Matt Pritchard reviews the 2023 Season of the North Queensland Cowboys where they finished 11th on the ladder.
Club Stats
Wins: 12
Losses: 12
Most Tries: 13, Kyle Feldt
Most Points: 170, Valentine Holmes
Paul Bowman Medal Player of the Year: Scott Drinkwater
An Indifferent Season for Cowboys as they Miss the NRL Finals
So much was expected of the Cowboys in 2023, with some pundits suggesting pre-season that they would meet the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the decider.
Suggestions that the Cowboys weren’t as prepared because of a high number of representatives heading to the Rugby League World Cup last October ended up coming true as the North Queensland club failed to make the finals.
One notable difference in 2023 was the Cowboys being weaker in defence. After running third in 2022 and having the second-best defence (361, 15 points per game), they’d eclipsed that mark by Round 16 and ended 2023 conceding 542 points at 23 points per game (10th best in the league).
In a season of historic events, the Cowboys equalled their worst score conceded in the massacre against the Tigers at Leichhardt Oval in May (66-18,.) before thrashing them at the start of July (74-0). That result eclipsed the 2014 record winning margin inflicted on the same opponents (64-6 at Dairy Farmers Stadium).
They also suffered from poor discipline, with 18 Match Review Committee Charges and 15 matches served by the club, with Jeremaiah Nanai missing six of those games. Nanai’s impact on the Cowboys was not as devastating as 2022, when they narrowly missed out on playing in the grand final. However, management put faith in the rising star by signing him to a four-year extension early in the season.
It was also disrupted year for impact player Luciano Leilua, who had his domestic violence charges dropped, allowing him to return in the ill-fated loss to the Tigers in May.
After winning six on the trot to move from 16th in late May to seventh on the ladder late into August, the Cowboys lost four of their last five: including their last round against the Panthers where they needed to win to make the finals but lost 44-12.
During their season fightback, the Cowboys picked up Semi Valemei from Canberra, and he had immediate success on debut scoring a hat-trick against the Storm. Contracted until the end of 2024, Valemei could be seen as a replacement for club legend Kyle Feldt as his career winds down.
2015 premiership winner James Tamou retired from the NRL after 308 games and will continue his journey in the HostPlus Queensland Cup with the Townsville Blackhawks in 2024.
Aside from Tamou, Peta Hiku will head to Super League in 2024, while the Cowboys released Ben Hampton, Mitch Dunn, Brendan Elliot, and Gehamat Shibasaki. Riley Price, son of former legend Steve Price, will head to the Panthers.
Other milestones included Jake Granville playing his 200th game (vs the Eels in Round 21) and Jason Taumalolo reaching 250 when the Cowboys took on the Sharks in Round 25.
To cap off the year, Valentine Holmes was embroiled in off-field controversy as an Instagram post emerged of the Maroons representative clenching on a bag with white power inside it. Holmes was handed a breach notice and may face further sanctions from the Cowboys.
Craig Menkins, who was part of the Cowboys’ inaugural 1995 squad, passed away in July after a battle with brain cancer.
Key Player Stats
Most Try Assists: 25, Scott Drinkwater
Most Line-breaks: 18, Murray Taulagi
Most Run Metres: 3,305, Scott Drinkwater
Most Post Contact Metres: 926, Murray Taulagi
Most Tackles: 956, Reece Robson
Most Errors: 30, Scott Drinkwater
