The 2007 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 13th in
the club's history. Coached by
Graham Murray
Graham Ernest Murray (6 January 1955 – 28 July 2013) was an Australian professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1970s and 1980s, and coached in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s.
A New South Wales State of Origin head coach, Murray c ...
and captained by
Johnathan Thurston
Johnathan Dean Thurston (born 25 April 1983) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the National Rugby League (NRL). Thurston was an Australian international, Queensland State of Origin and Indigenous All ...
, they competed in the
NRL's
Telstra Premiership. They finished the regular season in 3rd place, falling one game short of the
Grand Final
Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. S ...
after losing to the
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
The Manly Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Sydney's Northern Beaches. The team colours are maroon and white, while their namesake and logo is the sea eagle. They compete in Australia's premier rugb ...
.
Season summary
The Cowboys started the
2007 NRL season
The 2007 NRL season was the one hundredth season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the tenth run by the National Rugby League. Sixteen teams contested the NRL's 2007 Telstra Premiership, and with the inclusio ...
strongly, winning their first four games. By the halfway point of the season, they were placed inside the top four, despite losing key forward
Luke O'Donnell
Luke O'Donnell (born 22 October 1980) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin representative forward, he previously ...
for the season in Round 4.
In August,
News Limited
News Corp Australia is an Australian media conglomerate and wholly owned subsidiary of the American News Corp. One of Australia's largest media conglomerates, News Corp Australia employs more than 8,000 staff nationwide and approximately 3,0 ...
sold its majority stake in the club to the Cowboys Leagues Club for just over $2 million. News Limited took over the club in late 2001, helping it through a turbulent and difficult era.
Following five losses from seven games, the Cowboys dropped to 8th place in Round 20. A strong finish to the regular season, in which they won their final five games, saw them finish in 3rd, their highest ever placing at the time. Their first two finals games were played at home, defeating the
Canterbury Bulldogs (20–18) and the
New Zealand Warriors
The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...
(49–12), to move within one game of the
Grand Final
Primarily in Australian sports, a grand final (sometimes colloquially abbreviated to "grannie") is a game that decides a sports league's premiership (or championship) winning team, i.e. the conclusive game of a finals (or play-off) series. S ...
. The Cowboys' season ended the following week, losing to
Manly in the preliminary final.
Club legend
Paul Bowman retired at the end of the 2007 season. The last foundation player from the club's inaugural season, Bowman played 203 games for the Cowboys over 13 seasons. The club's Player of the Year medal was named in his honour following his retirement. He became an assistant coach with the club in 2008. 2007 also saw the debut of 19-year-old
Scott Bolton, who would go on to play over 150 games for the Cowboys and be a member of their
2015 NRL Grand Final
The 2015 NRL Grand Final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding game of the 2015 NRL season and was played on Sunday 4 October at Sydney's ANZ Stadium between the Brisbane Broncos and North Queensland Cowboys. North Queensland won the match ...
and
2016 World Club Challenge
The 2016 World Club Series (also known as the 2016 Dacia World Club Series due to sponsorship by Dacia) was the second edition of the World Club Series and saw three Super League teams and three National Rugby League (NRL) teams participate. T ...
winning sides.
Milestones
* Round 1:
Sione Faumuina and
Jason Smith made their debuts for the club.
* Round 3:
Justin Smith played his 50th game for the club.
* Round 4:
Scott Bolton made his NRL debut for the club.
* Round 6:
Ben Vaeau made his debut for the club.
* Round 7:
Johnathan Thurston
Johnathan Dean Thurston (born 25 April 1983) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the National Rugby League (NRL). Thurston was an Australian international, Queensland State of Origin and Indigenous All ...
played his 50th game for the club.
* Round 7:
Scott Minto
Scott Christopher Minto (born 6 August 1971) is an English former professional footballer and sports television pundit.
As a player he was as a left back who played in the Premier League for Chelsea and West Ham United and in Portugal for Ben ...
made their debuts for the club.
* Round 7:
Ben Farrar
Ben Farrar (born 2 December 1986) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. He is the player/head coach of New York Rugby League. He previously played for the North Queensland Cowboys and Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the N ...
made his NRL debut for the club and scored his first NRL try.
* Round 9:
Brett Anderson
Brett Lewis Anderson (born 29 September 1967) is an English singer best known as the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the band Suede. After Suede disbanded in 2003, he fronted The Tears with former Suede guitarist Bernard Butler in 2004- ...
made his debut for the club.
* Round 9:
Scott Bolton scored his first NRL try.
* Round 10:
Sam Faust made his NRL debut for the club.
* Round 11:
John Frith made his NRL debut for the club.
