1998 North Queensland Cowboys season

The 1998 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 4th in the club's history. Coached by Tim Sheens and captained by John Lomax, they competed in the inaugural season of the newly formed National Rugby League (NRL) competition.

1998 North Queensland Cowboys season
NRL Rank16th
Play-off resultMissed finals
1998 recordWins: 9; Draws: 0; Losses: 15
Points scoredFor: 361; Against: 556
Team information
CoachTim Sheens
Captain
StadiumMalanda Stadium
Avg. Attend.17,034
High. Attend.30,250 (vs. Brisbane Broncos, Round 22)
Top scorers
TriesJosh Hannay (15)
GoalsJosh Hannay (29)
PointsJosh Hannay (118)
< 1997 1999 >

Season summary

After a disappointing 1997 season, the Cowboys entered the newly unified National Rugby League competition with high hopes. While the squad from a year earlier was kept mostly the same, the club added former Australia and Queensland representative and local favourite Dale Shearer, veteran forward Dale Fritz from the recently folded Perth Reds and former Canberra Raiders flyer Noa Nadruku, who reunited with coach Tim Sheens.

The year got off to the best start possible, as the club went on a four-game winning streak, the first time they'd won three and four games in a row. They then bounced back from a big loss to Brisbane in Round 5, with a 17-4 win over Newcastle. After six rounds, the club sat in equal 1st on 10 competition points and a maiden finals appearance looked to be a real possibility.

It turned out to be false dawn, as a five-game losing streak followed. The club would then make history in Round 12, defeating the Penrith Panthers 36-28, after trailing 26-0 at half time. As of 2019, this still stands as the biggest comeback victory in Australian first grade history. They followed that up with another milestone, recording 40 points in a game for the first time, defeating the Western Suburbs Magpies 40-10. Over the last 10 rounds, the club would win just two games, finishing in 16th place after such a promising start to the season. The club's lone representative in 1998, New Zealand's John Lomax, was named Player of the Year and Players' Player.

The club blooded two talented 18-year olds during the season, Moranbah's Josh Hannay and Mt Isa's Scott Prince. Hannay, whose planned debut in 1996 as a 16-year old was vetoed by the ARL, played 21 games and was the club's top try and point scorer. He went onto set numerous point scoring records for the club, playing 150 games over nine seasons, and representing Queensland on two occasions. Prince, a Junior Kangaroo in 1998, played 16 games (10 of those off the bench) and would play 53 games over three seasons before joining the Cowboys' arch-rivals, the Brisbane Broncos, in 2001. In 2005, he guided the Wests Tigers to their maiden premiership, defeating the Cowboys in the Grand Final.

Milestones
  • Round 1: Dale Fritz, Noa Nadruku, Dale Shearer and Scott Wilson made their debuts for the club.
  • Round 2: Ray Mercy became the first player to score four tries in a match for the club.
  • Round 3: Josh Hannay made his NRL debut.
  • Round 3: The club won three games in a row for the first time.
  • Round 4: Scott Prince made his NRL debut.
  • Round 4: The club won four games in a row for the first time.
  • Round 12: The club overcame a 26-0 half time deficit to defeat Penrith 36-28 (Biggest comeback in NSWRL/ARL/NRL history).
  • Round 13: The club scored 40 points in a game for the first time.
  • Round 14: Paul Pensini made his NRL debut.
  • Round 19: Scott Donald made his NRL debut.
  • Round 20: John Malu made his NRL debut.
  • Round 21: Andrew Dunemann played his 50th game for the club, the first player to do so.
  • Round 23: Scott Whiting made his NRL debut.
  • Round 24: Denny Lambert made his NRL debut.

Squad list
North Queensland Cowboys NRL Squad 1998
First team squad Coaching staff

Head coach

Assistant coaches

Legend:
  • (c) Captain(s)
  • (vc) Vice captain(s)

Squad movement

1998 Gains
Player Signed From
Dale Fritz Perth Reds
Leigh McWilliams Hunter Mariners
Noa Nadruku Canberra Raiders
Dale Shearer Sydney City Roosters
Scott Wilson Perth Reds

1998 Losses
Player Signed To
Justin Loomans South Sydney Rabbitohs
Luke Phillips Manly Sea Eagles
Scott Wilson Canterbury Bulldogs (mid-season)

Ladder
Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 Brisbane Broncos (P) 241815688310+37837
2 Newcastle Knights 241815562381+18137
3 Melbourne Storm 241716546372+17435
4 Parramatta Eels 241716468349+11935
5 North Sydney Bears 241707663367+29634
6 Sydney City Roosters 241608680383+29732
7 Canberra Raiders 241509564429+13530
8 St. George Dragons 2413110486490-427
9 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 2413011489411+7826
10 Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles 2413011503473+3026
11 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 2412111438387+5125
12 Illawarra Steelers 2411112476539-6323
13 Balmain Tigers 249114381463-8219
14 Penrith Panthers 248214525580-5518
15 Auckland Warriors 249015417518-10118
16 North Queensland Cowboys 249015361556-19518
17 Adelaide Rams 247017393615-22214
18 South Sydney Rabbitohs 245019339560-22110
19 Gold Coast Chargers 244020289654-3658
20 Western Suburbs Magpies 244020371802-4318

