2024 North Queensland Cowboys Women season

2024 North Queensland Cowboys Women season
NRLW Rank	6th
2024 record	Wins: 4; draws: 0; losses: 5
Points scored	For: 137; against: 218
Team information
CEO	Jeff Reibel
Coach	Ricky Henry
Captain	Kirra Dibb Tallisha Harden
Stadium	Queensland Country Bank Stadium
Avg. attendance	1,648
High attendance	2,427 (vs. St George Illawarra, Rd 2)
Top scorers
Tries	Jakiya Whitfeld (6)
Goals	Kirra Dibb (18)
Points	Kirra Dibb (41)
←  2023 2025  →

The 2024 North Queensland Cowboys Women season was the 2nd in the club's history. Coached by Ricky Henry and captained by Kirra Dibb and Tallisha Harden, they competed in the NRLW's 2024 Telstra Women's Premiership.

Henry, who was also head coach of the Kiwi Ferns, replaced inaugural coach Ben Jeffries, who moved to the Newcastle Knights. ^[1]

Season summary

Milestones

• Round 1: Harata Butler and Jakiya Whitfeld made their debuts for the club.
• Round 2: The club won their first home game.
• Round 2: Ebony Raftstrand-Smith made her NRLW debut.
• Round 2: Lily Peacock scored her first NRLW try.
• Round 2: Jakiya Whitfeld scored her first try for the club.
• Round 3: Lillian Yarrow made her NRLW debut.
• Round 5: The club won back-to-back games for the first time.
• Round 6: Lavinia Tauhalaliku made her NRLW debut.
• Round 7: Lavinia Tauhalaliku scored her first NRLW try.
• Round 8: Jazmon Tupou-Witchman made her debut for the club.

Squad

North Queensland Cowboys 2024 NRLW Squad

NRLW Squad – 2024 season						Development Players		Coaching Staff
Essay Banu – PR Krystal Blackwell – FB, FE Harata Butler – PR Bree Chester – SR, CE Kirra Dibb – HB, FE Jetaya Faifua – WG, FB Fran Goldthorp – FB, WG Tallisha Harden – PR, LK Shellie Long – CE, WG		Emma Manzelmann – HK Sareka Mooka – PR, SR Vitalina Naikore – WG Lily Peacock – SR, PR Jasmine Peters – CE, FB China Polata – WG, FB Shaniah Power – SR Ebony Raftstrand-Smith – WG Tiana Raftstrand-Smith – PR, SR		Libby Surha – CE Lavinia Tauhalaliku – WG Tahlulah Tillett – FE, HB Jazmon Tupou-Witchman – SR, CE Makenzie Weale – PR, LK Jakiya Whitfeld – WG, FB Lillian Yarrow – PR		Emily Bella – HK, HB Alisha Foord – FE, HK Caitlin Tanner – HB Extended squad Paityne Johns – HK Ana Malupo – CE Latoniya Norris – FB Elisa Niki – PR Kayla Shepherd – HB		Head coach Ricky Henry Assistant coaches David Faiumu Alicia-Kate Hawke Anita Creenaune (Head of Elite Programs) Daniel Strickland (Head of Performance) Larissa Di Bella (Sports Scientist) Ebony Bray (Team Doctor) Maggie Dwyer (Physiotherapist) Legend: (c) Captain(s) (vc) Vice-captain(s) Updated: 31 May 2024 Source(s): NQ Cowboys

Squad movement

Gains

Player	Signed From	Until End of	Notes
Harata Butler	Cronulla Sharks	2025	[2]
Caitlin Tanner	Wynnum Manly Seagulls	2024	[3]
Lavinia Tauhalaliku	Manly Sea Eagles (mid-season)	2024	[4]
Jazmon Tupou-Witchman	South Sydney Rabbitohs (mid-season)	2024	[5]
Jakiya Whitfeld	Wests Tigers	2026	[6]

Losses

Player	Signed To	Until End of	Notes
Shaylee Joseph	Brisbane Broncos	2024	[7]
Sera Koroi	Sunnybank Rugby	2024	[8]
Mia Middleton	Parramatta Eels	2024	[9]
April Ngatupuna	Queensland Reds	2024	[10]
Jessikah Reeves	Western Clydesdales	2024	[11]
Merewalesi Rokouono	Fijiana Drua	2024	[12]
Autumn-Rain Stephens-Daly	Released	–	[13]

Ladder

2024 NRLW season
Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
1	Brisbane Broncos	9	7	0	2	272	156	+116	14
2	Sydney Roosters	9	7	0	2	222	112	+110	14
3	Newcastle Knights	9	6	0	3	238	132	+106	12
4	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	9	6	0	3	146	122	+24	12
5	Parramatta Eels	9	5	0	4	160	184	-24	10
6	North Queensland Cowboys	9	4	0	5	137	218	-81	8
7	Canberra Raiders	9	3	0	6	194	216	-22	6
8	Gold Coast Titans	9	3	0	6	128	191	-63	6
9	St George Illawarra Dragons	9	2	0	7	178	234	-56	4
10	Wests Tigers	9	2	0	7	108	218	-110	4

Fixtures

Pre-season

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Score	Tries	Goals	Attendance
Sunday, 14 July	Trial 1	Gold Coast Titans	Alley Park	28 – 12	Peters (2), Blackwell, Goldthorp, T Raftstrand-Smith, Tillett
Legend:   Win  Loss  Draw  Bye