* Round 13:
Ty Williams
Ty Williams (born 27 November 1980) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. He played for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition.
North Queensland Co ...
played his 100th game for the club.
* Round 13:
Matthew Bartlett made his debut for the club.
* Round 13:
Jackson Nicolau made his NRL debut for the club.
* Round 18:
Aaron Payne
Aaron Payne (born 18 November 1982) is an Australian rugby league coach and former professional player who is the head coach of the Townsville Blackhawks in the Intrust Super Cup. Primarily a , he played his entire career for the North Queen ...
played his 100th game for the club.
* Round 20:
Matthew Bowen
Matthew Jeremy Bowen (born 9 March 1982) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. An Australia international and Queensland State of Origin representative , he played in the National Rugby ...
played his 150th game for the club.
* Round 22:
Carl Webb
Carl Webb (born 20 March 1981) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played as a and in the 2000s and 2010s.
He played for the Brisbane Broncos, North Queensland Cowboys and the Parramatta Eels in the NRL. Webb ...
played his 50th game for the club.
* Round 25:
Paul Bowman played his 200th game for the club, the first player to do so.
* Finals Week 2:
Jacob Lillyman
Jacob Lillyman (born 7 March 1984) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. Throughout his career, he played for the North Queensland Cowboys, New Zealand Warriors and Newcastle Knights in the National Rugby League, while r ...
played his 50th game for the club.
Squad List
Squad Movement
2007 Gains
2007 Losses
Ladder
Fixtures
Pre-season
Regular season
Finals
Statistics
''Source:''
Representatives
The following players played a representative match in 2007
Honours
League
*
Dally M Medal
The Dally M Medal is awarded each year (annually) to the player voted for as the ' Player of the year' over the National Rugby League (NRL) regular season. The awards are named in honour of Australian former rugby league great Herbert Henry "Da ...
:
Johnathan Thurston
Johnathan Dean Thurston (born 25 April 1983) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the National Rugby League (NRL). Thurston was an Australian international, Queensland State of Origin and Indigenous All ...
*
Dally M
The Dally M Awards are the official annual player awards for the National Rugby League competition. As well as honouring the player of the year, who received the Dally M Medal, awards are also given to the premier player in each position, the b ...
Fullback of the Year:
Matthew Bowen
Matthew Jeremy Bowen (born 9 March 1982) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. An Australia international and Queensland State of Origin representative , he played in the National Rugby ...
*
Dally M
The Dally M Awards are the official annual player awards for the National Rugby League competition. As well as honouring the player of the year, who received the Dally M Medal, awards are also given to the premier player in each position, the b ...
Halfback of the Year:
Johnathan Thurston
Johnathan Dean Thurston (born 25 April 1983) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the National Rugby League (NRL). Thurston was an Australian international, Queensland State of Origin and Indigenous All ...
*
Rugby League Week
''Rugby League Week'' (frequently abbreviated to RLW) was the highest selling Australian rugby league magazine, ahead of major competitor ''Big League''. It was published weekly (on Wednesdays) during the Australian rugby league season, which ru ...
Player of the Year:
Matthew Bowen
Matthew Jeremy Bowen (born 9 March 1982) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. An Australia international and Queensland State of Origin representative , he played in the National Rugby ...
*
Rugby League Week
''Rugby League Week'' (frequently abbreviated to RLW) was the highest selling Australian rugby league magazine, ahead of major competitor ''Big League''. It was published weekly (on Wednesdays) during the Australian rugby league season, which ru ...
Player of the Year:
Johnathan Thurston
Johnathan Dean Thurston (born 25 April 1983) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the National Rugby League (NRL). Thurston was an Australian international, Queensland State of Origin and Indigenous All ...
Club
*
Paul Bowman Medal:
Matthew Bowen
Matthew Jeremy Bowen (born 9 March 1982) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. An Australia international and Queensland State of Origin representative , he played in the National Rugby ...
* Player's Player:
Matthew Bowen
Matthew Jeremy Bowen (born 9 March 1982) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. An Australia international and Queensland State of Origin representative , he played in the National Rugby ...
* Club Person of the Year: Tim Nugent and Nicole Balanzategui
* Rookie of the Year:
Sam Faust
* Most Improved:
Ashley Graham and
Ray Cashmere
Feeder Clubs
Queensland Cup
The Queensland Cup, currently known as the Hostplus Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level regional rugby league football competition in Queensland, Australia. It is run by the Queensland Rugby League (QRL) and is contested by fou ...
*
North Queensland Young Guns - 1st, lost preliminary final
References
External links
Official North Queensland Cowboys Website
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North Queensland Cowboys seasons
North Queensland Cowboys season