2002 North Queensland Cowboys season

The 2002 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 8th in the club's history. Coached by Murray Hurst and captained by Paul Bowman, they competed in the NRL's 2002 Telstra Premiership. Graham Murray replaced Hurst after three rounds and helped the club to their highest finish (11th) and most competition points (20) at the time.

2002 North Queensland Cowboys season
NRL Rank11th
Play-off resultMissed finals
2002 recordWins: 8; Draws: 0; Losses: 16
Points scoredFor: 496; Against: 803
Team information
CEODenis Keeffe
CoachMurray Hurst (sacked on 3 April)
Graham Murray
Captain
StadiumDairy Farmers Stadium
Avg. Attend.12,133
High. Attend.24,212 (vs. Brisbane Broncos, Round 1)
Top scorers
TriesMatt Sing (16)
GoalsJosh Hannay (48)
PointsJosh Hannay (108)
< 2001 2003 >

Season summary

The Cowboys underwent another rebuild in 2002 following a disastrous 2001 season. A number of players were moved on, with the key recruit being former Australian and Queensland winger Matt Sing. Sing was an instant success for the club, finishing the 2002 season as the team's top try scorer and being named their Player of the Year. He would later earn his way back into representative sides, becoming a club legend for the Cowboys, being named in their 10th and 20th Anniversary Teams and an inaugural inductee into their Hall of Fame in 2016.[1][2]

The 2002 season began with three straight losses and looked to be even worse than the year before. Following their Round 3 defeat to the Melbourne Storm, coach Murray Hurst was sacked and replaced by former Sydney Roosters boss Graham Murray, who had taken the Roosters to the Grand Final just two years earlier.[3] Another key piece of their rebuild, Murray would later lead the club to their first finals series and first Grand Final, and was their most successful head coach until the arrival of Paul Green.

Although the success was not instant, the signs were there, as the side won three of their first six games under Murray. Five straights losses soon followed, before ending the year with four wins from their final seven games, giving hope for the 2003 season. The club finished the regular season in 11th, their highest ever finish, with 20 competition points, also a record.

Off the field, Peter Parr joined the club as football manager for the 2002 season. A former administrator with the Perth Reds and Brisbane Broncos, Parr later held the positions of CEO and General Manager and was instrumental in the club's future successes and bringing players, such as Johnathan Thurston, to the club.[4]

2002 also saw the retirement of club stalwart and foundation player Peter Jones, who held the club's most games record until 2004. Jones, the first player to play 100 games for the club, would remain on the Cowboys football operations staff until the end of 2012.[5] While one club great retired, another emerged, with Aaron Payne making his debut in Round 12. Payne would go onto play 219 games for the club and start at hooker in their first ever Grand Final appearance in 2005.

Milestones

Squad List
North Queensland Cowboys NRL Squad 2002
First team squad Coaching staff

Head coach

Assistant coach

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

Squad Movement

2002 Gains
Player Signed From
Tevita Amone Western Suburbs Magpies
Ken McGuinness Toowoomba Clydesdales
Matt Petersen Newcastle Knights
Matt Sing Sydney Roosters
David Thompson Canterbury Bulldogs

2002 Losses
Player Signed To
Geoff Bell Penrith Panthers
Brett HetheringtonRetired
Brian Jellick Limoux Grizzlies
Trent Leis Redcliffe Dolphins
Naipolioni KuricibiRetired
Bruce MamandoRetired
Danny MooreRetired
Julian O'Neill Wigan Warriors
Lee OudenrynRetired
Nick Paterson Cronulla Sharks
Matt Petersen Parramatta Eels (mid-season)
Robert Relf Widnes Vikings
Mark Shipway Northern Eagles
Kyle Warren Castleford Tigers

Ladder
Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts
1 New Zealand 2417072688454+23438
2 Newcastle 2417072724498+22638
3 Brisbane 2416172672425+24737
4 Sydney 2415182621405+21635
5 Cronulla 2415092653597+5634
6 Parramatta 24102122531440+9126
7 St George Illawarra 2493122632546+8625
8 Canberra 24101132471641-17025
9 Northern Eagles 24100142503740-23724
10 Melbourne 2491142556586-3023
11 North Queensland 2480162496803-30720
12 Penrith 2470172546654-10818
13 Wests Tigers 2470172498642-14418
14 South Sydney 2450192385817-43214
15 Bulldogs 2420132707435+2728
  • Bulldogs were stripped of 37 competition points due to the salary cap breach.

