2025 North Queensland Cowboys season

2025 North Queensland Cowboys season
NRL Rank	12th
2025 record	Wins: 9; draws: 1; losses: 14
Points scored	For: 538; against: 684
Team information
CEO	Jeff Reibel
Coach	Todd Payten
Captain	Reuben Cotter Tom Dearden
Stadium	Queensland Country Bank Stadium
Avg. attendance	18,649
High attendance	22,903 (vs. Brisbane, Rd 26)
Top scorers
Tries	Jaxon Purdue(14)
Goals	Scott Drinkwater (70)
Points	Scott Drinkwater (184)
←  2024 2026  →

The 2025 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 31st in the club's history. Coached by Todd Payten and captained by Reuben Cotter and Tom Dearden, they competed in the NRL's 2025 Telstra Premiership.

The club celebrated its 30th anniversary during the season, missing out on the finals for the third time in Payten's five years in charge. ^[1]

Season summary

Milestones

• Round 1: Tom Duffy made his NRL debut.
• Round 1: John Bateman and Karl Lawton made their debuts for the club.
• Round 2: Kai O'Donnell made his debut for the club.
• Round 3: Murray Taulagi scored his 50th NRL try.
• Round 4: Robert Derby scored his first NRL try.
• Round 8: Murray Taulagi played his 100th NRL game for the club.
• Round 13: Jaxson Paulo made his debut for the club.
• Round 13: Jaxson Paulo and John Bateman scored their first tries for the club.
• Round 15: Kaiden Lahrs made his NRL debut.
• Round 15: Jordan McLean played his 150 NRL game for the club.
• Round 18: Temple Kalepo made his NRL debut.
• Round 18: Scott Drinkwater scored his 50th NRL try.
• Round 22: Marly Bitungane made his NRL debut.
• Round 23: Nic Lenaz made his NRL debut.
• Round 26: Reuben Cotter playe his 100th NRL game for the club.

Squad

North Queensland Cowboys 2025 squad

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Top 30 squad – 2025 NRL season						Development list		Coaching staff
John Bateman – SR Braidon Burns – WG Tom Chester – CE Jake Clifford – HB, FE Reuben Cotter (c) – LK Tom Dearden (c) – FE Robert Derby – WG Scott Drinkwater – FB Tom Duffy – HB Harrison Edwards – HK, PR, LK		Coen Hess – PR, SR Kaiden Lahrs – PR Karl Lawton – HK, SR Zac Laybutt – CE Heilum Luki – SR Sam McIntyre – PR Jordan McLean – PR Thomas Mikaele – LK, PR Jeremiah Nanai – SR Griffin Neame – PR		Kai O'Donnell – SR Jaxson Paulo – WG, CE Jaxon Purdue – CE Reece Robson – HK Jamal Shibasaki – SR, PR Murray Taulagi – WG Jason Taumalolo – PR, LK Viliami Vailea – CE Semi Valemei – WG		Marly Bitungane – PR Zac Herdegen – HB Mason Kira – LK Extended squad Temple Kalepo – HK Xavier Kerrisk – HK Nic Lenaz – LK, HK Jeremiah Matautia – SR Henry Teutau – PR Matthew Watts – PR		Head coach Todd Payten Assistant coaches Justin Morgan Ben Rauter Steve Sheppard Brett O'Farrell Paul Bowman (Head of Performance) Dan Grange (Head of Strength) Ashley Graham (Strength & Conditioning) Steve Sartori (Head Physiotherapist) Mitch Pemberton (Sports Scientist) Legend: (c) Captain(s) (vc) Vice-captain(s) Supplementary list [2] Extended squad [3] Train and trial [4] Updated: 9 September 2025 Source(s): NQ Cowboys

Squad movement

Gains

Player	Signed from	Until end of	Notes
John Bateman	Wests Tigers	2026	[5]
Zac Herdegen	Redcliffe Dolphins	2025	[6]
Temple Kalepo	Mackay Cutters (mid-season)	2025	[7]
Karl Lawton	Manly Sea Eagles	2026	[8]
Nic Lenaz	Manly Sea Eagles	2025	[9]
Kai O'Donnell	Leigh Leopards	2026	[10]
Jaxson Paulo	Manly Sea Eagles	2026	[11]

