Welcome to Bovine Bulletin, a monthly newsletter about the North Queensland Cowboys.
The North Queensland Cowboys are best understood as several overlapping paradoxes.
How does a team this good on paper have such poor results on paper? The Wally Lewis medal winner plays the most important position on the field. Another Origin representative starts at the position that touches the ball the most. Tongan royalty is merely good enough for the fringe of this team. Also, there’s Scott Drinkwater.
At time of writing, that team is only three wins clear of the spoon and has a negative points difference well into triple digits.
How can a team that plays this well1, have such poor results? How does a team that plays this poorly even have eight wins? We can all recognise the symptoms - the Rugby League Eye Test has the most recent and most comprehensive listing - but brighter minds than me have failed to land on a convincing diagnosis.
The problem is mostly felt up front but sometimes also in the rear and which it is seems to depend on the phase of the moon as much as anything else. Could it be lupus? Porphyria? Or is it Clifford-Purdue Syndrome that derailed the entire season?
The Cowboys have the kind of fundamentals some of the less salubrious parts of Sydney’s NRL clubland would kill for. The club has money, fans, some heritage, an endless conveyor belt of talent, no rivals within a thousand kilometres and what should add up to a significant home ground advantage. In the last ten seasons, they've lost a grand final and lost a prelim and spent more time in the southern half of the league than many south of Mackay seem to be aware.
The inability to retain anyone promising is better known but never seems to attract much scrutiny in the HOW COULD THEY LET HIM GO genre from the Brisbane or Sydney press. That lack of pressure cuts both ways: the Cowboys do not have to make decisions quickly or erratically, but also never really have to make decisions or are held to account for what decisions do get made. A lot of this feels cliche to point out but it is nonetheless true.
It seems extremely likely that Todd Payten is going to go. It is hard to see how it could be otherwise. An isolated 2022 campaign where the Cowboys figured out how to defend and had a few breakouts is clearly the aberration, rather than the standard. That’s not good enough for North Queensland.
I assume, but do not know, we are waiting for Jeff Reibel to finalise his time at Railway Estate, so the new CEO can bring in their choice of football manager and/or head coach. If you wanted to apply, it is too late but that means the search is moving forward in some fashion. Perhaps we will see a resolution sooner rather than later2 but that is ultimately the next step for this franchise.
Fortunately, the women’s program has shown that someone in Townsville knows how to get results. After an extremely bumpy start in 2023, finishing second last, and improving to annoying but not good in 2024, finishing sixth and missing a very competitive finals picture, the North Queensland women’s Cowboys are officially good. I’ve long been a believer in this team and it’s the process and the outcome that are equally encouraging.
After seven rounds, the Cowboys are now 5-2 in fourth place and sitting a win above the Sharks in fifth. The price of admission to this year’s top six finals will likely be a 6-5 record. With the Tigers and Dragons left on the schedule of the four remaining games, that is an extremely viable goal.
With the way the team is structured, there is almost no way they will fall apart - barring a series of horrifying injuries - and should only improve if Kirra Dibb finds some form. In round 11, they can really put themselves to the test by playing the Broncos in what is likely to be the most competitive derby between those teams (especially if Brisbane rest players).
If North Queensland can secure a finals place and even snatch a win over the Broncos or Roosters while they’re not paying attention, everything after that is house money. After a tough men’s season, that should mean something.
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