Fixtures

Regular season
Date Round Opponent Venue Score Tries Goals Attendance
16 MarchRound 1 Brisbane BroncosDairy Farmers Stadium6 – 42DoyleHannay (1/1)24,212
23 MarchRound 2 Newcastle KnightsEnergyAustralia Stadium18 – 50Bradford, Petersen, Matt SingHannay (3/3)14,868
30 MarchRound 3 Melbourne StormOlympic Park10 – 38Hannay, MorrisonHannay (1/2)8,828
6 AprilRound 4 WarriorsDairy Farmers Stadium20 – 50Morrison (2), Bowen, HannayHannay (2/4)9,657
13 AprilRound 5 South Sydney RabbitohsDairy Farmers Stadium30 – 18Bowen, Bradford, Morrison, Muspratt, WilliamsHannay (5/6)11,014
21 AprilRound 6 Sydney RoostersAussie Stadium12 – 58Fien, SingMorrison (2/2)7,318
27 AprilRound 7 Penrith PanthersPenrith Stadium28 – 18Fien (2), Bowen, Petersen, WilliamsMorrison (4/5)8.759
5 MayRound 8 Parramatta EelsParramatta Stadium19 – 20Doyle, Morrison, SingMorrison (3/5), Fien (1 FG)11,174
11 MayRound 9 Wests TigersDairy Farmers Stadium40 – 16Bowen (2), Sing (2), Fien, Hannay, McGuinnessHannay (6/9)13,089
18 MayRound 10 Penrith PanthersDairy Farmers Stadium8 – 38BowmanHannay (2/2)10,512
26 MayRound 11 Canberra RaidersCanberra Stadium20 – 32Sing (2), Alberts, GatisBowen (2/4)7,128
1 JuneRound 12 St George Illawarra DragonsDairy Farmers Stadium40 – 32Bowman (2), Gatis, Peter Jones, Morrison, Sing, WilliamsMorrison (6/7)10,561
9 JuneRound 13 WarriorsEricsson Stadium6 – 34PhillipsMorrison (1/1)14,616
16 JuneRound 14 Brisbane BroncosANZ Stadium8 – 52Bowen, BowmanBowen (0/1), Hannay (0/1)10,215
22 JuneRound 15 Cronulla SharksDairy Farmers Stadium16 – 46Bowen, Muckert, SingHannay (2/3)13,568
29 JuneRound 16 St George Illawarra DragonsWIN Stadium18 – 45Bowen, Fien, SingHannay (3/3)7,987
Round 17Bye
13 JulyRound 18 Northern EaglesDairy Farmers Stadium12 – 28Bowen, SingHannay (2/2)8,505
20 JulyRound 19 Canberra RaidersDairy Farmers Stadium34 – 18Sing (2), Bowen, Bowman, Muckert, WilliamsHannay (5/6)8,121
28 JulyRound 20 Northern EaglesBrookvale Oval30 – 18Williams (2), Bowman, Dezolt, MaddisonHannay (3/6)6,520
3 AugustRound 21 Canterbury BulldogsDairy Farmers Stadium26 – 34Bowman (2), Dezolt, MorrisonHannay (5/6)12,231
10 AugustRound 22 Melbourne StormDairy Farmers Stadium30 – 40Sing (2), Bowen, Dezolt, Fien, SheppardBowen (3/4), Hannay (0/2)9,238
Round 23Bye
24 AugustRound 24 Cronulla SharksToyota Park14 – 36Bowman, Dezolt, WilliamsHannay (1/3)12,658
31 AugustRound 25 South Sydney RabbitohsAussie Stadium36 – 34Williams (3), Bowen, Bowman, Fien, SingHannay (4/7)9,129
7 SeptemberRound 26 Parramatta EelsDairy Farmers Stadium15 – 6Williams (2)Hannay (3/5), Fien (1 FG)14,892
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw   Bye

Statistics
NameAppTGFGPts
Ashley Alberts51--4
Tevita Amone3----
Matthew Bowen24125-58
Paul Bowman1410--40
Tarin Bradford32--8
Tim Brasher3----
John Buttigieg16----
Paul Dezolt84--16
John Doyle112--8
Nathan Fien247-230
George Gatis151--4
Josh Hannay19348-108
Peter Jones181--4
Ben Laity1----
Jaiman Lowe16----
Micheal Luck18----
Tim Maddison81--4
Jamie McDonald12----
Kevin McGuinness91--4
Leigh McWilliams9----
Glenn Morrison15716-60
Chris Muckert132--8
Shane Muspratt171--4
Aaron Payne5----
Matt Petersen82--8
Simon Phillips41--4
Grant Reibel3----
Chris Sheppard91--4
Matt Sing2316--64
Daniel Strickland13----
David Thompson21----
Shaun Valentine3----
Derrick Watkins2----
Scott Whiting13----
Ty Williams2113--52
Totals89692496

Source:[6]

Representatives

The following players played a representative match in 2002.

State of Origin 1State of Origin 2State of Origin 3
John Buttigieg
Queensland
-
-
John Doyle
Queensland
-
-

Honours

Club

Feeder Clubs

Queensland Cup
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References
  1. https://www.cowboys.com.au/news/2016/09/06/cowboys-hall-of-fame-unveiled/
  2. https://www.cowboys.com.au/news/2015/05/17/introducing-your-20-year-team/
  3. https://www.smh.com.au/sport/if-cowboys-need-help-bennett-is-their-man-20020403-gdf5zw.html
  4. North Queensland Cowboys seasonhttps://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/teams/cowboys/peter-parr-is-the-creator-of-the-cowboys-enviable-culture/news-story/1406b89c0ffda792617c66abae7e4ef7
  5. https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/last-of-the-original-cowboys-to-ride-off-into-the-sunset-20020810-gdfj5a.html
  6. http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/seasons/nrl-2002/north-queensland-cowboys/summary.html

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