Losses

Player	Signed to	Until end of	Notes
Jodeci Baker-Tiraha	Brisbane Tigers	2025	[12]
Mutua Brown	Canberra Raiders (mid-season)	2026	[13]
Kyle Feldt	St Helens	2026	[14]
Kulikefu Finefeuiaki	Dolphins	2027	[15]
Jake Granville	Retired	–	[16]
Jai Hansen	CQ Capras	2025	[17]
Valentine Holmes	St George Illawarra	2027	[18]
D'Jazirhae Pua'avase	Manly Sea Eagles	2025	[19]
Wil Sullivan	Newcastle Knights (mid-season)	2028	[20]
Jamayne Taunoa-Brown	Retired	–	[21]
Chad Townsend	Sydney Roosters	2025	[22]

Re-signings

Player	Until End of	Notes
Tom Chester	2026	[23]
Robert Derby	2028	[24]
Zac Laybutt	2027	[25]
Viliami Vailea	2027	[25]

Ladder

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	B	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Canberra Raiders	24	19	0	5	3	654	506	+148	44	Advance to finals series
2	Melbourne Storm	24	17	0	7	3	671	459	+212	40
3	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	24	16	0	8	3	534	414	+120	38
4	Brisbane Broncos	24	15	0	9	3	680	508	+172	36
5	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	24	15	0	9	3	599	490	+109	36
6	New Zealand Warriors	24	14	0	10	3	517	496	+21	34
7	Penrith Panthers	24	13	1	10	3	576	469	+107	33
8	Sydney Roosters	24	13	0	11	3	653	521	+132	32
9	Dolphins	24	12	0	12	3	721	596	+125	30
10	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles	24	12	0	12	3	555	534	+21	30
11	Parramatta Eels	24	10	0	14	3	502	578	−76	26
12	North Queensland Cowboys	24	9	1	14	3	538	684	−146	25
13	Wests Tigers	24	9	0	15	3	477	612	−135	24
14	South Sydney Rabbitohs	24	9	0	15	3	427	608	−181	24
15	St. George Illawarra Dragons	24	8	0	16	3	498	628	−130	22
16	Gold Coast Titans	24	6	0	18	3	520	719	−199	18
17	Newcastle Knights	24	6	0	18	3	338	638	−300	18

Updated to match(es) played on 7 September 2025. Source: National Rugby League

Fixtures

Pre-season

Main article: 2025 NRL Pre-season Challenge

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Score	Tries	Goals	Attendance
Friday, 14 February	Trial 1	Dolphins	Barlow Park	8 – 50	Derby, Subloo	Rivett (0/1), Subloo (0/1)	6,936
Sunday, 23 February	Trial 2	Melbourne Storm	Casey Fields	36 – 24	Drinkwater (2), Burns, Dearden, Paulo, Purdue, Vailea	Duffy (3/4), Drinkwater (1/3)
Legend:   Win  Loss  Draw  Bye

Regular season

Main article: 2025 NRL season results

Results by round

Round	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	19	20	21	22	23	24	25	26	27
Ground	A	H	A	H	A	N	–	H	A	H	H	–	H	A	H	A	A	H	H	A	H	A	A	H	A	H	–
Result	L	L	L	W	W	W	B	W	L	D		B															B
Position	15	16	16	14	13	12	9	6	9	6
Points	0	0	0	2	4	6	8	10	10	11

Source: National Rugby League
A = Away; H = Home; N = Neutral; B = Bye; W = Win; D = Draw; L = Loss

