North Queensland Cowboys 2024 season review
Overview
The Cowboys bounced back from a disappointing 2023 to finish comfortably inside the top eight this year, but an underwhelming performance in week two of this finals saw them knocked out by the Sharks.
They started the year strongly with four wins from their opening five games, but they lost the next five straight to leave some pundits calling for coach Todd Payten’s head.
They had a great second half of the season though, winning 11 of their final 14 games to secure 5th spot and a home elimination final in week one. In that game, they saw off a spirited Knights side 28-16 to advance to week two and a date with the Sharks in Sydney.
Sadly for the Cowboys, that was where their season ended. Cronulla blew them away in the first half, as they took a 24-0 lead into the interval. Despite showing plenty of fight in the second half, it was too much to turn around for North Queensland, who lost 26-18.
Highs
Overall, there were a lot more positives than negatives for the Cowboys in 2024 as they finished the regular season with the third-highest points scored. A big part of that was down to the form of veteran winger, Kyle Feldt, who scored 23 tries, and became the club’s record try-scorer too.
Tom Dearden continued to cement himself as one of the NRL’s top five-eighths, Reece Robson established himself as New South Wales’ first-choice hooker and Jason Taumalolo showed signs of his devastating best after a disappointing 2023 campaign.
There were plenty of noticeable wins throughout the year as well, including a 6-16 win at Penrith, a 42-4 demolition of Canberra and a 6-44 thrashing of the Bulldogs to round off the regular season.
Lows
The Cowboys had the worst defensive record of any team in the top eight, conceding almost 24 points per game on average and they suffered some heavy defeats.
The 38-12 loss to Queensland rivals Brisbane stands out, and they conceded 42 to Cronulla in round seven, as well as 42 at home to the Warriors in round 14.
A few players will be leaving Townsville ahead of 2025 as well, and I’m not convinced the Cowboys were happy to lose them all. Valentine Holmes is the standout name – he’s heading off to the Dragons.
As for Kyle Feldt, he had something of a renaissance in 2024, and whilst he’s not getting any younger, it won’t be easy to replace a winger with his record.
Reasons to be positive in 2025
The Cowboys have so many young players in their side who have bags of experience at NRL level, and they’re only going to get better.
The likes of Jeremiah Nanai and Viliami Vailea have cemented themselves in the starting XIII and they’re still only 21. Tom Dearden, meanwhile, hit the 100-game milestone this year at the tender age of 23, while fellow 23-year-old Heilum Luki had his strongest year so far, and he’s well past 50 NRL games now.
My 2024 prediction – 11th
Final 2024 position – 5th (+6)
I’ll admit, I got this one completely wrong. I thought the Cowboys’ impressive 2022 season was a one-off, and their 11th placed finish in 2023 was about right, but I had it completely the wrong way round.
Heading into 2025, anything less than a top eight spot would be hugely underwhelming after this year’s efforts.
