Australia
National Rugby League (NRL) is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL competition (sometimes referred to as the Telstra Premiership for sponsorship purposes) is contested by 16 teams, 15 based in Australia and one based in New Zealand, and is the Southern Hemisphere's elite rugby league championship.
Melbourne Storm vs Cowboys
Match scheduled:
Date: 19-06-2010
Time: 07:30 until 09:30
Round #15 - NRL Telstra Premiership 2010
Watch live rugby TV
he North Queensland Cowboys are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, Queensland. They compete in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership.
The Cowboys were admitted to the premiership for the 1995 ARL season and subsequently played in the Super League competition in 1997 before continuing to compete in the current National Rugby League competition from 1998 to the present day. The club have never won a premiership, however reached the Grand Final in 2005.
The Cowboys play their home games at Dairy Farmers Stadium in the City of Townsville, North Queensland. On 28 August 2007 it was announced that after 6 years of ownership, News Limited had sold the team to the Cowboys League Club.
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[edit] History
[edit] 1995, 1996: Origins
The Cowboys name and team colours were decided by public competition in 1994.
One of the major difficulties that faced the club in their early years was attracting followers from the more established Queensland-based Winfield Cup side, the Brisbane Broncos.[citation needed] This was exacerbated by an initial lack of onfield success and stability. In their first two seasons, the Cowboys had eight different captains.
[edit] 1997: Super League
After much court action in 1995 and 1996, a ten team Super League competition was held in 1997. The Cowboys competed in this competition, and their squad was bolstered by a number of new signings including Ian Roberts and Steve Walters. However, they were unable to improve on the club's results in previous years, and for the second time in three seasons they were to finish the season in last place.
[edit] 1998, 1999: National Rugby League
In 1998 the Super League and Australian Rugby League competitions merged to form the National Rugby League (NRL). The Cowboys began their first season in this competition strongly, and after six rounds they were in equal first place. Although they fell away later in the season, they were to record the largest come-back to date in an Australian first grade rugby league match, defeating the Penrith Panthers 36–28 after trailing 26–0 at half-time. 1998 also saw the Cowboys record their largest loss to date, being defeated 62–0 by the North Sydney Bears in the last round of the home and away season.
The Cowboys signed their eleventh captain in 1999, Noel Goldthorpe. Paul Bowman was also to serve in that role during the season. Although their on-field performances were not spectacular, continuing high attendance figures saw aggregate attendances exceed one million spectators. This season the Cowboys also provided their first State of Origin representative when Paul Green was selected as Queensland's halfback for game 2 of the 1999 State of Origin series.
[edit] 2000–2004: Wooden spoon to finalists
In the years 2000 through to 2002 the Cowboys continued to struggle with off-field dramas and poor on-field performances. After finishing last in 2000 and second last the following year, four losses at the start of the 2002 season saw coach Tim Sheens sacked and replaced by his assistant Murray Hurst. Although they finished in their highest position to date, coach Hurst was also sacked at early in the 2003 season, and replaced by Graham Murray. The Cowboys spent much of the 2003 season in the top eight with much improved performances from a host of players, including local talents Matt Bowen and Josh Hannay. The 2003 season ended with the Cowboys four points adrift of a top eight play-off position.
A signing was made for 2004, Travis Norton. The club's tenth anniversary season began in much the same fashion as in earlier years, and after seven rounds the team had posted only one victory. However, in a remarkable turnaround of form, the Cowboys were able to win 12 of their remaining games and finish in seventh position at the end of the home and away season. For the first time, the Cowboys were part of final eight, and in the mix at business end of the season: the 2004 NRL finals series. Remarkably, the Cowboys' new status in the game afforded them their first free-to-air televised game in their history. Whilst Channel Nine had all but ignored the Townsville-based team, a place in the finals had the public beating the drum for coverage. This provided Channel Nine with a last minute opportuntity to jump on the Cowboys bandwagon, with Nine Commentator Ray "Rabbits" Warren branding the Cowboys as "2004's fairytale team". But for many fans throughout Queensland and in other states, such accolades were all to late from the NRL's chief free-to-air television provider who had failed to deliever coverage of the national competition.
In their first finals match they played a Qualifying Final against the eventual premiers Bulldogs at Telstra Stadium. Against expectation the Cowboys defeated the Bulldogs 30–22. A week later at Dairy Farmers Stadium in Townsville they defeated the Brisbane Broncos 10–0 in a Semi-Final. This was the first time that they had ever defeated the Broncos (and also the first time the Broncos had been held scoreless anywhere in Queensland). The road to the grand final ended for the Cowboys when they were controversially defeated by the Sydney Roosters 19–16. Many fans and media alike were disgruntled at the handling of the final minutes of the elimination game by referee Paul Simpkins, and his refusal to allow the Cowboys to pack a scrum with seconds left on the clock. Suggestions of a Sydney-bias by referee Simpkins have continued to overshadow both his career and what many fans regarded as a classic finals match. Simpkin was not considered for the grand final refereeing duties.