Regular season

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Score	Tries	Goals	Attendance
Saturday, 27 July	Round 1	Cronulla Sharks	PointsBet Stadium	0–14			1,257
Sunday, 4 August	Round 2	St George Illawarra Dragons	Queensland Country Bank Stadium	38–34	T. Raftstrand-Smith (2), Whitfeld (2), Goldthorp, Peacock, Peters	Dibb (5/7)
Sunday, 11 August	Round 3	Parramatta Eels	Totally Workwear Stadium	6–20	Polata	Dibb (1/1)	1,393
Saturday, 17 August	Round 4	Gold Coast Titans	Queensland Country Bank Stadium	11–10	Goldthorp, Whitfeld	Dibb (1/2, 1 FG)	1,458
Saturday, 24 August	Round 5	Canberra Raiders	GIO Stadium	28–18	Naikore (2), Peters (2), Blackwell, T. Raftstrand-Smith	Dibb (2/6)	4,177
Sunday, 1 September	Round 6	Brisbane Broncos	Totally Workwear Stadium	12–38	T. Raftstrand-Smith, Whitfeld	Dibb
Saturday, 7 September	Round 7	Wests Tigers	Queensland Country Bank Stadium	24–22	Faifua, Peters, Tauhalaliku, Whitfeld	Dibb (4/4)	1,314
Sunday, 15 September	Round 8	Sydney Roosters	Industree Group Stadium	12–24	Dibb, Whitfeld	Dibb (2/2)
Saturday, 21 September	Round 9	Newcastle Knights	Queensland Country Bank Stadium	6–38	Chester	Dibb (1/1)
Legend:   Win  Loss  Draw  Bye

Statistics

Name	App	T	G	FG	Pts
Essay Banu	7	–	–	–	–
Krystal Blackwell	8	1	–	–	4
Harata Butler	4	–	–	–	–
Bree Chester	9	1	–	–	4
Kirra Dibb	9	1	18	1	41
Jetaya Faifua	6	1	–	–	4
Alisha Foord	3	–	–	–	–
Fran Goldthorp	8	2	–	–	8
Tallisha Harden	9	–	–	–	–
Shellie Long	3	–	–	–	–
Emma Manzelmann	9	–	–	–	–
Sareka Mooka	6	–	–	–	–
Vitalina Naikore	4	2	–	–	8
Lily Peacock	8	1	–	–	4
Jasmine Peters	9	4	–	–	16
China Polata	6	1	–	–	4
Shaniah Power	5	–	–	–	–
Ebony Raftstrand-Smith	1	–	–	–	–
Tiana Raftstrand-Smith	8	4	–	–	16
Libby Surha	4	–	–	–	–
Lavinia Tauhalaliku	4	1	–	–	4
Tahlulah Tillett	9	–	–	–	–
Jazmon Tupou-Witchman	1	–	–	–	–
Makenzie Weale	2	–	–	–	–
Jakiya Whitfeld	9	6	–	–	24
Lillian Yarrow	3	–	–	–	–
Totals		25	18	1	137

Representatives

The following players played a representative match in 2024.

	All Stars match	State of Origin 1	State of Origin 2	State of Origin 3	Prime Minister's XIII	Pacific Championships
Essay Banu	Indigenous All Stars				Papua New Guinea	Papua New Guinea
Krystal Blackwell	Indigenous All Stars				Australia
Bree Chester	Indigenous All Stars				Australia
Kirra Dibb	Indigenous All Stars				Australia
Jetaya Faifua						Samoa
Tallisha Harden	Indigenous All Stars
Ana Malupo						Tonga
Emma Manzelmann		Queensland	Queensland	Queensland	Australia
Sareka Mooka	Indigenous All Stars				Papua New Guinea	Papua New Guinea
Vitalina Naikore						Fiji
Lily Peacock	Indigenous All Stars				Australia
Jasmine Peters	Indigenous All Stars
Tiana Raftstrand-Smith	Maori All Stars
Lavinia Tauhalaliku						Tonga
Jazmon Tupou-Witchman						Cook Islands
Makenzie Weale		Queensland	Queensland	Queensland
Jakiya Whitfeld						Australia

Honours

Club

• Cowboy of the Year: Bree Chester ^[14]
• Players' Player: Jakiya Whitfeld ^[14]
• The Cowboys Way Award: Alisha Foord ^[14]
• Rookie of the Year: Lily Peacock ^[14]
• Fans Choice Player of the Year: Kirra Dibb ^[14]

References

1. "Henry named NRLW Head Coach". NQ Cowboys. 20 February 2024.
2. "Cowboys sign Butler". NQ Cowboys. 18 January 2024.
3. "Tanner and Bella promoted to top squad". NQ Cowboys. 2 May 2024.
4. "Cowboys NRLW team list: Round 6 v Broncos". NQ Cowboys. 27 August 2024.
5. "A huge congratulations". SSFC Womens Team. 9 September 2024.
6. "Cowboys sign NRLW Winger of the Year Whitfeld". NQ Cowboys. 20 October 2024.
7. "Team List: February 25". Brisbane Tigers. 22 February 2024.
8. "StoreLocal Hospital Cup, Premier Women Players to Watch in season 2024". Courier Mail. 5 April 2024.
9. "2024 NRLW Signings Tracker: Eels young guns ink new deals; Hunt joins Red V". NRL. 31 May 2024.
10. "Queensland Reds 2024 Super Rugby Women's squad announced". Reds Rugby. 20 February 2024.
11. "Why Clydesdales win over Seagulls has them primed for finals footy". Code Sports. 30 April 2024.
12. "FIJIAN DRUA WOMEN'S SQUAD NAMED FOR ROUND 2". Drua Rugby. 23 March 2024.
13. "2024 NRLW Signings Tracker: Eels young guns ink new deals; Hunt joins Red V". NRL. 31 May 2024.
14. "Full list of winners from the Cowboys 2024 Presentation Night". NQ Cowboys. 30 September 2024.