Matches

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Score	Tries	Goals	Attendance
Saturday, 8 March	Round 1	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles	4 Pines Park	12 – 42	Drinkwater, Burns	Duffy (1/1), Drinkwater (1/1)	17,335
Saturday, 15 March	Round 2	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	QCB Stadium	12 – 36	Purdue, Drinkwater	Drinkwater (2/2)	18,714
Friday, 21 March	Round 3	Brisbane Broncos	Suncorp Stadium	16 – 26	Neame, Taulagi, Purdue	Drinkwater (2/3)	45,317
Saturday, 29 March	Round 4	Canberra Raiders	QCB Stadium	30 – 20	Taulagi, Clifford (2), Derby, Dearden	Drinkwater (4/5)	15,897
Friday, 4 April	Round 5	Penrith Panthers	CommBank Stadium	22 – 18	Taulagi (2), Vailea, Purdue	Drinkwater (3/4)	10,320
Saturday, 12 April	Round 6	South Sydney Rabbitohs	Optus Stadium	24 – 16	Taulagi, McIntyre, Purdue (2)	Drinkwater (2/4, 2 PG)	31,347
	Round 7	Bye
Saturday, 26 April	Round 8	Gold Coast Titans	QCB Stadium	50 – 18	Clifford, Nanai (2), Derby (3), Purdue, Robson, Taulagi	Drinkwater (6/8), Taulagi (1/1)	20,489
Saturday, 3 May	Round 9	New Zealand Warriors	Suncorp Stadium	26 – 30	Purdue, Dearden, Derby, Taulagi, Nanai	Drinkwater (3/5)	49,512
Saturday, 10 May	Round 10	Penrith Panthers	QCB Stadium	30 – 30	Nanai, Vailea, Clifford, Derby, Dearden	Drinkwater (5/5)	19,324
Saturday, 17 May	Round 11	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles	QCB Stadium	6 – 24	Derby	Drinkwater (1/2)	18,965
	Round 12	Bye
Saturday, 31 May	Round 13	Wests Tigers	QCB Stadium	32 – 28	Bateman, Dearden, Drinkwater, Nanai, Paulo, Purdue	Drinkwater (4/6), Laybutt (0/1)	17,470
Friday, 6 June	Round 14	Melbourne Storm	AAMI Park	14 – 38	Derby, Drinkwater, Paulo	Drinkwater (1/3)	19,096
Saturday, 14 June	Round 15	Dolphins	QCB Stadium	4 – 58	Taulagi	Drinkwater (0/1)	18,343
Sunday, 22 June	Round 16	Sydney Roosters	Allianz Stadium	8 – 42	Burns, Taulagi	Drinkwater (0/1), Duffy (0/1)	21,143
Sunday, 29 June	Round 17	Gold Coast Titans	Cbus Super Stadium	30 – 24	Drinkwater (2), Laybutt, Nanai, Taulagi	Clifford (3/3), Drinkwater (2/2)	13,882
Saturday, 5 July	Round 18	Melbourne Storm	QCB Stadium	20 – 26	Derby, Drinkwater, Purdue	Drinkwater (3/3), Clifford (1/1)	20,383
Saturday, 12 July	Round 19	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	QCB Stadium	8 – 12	Laybutt	Drinkwater (2/2)	18,778
Thursday, 17 July	Round 20	Dolphins	Suncorp Stadium	24 – 43	Taulagi (2), Dearden, Drinkwater	Drinkwater (4/4)	23,172
Friday, 25 July	Round 21	St George Illawarra Dragons	QCB Stadium	38 – 32	Dearden (2), Drinkwater, Hess, Laybutt, Nanai, Purdue	Drinkwater (5/8)	16,020
Sunday, 3 August	Round 22	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	Sharks Stadium	12 – 32	Burns, Neame	Laybutt (2/2)	6,321
Sunday, 10 August	Round 23	Parramatta Eels	CommBank Stadium	18 – 19	Purdue (2), Burns	Laybutt (3/4)	11,562
Sunday, 17 August	Round 24	Newcastle Knights	QCB Stadium	38 – 4	Drinkwater (2), Burns, Dearden, Nanai, Purdue	Drinkwater (7/7)	16,640
Sunday, 24 August	Round 25	Wests Tigers	Leichhardt Oval	34 – 28	Valemei (2), Burns, Dearden, Nanai, Purdue	Drinkwater (5/6)	16,055
Saturday, 30 August	Round 26	Brisbane Broncos	QCB Stadium	30 – 38	Valemei (2), Burns, Clifford, Robson	Drinkwater (5/5)	22,903
	Round 27	Bye
Legend:   Win  Loss  Draw  Bye

