason Taumalolo, Jamayne Taunoa-Brown, Chad Townsend, Jai Hansen, Jodeci Baker-Tiraha, Ragarive Wavik. Coach: Todd Payten. (as at February 11)

BEST SEVENTEEN

1. Scott Drinkwater, 2. Murray Taulagi, 3. Valentine Holmes, 4. Peta Hiku, 5. Kyle Feldt, 6. Tom Dearden, 7. Chad Townsend, 8. Jordan McLean, 9. Reece Robson, 10. Reuben Cotter, 11. Coen Hess, 12. Jeremiah Nanai, 13. Jason Taumalolo, 14. Jake Granville, 15. Griffin Neame, 16. James Tamou, 17. Heilum Luki.

Outside looking in: Mitch Dunn (injury), Luciano Leilua (pending suspension), Jack Gosiewski, Jamayne Taunoa-Brown, Tom Chester, Ben Hampton.

BEST SIGNING

James Tamou: In a relatively quiet off-season for the Cowboys on the signing front, they made a move to bring back a Cowboys premiership winner in James Tamou. After stints at the Panthers and Tigers, Tamou returns to North Queensland and brings a wealth of experience to the Cowboys’ bench. While he isn’t the player he was when he last wore a Cowboys jersey, he will be valuable to the young crop of forwards coming through the club. He has a chance to finish his career where he made a name for himself as a representative footballer.

KEY PLAYER

Chad Townsend: It’s no coincidence the Cowboys finished third on the ladder the first year Chad Townsend made the move up north. His experience and leadership in the halves is a big reason why the Cowboys had such a stellar season last year. He also helped unlock Tom Dearden’s potential and elevated him to the Origin arena. If Townsend were to miss any time, there are names who could step in and do a job for the Cowboys, but we could see a drop in the fluidity and cohesion of the spine without him.

PLAYER TO WATCH

Griffin Neame: The Cowboys have an excellent crop of youngsters on the cusp of breaking out (see Tom Chester, Heilum Luki), but the player to keep an eye on this year has got to be Griffin Neame. He had an impressive showing in limited opportunities last season, which has cemented him firmly in the Cowboys’ bench conversation. If there are any injuries to this Cowboys forward pack, we could even see Neame elevated to the starting side, where he will have a chance to prove his mettle in a bigger minute role.

PREVIEW

Finishing one game short of the grand final, do we think the Cowboys can go one better in 2023? They certainly have a big chance. Their roster remains for the most part unchanged, and has even improved on last year in areas.

One challenge is living up to the expectations they’ve set themselves after last season. At the beginning of 2022, there were many punters pencilling the Cowboys in for a wooden spoon finish. Safe to say, their projected finish will be higher than that coming into this season, which will mean teams have a target on them. Todd Payten is coming off a Coach of the Year award as well, so it’s hard to see where the improvement will come from in this Cowboys team.

One factor that will help them improve is undoubtedly their draw. The opening draw for the Cowboys is hands down the best in the competition. Across the first eight rounds, they only face one top eight team from last season (Canberra, Round 1 in Townsville). They also play the majority of those games in Queensland, so the stars are lining up for the Cowboys to start the season strong. Additionally, they have all three of their byes in the back half of the season (rounds 15, 19 and 24), which will help keep them fresh as they push towards another finals birth.

With a healthy mix of experience and youth in their squad, expect the Cowboys to be playing finals footy in 2023, and challenging for the top four once again.