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The 2003 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 9th in the club's history. Coached by Graham Murray and captained by Paul Bowman, they competed in the NRL's 2003 Telstra Premiership. Although the club once again finished 11th, they recorded their highest number of wins (10) and competition points (24) in a season.[1]
| 2003 North Queensland Cowboys season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NRL Rank | 11th | |||
| Play-off result | Missed finals | |||
| 2003 record | Wins: 10; draws: 0; losses: 14 | |||
| Points scored | For: 606; against: 629 | |||
| Team information | ||||
| CEO | Denis Keeffe | |||
| Coach | Graham Murray | |||
| Captain | ||||
| Stadium | Dairy Farmers Stadium | |||
| Avg. attendance | 14,892 | |||
| High attendance | 25,242 (vs. Brisbane Broncos, Round 4) | |||
| Top scorers | ||||
| Tries | Matt Sing (21) | |||
| Goals | Josh Hannay (95) | |||
| Points | Josh Hannay (230) | |||
| ||||
The rebuild continued for the Cowboys heading into the 2003 season, with 12 players leaving the club. Their key signings included premiership-winning back rower Kevin Campion, New Zealand international prop Paul Rauhihi and journeyman utility David Myles. All three would eventually help the club to their first finals appearance a year later.
Following a solid end to the 2002 season, the new year started brightly for the club, as they won six games from the first 12 rounds to sit inside the Top 8. They picked up three straights win from Rounds 10-12, their first three-game winning streak since 1998. A mid-season slump would soon follow, with eight losses from their next nine fixtures.
The season ended strongly once again, with three wins from their final four games to secure a second consecutive 11th place finish, four competition points outside the Top 8. During the season Matt Sing became the first Cowboy to represent Australia, when selected for their July Test match against New Zealand.
Milestones
- Round 1: Kevin Campion, Paul McNicholas, David Myles and Paul Rauhihi made their debuts for the club.
- Round 2: Brenton Bowen made his NRL debut.
- Round 6: Neil Sweeney made his debut for the club.
- Round 13: Jason Barsley made his NRL debut.
- Round 13: John Buttigieg played his 100th game for the club.
- Round 14: Matthew Bowen played his 50th game for the club.
- Round 15: Aaron Morgan made his NRL debut.
- Round 18: Daniel Sorbello made his NRL debut.
- Round 19: Micheal Luck played his 50th game for the club.
- Round 22: Jacob Lillyman made his NRL debut.
- Round 22: Daniel Strickland played his 50th game for the club.
- Round 23: Shane Muspratt played his 50th game for the club.
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| First team squad | Coaching staff | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Head coach Assistant coach
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2003 Gains
2003 Losses
| Player | Signed From |
|---|---|
| Ashley Alberts |  Brisbane Broncos |
| Tevita Amone | Released |
| Tarin Bradford | Retired |
| Tim Brasher | Retired |
| John Doyle | Retired |
| Peter Jones | Retired |
| Tim Maddison |  Pia Donkeys |
| John Manning |  Melbourne Storm |
| Ken McGuinness | Retired |
| Justin McKay |  Wests Tigers |
| Shaun Valentine | Retired |
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | B | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Penrith Panthers (P) |
24 | 18 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 659 | 527 | +132 | 40 |
| 2 |  Sydney Roosters |
24 | 17 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 680 | 445 | +235 | 38 |
| 3 |  Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs |
24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 702 | 419 | +283 | 36 |
| 4 |  Canberra Raiders |
24 | 16 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 620 | 463 | +157 | 36 |
| 5 | Melbourne Storm |
24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 564 | 486 | +78 | 34 |
| 6 |  New Zealand Warriors |
24 | 15 | 0 | 9 | 2 | 545 | 510 | +35 | 34 |
| 7 |  Newcastle Knights |
24 | 14 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 632 | 635 | -3 | 32 |
| 8 | Brisbane Broncos |
24 | 12 | 0 | 12 | 2 | 497 | 464 | +33 | 28 |
| 9 |  Parramatta Eels |
24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 570 | 582 | -12 | 26 |
| 10 |  St George Illawarra Dragons |
24 | 11 | 0 | 13 | 2 | 548 | 593 | -45 | 26 |
| 11 |  North Queensland Cowboys |
24 | 10 | 0 | 14 | 2 | 606 | 629 | -23 | 24 |
| 12 |  Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks |
24 | 8 | 0 | 16 | 2 | 497 | 704 | -207 | 20 |
| 13 | Wests Tigers |
24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 470 | 598 | -128 | 18 |
| 14 |  Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles |
24 | 7 | 0 | 17 | 2 | 557 | 791 | -234 | 18 |
| 15 | South Sydney Rabbitohs |
24 | 3 | 0 | 21 | 2 | 457 | 758 | -301 | 10 |
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Regular season
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| Name | App | T | G | FG | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jason Barsley | 3 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Brenton Bowen | 6 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Matthew Bowen | 20 | 9 | 5 | - | 46 |
| Paul Bowman | 16 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| John Buttigieg | 8 | - | - | - | - |
| Kevin Campion | 24 | - | - | - | - |
| Paul Dezolt | 9 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Nathan Fien | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| George Gatis | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Josh Hannay | 23 | 10 | 95 | - | 230 |
| Jacob Lillyman | 3 | - | - | - | - |
| Jaiman Lowe | 24 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Micheal Luck | 22 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Jamie McDonald | 11 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Paul McNicholas | 7 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Leigh McWilliams | 14 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Aaron Morgan | 2 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Glenn Morrison | 22 | 7 | 4 | - | 36 |
| Chris Muckert | 23 | 4 | - | - | 16 |
| Shane Muspratt | 21 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| David Myles | 24 | 11 | - | - | 44 |
| Aaron Payne | 4 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Chris Sheppard | 22 | 2 | - | 2 | 10 |
| Matt Sing | 20 | 21 | - | - | 84 |
| Daniel Sorbello | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Daniel Strickland | 17 | - | - | - | - |
| Neil Sweeney | 7 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| David Thompson | 6 | - | - | - | - |
| Derrick Watkins | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Scott Whiting | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| Ty Williams | 22 | 12 | - | - | 48 |
| Totals | 99 | 104 | 2 | 606 |
Source:[2]
The following players played a representative match in 2003.
| City vs Country | State of Origin 1 | State of Origin 2 | State of Origin 3 | July Test | October Test | Ashes Series | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew Bowen | - | - | Queensland | Queensland | - | - | - |
| Paul Bowman | - | Queensland | - | - | - | - | - |
| Josh Hannay | - | - | - | Queensland | - | - | - |
| Glenn Morrison | Country | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Paul Rauhihi | - | - | - | - | New Zealand | - | - |
| Matt Sing | - | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | Australia | Australia | Australia |
Club
- Player of the Year: Paul Rauhihi
- Players' Player: Matt Sing
- Club Person of the Year: Ty Williams
Queensland Cup
North Queensland Young Guns - 7th, missed finals
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