Fixtures

Regular season
Date Round Opponent Venue Score Tries Goals Attendance
13 MarchRound 1 Adelaide RamsAdelaide Rams18 – 8Nadruku, Shearer, WaltersFerris (3/5)11,289
21 MarchRound 2 Balmain TigersMalanda Stadium26 – 2Mercy (4), TassellDunemann (2/3), Ferris (1/5)18,399
29 MarchRound 3 Parramatta EelsParramatta Stadium16 – 15Bowman, Hannay, TassellFerris (1/2, 2 FG), Hannay (0/1)10,177
4 AprilRound 4 Canberra RaidersMalanda Stadium14 – 12Murphy, NadrukuDoyle (1/2), Ferris (1/1), Hannay (1/1)20,048
12 AprilRound 5 Brisbane BroncosANZ Stadium4 – 58HannayHannay (0/1)20,904
18 AprilRound 6 Newcastle KnightsMalanda Stadium17 – 4Warren (2), HannayHannay (2/5), Dunemann (1 FG)18,428
25 AprilRound 7 Sydney City RoostersMalanda Stadium16 – 50Mercy, Tassell, WarrenHannay (2/3)21,027
2 MayRound 8 Cronulla SharksShark Park8 – 16Hannay, RobertsHannay (0/2)5,978
9 MayRound 9 Canterbury BulldogsMalanda Stadium18 – 24Ahmat, Hannay, Mahon, MercyDoyle (1/3), Hannay (0/2)15,288
17 MayRound 10 Canberra RaidersBruce Stadium12 – 50Cunningham, TassellHannay (2/2)8,291
23 MayRound 11 Parramatta EelsMalanda Stadium12 – 29Hannay, TassellHannay (2/3)17,361
29 MayRound 12 Penrith PanthersPenrith Panthers36 – 28Nadruku (3), Dunemann (2), Mercy, ShipwayHannay (4/7)8,685
6 JuneRound 13 Western Suburbs MagpiesMalanda Stadium40 – 10Nadruku (2), Ferris, Mercy, Prince, Tassell, Warren, WarwickShearer (2/2), Dunemann (1/1), Ferris (1/4), Warren (0/1)10,628
14 JuneRound 14 St George DragonsKogarah Oval14 – 16Mercy (2), HannayHannay (1/3)9,486
20 JuneRound 15 Melbourne StormMalanda Stadium8 – 10MercyHannay (2/3)24,464
28 JuneRound 16 Illawarra SteelersWIN Stadium18 – 24Hannay (2), Nadruku, TabuaiHannay (1/4)6,558
4 JulyRound 17 Gold Coast ChargersMalanda Stadium14 – 4Hannay, ShearerHannay (3/4)7,127
11 JulyRound 18 Balmain TigersLeichhardt Oval0 – 1810,653
18 JulyRound 19 Adelaide RamsMalanda Stadium14 – 10Hannay, LockeHannay (3/4)11,340
25 JulyRound 20 South Sydney RabbitohsMalanda Stadium16 – 22Dunemann, Nadruku, WaltersHannay (2/3)10,409
31 JulyRound 21 Auckland WarriorsEricsson Stadium18 – 34Hannay, Mercy, ShipwayHannay (3/4)4,500
8 AugustRound 22 Brisbane BroncosMalanda Stadium10 – 22Nadruku (2)Hannay (1/3)30,250
16 AugustRound 23 Manly Sea EaglesBrookvale Oval12 – 28Hannay (3)Hannay (0/3)8,422
23 AugustRound 24 North Sydney BearsNorth Sydney Oval0 – 6215,604
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw   Bye

Statistics
NameAppTGFGPts
Jimmy Ahmat21--4
Paul Bowman61--4
John Buttigieg9----
Michael Coorey7----
Owen Cunningham231--4
Jason Death17----
Scott Donald1----
John Doyle8-2-4
Andrew Dunemann2133119
Jason Ferris1917220
Dale Fritz21----
Josh Hannay211529-118
Liam Johnson2----
Denny Lambert1----
Martin Locke171--4
John Lomax21----
Scott Mahon41--4
John Malu2----
Ray Mercy2412--48
Glen Murphy91--4
Noa Nadruku2211--44
Paul Pensini6----
Scott Prince161--4
Ian Roberts121--4
Luke Scott10----
Dale Shearer1322-12
Mark Shipway192--8
Bert Tabuai51--4
Kris Tassell186--24
Steve Walters222--8
Kyle Warren204--16
Adam Warwick71--4
Scott Whiting1----
Scott Wilson2----
Totals68433361

Source:[1]

Representatives

The following players played a representative match in 1998.

Anzac Test
John Lomax
New Zealand

Feeder Clubs

Queensland Cup

Honours

Club
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References
  1. "NRL 1998 - North Queensland Cowboys - Rugby League Project". www.rugbyleagueproject.org.

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