Statistics

Name	App	T	G	FG	Pts
John Bateman	19	1	-	-	4
Marly Bitungane	2	-	-	-	-
Braidon Burns	13	7	-	-	28
Jake Clifford	14	5	4	-	28
Reuben Cotter	18	-	-	-	-
Tom Dearden	22	9	-	-	36
Robert Derby	17	9	-	-	36
Scott Drinkwater	24	11	70	-	184
Tom Duffy	6	-	1	-	2
Harrison Edwards	21	-	-	-	-
Coen Hess	21	1	-	-	4
Temple Kalepo	1	-	-	-	-
Kaiden Lahrs	7	-	-	-	-
Karl Lawton	11	-	-	-	-
Zac Laybutt	14	3	5	-	22
Nic Lenaz	1	-	-	-	-
Sam McIntyre	16	1	-	-	4
Jordan McLean	19	-	-	-	-
Thomas Mikaele	10	-	-	-	-
Jeremiah Nanai	21	9	-	-	36
Griffin Neame	20	2	-	-	8
Kai O'Donnell	18	-	-	-	-
Jaxson Paulo	3	2	-	-	8
Jaxon Purdue	24	14	-	-	56
Reece Robson	21	2	-	-	8
Jamal Shibasaki	1	-	-	-	-
Murray Taulagi	15	12	1	-	50
Jason Taumalolo	10	-	-	-	-
Viliami Vailea	14	2	-	-	8
Semi Valemei	4	4	-	-	16
Totals		94	81	-	538

Representatives

The following players played a representative match in 2025.

	State of Origin 1	State of Origin 2	State of Origin 3	Ashes Tour	Pacific Championships
Reuben Cotter	Queensland	Queensland	Queensland
Tom Dearden	Queensland	Queensland	Queensland
Jeremiah Nanai	Queensland	Queensland	Queensland
Reece Robson	New South Wales	New South Wales	New South Wales

Honours

Club

• Paul Bowman Medal: Tom Dearden ^[26]
• Players' Player: Tom Dearden ^[26]
• The Cowboys Way Award: Tom Chester & Heilum Luki ^[26]
• Rookie of the Year: Robert Derby ^[26]
• JCU Education Award: Tom Duffy ^[26]
• Affiliate Player of the Year: Marly Bitungane ^[26]
• Club Person of the Year: Braidon Burns ^[26]
• Townsville Bulletin Fan Award: Tom Dearden ^[26]

Feeder clubs

Queensland Cup

• Mackay Cutters – 12th, missed finals
• Northern Pride – 14th, missed finals

Women's team

See also: 2025 North Queensland Cowboys Women season

References

1. "Cowboys unveil commemorative logo to celebrate 30th anniversary". NQ Cowboys. 25 October 2024.
2. Development players train with the Top 30 squad but cannot play NRL until after Round 10.
3. Players in the extended squad train with the Top 30 squad but are on train and replacement or junior contracts.
4. Train and trial players are not contracted to the club but train with them over the pre-season.
5. "Bateman joins Cowboys". NQ Cowboys. 18 December 2024.
6. "Cowboys NRL team list: Round 18 v Storm". NQ Cowboys. 1 July 2025.
7. "Cowboys promote six to NRL squad for 2025". NQ Cowboys. 4 November 2024.
8. "Cowboys sign Lawton". NQ Cowboys. 18 April 2024.
9. "Get to know our young players ahead of Friday's trial". NQ Cowboys. 13 February 2025.
10. "O'Donnell returns home". NQ Cowboys. 5 June 2024.
11. "Cowboys sign Paulo". NQ Cowboys. 12 November 2024.
12. "Cowboys utility back finds new home for 2025". Zero Tackle. 16 November 2024.
13. "NSW Cup & Jersey Flegg Team Lists: Round Seven". Canberra Raiders. 15 April 2025.
14. "Kyle Feldt to Become a Saint". St Helens. 27 August 2024.
15. "Finefeuiaki to join Dolphins from 2025". Dolphins. 24 April 2024.
16. "Granville to depart Cowboys". NQ Cowboys. 8 August 2024.
17. "Capras are thrilled to announce the signing of Jai Hansen". Instagram. 12 November 2024.
18. "Dragons announce signing of Valentine Holmes". St George Illawarra. 15 August 2024.
19. "Cowboys release Pua'avase". NQ Cowboys. 13 November 2024.
20. "Knights Secure Young Guns". Newcastle Knights. 19 March 2025.
21. "North Queensland Cowboys' touching tribute to Taunoa-Brown". Townsville Bulletin. 21 November 2024.
22. "Chad Townsend to Join Roosters in 2025". Sydney Roosters. 3 July 2024.
23. "Cowboys re-sign Chester". NQ Cowboys. 26 March 2025.
24. "Cowboys re-sign Derby". NQ Cowboys. 13 February 2025.
25. "Cowboys re-sign Vailea and Laybutt". NQ Cowboys. 4 June 2025.
26. "Full list of winners from the Cowboys 2025 Presentation Night". NQ Cowboys. 3 September 2025.