2025 North Queensland Cowboys season

2025 North Queensland Cowboys season
NRL Rank	16th
Team information
CEO	Jeff Reibel
Coach	Todd Payten
Captain	Reuben Cotter Tom Dearden
Stadium	Queensland Country Bank Stadium
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The 2025 North Queensland Cowboys season will be the 31st in the club's history. Coached by Todd Payten and captained by Reuben Cotter and Tom Dearden, they will compete in the NRL's 2025 Telstra Premiership. The club will celebrate its 30th anniversary during the season. ^[1]

Season summary

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		Emarly Bitungane – PR Zac Herdegen – HB Mason Kira – LK		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: 22 March 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]
Karl Lawton	Manly Sea Eagles	2026	[7]
Nic Lenaz	Manly Sea Eagles	2025	[8]
Kai O'Donnell	Leigh Leopards	2026	[9]
Jaxson Paulo	Manly Sea Eagles	2026	[10]

Losses

Player	Signed To	Until End of	Notes
Jodeci Baker-Tiraha	Brisbane Tigers	2025	[11]
Kyle Feldt	St Helens	2026	[12]
Kulikefu Finefeuiaki	Dolphins	2027	[13]
Jake Granville	Retired	–	[14]
Jai Hansen	CQ Capras	2025	[15]
Valentine Holmes	St George Illawarra	2027	[16]
D'Jazirhae Pua'avase	Manly Sea Eagles	2025	[17]
Wil Sullivan	Newcastle Knights (mid-season)	2028	[18]
Jamayne Taunoa-Brown	Retired	–	[19]
Chad Townsend	Sydney Roosters	2025	[20]

Ladder

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	B	PF	PA	PD	Pts	Qualification
1	Melbourne Storm	2	2	0	0	1	86	42	+44	6	Advance to finals series
2	Wests Tigers	3	2	0	1	0	70	34	+36	4
3	Brisbane Broncos	3	2	0	1	0	98	62	+36	4
4	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	3	2	0	1	0	85	52	+33	4
5	Canberra Raiders	2	2	0	0	0	62	30	+32	4
6	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	2	2	0	0	0	68	44	+24	4
7	New Zealand Warriors	3	2	0	1	0	58	52	+6	4
8	Gold Coast Titans	2	1	0	1	1	50	46	+4	4
9	Newcastle Knights	3	2	0	1	0	42	46	−4	4
10	South Sydney Rabbitohs	3	2	0	1	0	53	65	−12	4
11	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles	2	1	0	1	0	58	48	+10	2
12	Penrith Panthers	3	1	0	2	0	84	90	−6	2
13	St. George Illawarra Dragons	2	0	0	2	1	44	53	−9	2
14	Sydney Roosters	3	1	0	2	0	58	96	−38	2
15	Dolphins	3	0	0	3	0	44	72	−28	0
16	North Queensland Cowboys	3	0	0	3	0	40	104	−64	0
17	Parramatta Eels	2	0	0	2	0	24	88	−64	0

Updated to match(es) played on 22 March 2025. Source: National Rugby League

Fixtures

Pre-season

Main article: 2025 NRL pre-season results

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
Ground	A	H	A
Result	L	L	L
Position	15	16	16
Points	0	0	0

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)
Saturday, 29 March	Round 4	Canberra Raiders	QCB Stadium
Friday, 4 April	Round 5	Penrith Panthers	CommBank Stadium
Saturday, 12 April	Round 6	South Sydney Rabbitohs	Optus Stadium
	Round 7	Bye
Saturday, 26 April	Round 8	Gold Coast Titans	QCB Stadium
Saturday, 3 May	Round 9	New Zealand Warriors	Suncorp Stadium
Saturday, 10 May	Round 10	Penrith Panthers	QCB Stadium
Saturday, 17 May	Round 11	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles	QCB Stadium
	Round 12	Bye
Saturday, 31 May	Round 13	Wests Tigers	QCB Stadium
Friday, 6 June	Round 14	Melbourne Storm	AAMI Park
Saturday, 14 June	Round 15	Dolphins	QCB Stadium
Sunday, 22 June	Round 16	Sydney Roosters	Allianz Stadium
Sunday, 29 June	Round 17	Gold Coast Titans	Cbus Super Stadium
Saturday, 5 July	Round 18	Melbourne Storm	QCB Stadium
Saturday, 12 July	Round 19	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	QCB Stadium
Thursday, 17 July	Round 20	Dolphins	Suncorp Stadium
Friday, 25 July	Round 21	St George Illawarra Dragons	QCB Stadium
Sunday, 3 August	Round 22	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	Sharks Stadium
Sunday, 10 August	Round 23	Parramatta Eels	CommBank Stadium
Sunday, 17 August	Round 24	Newcastle Knights	QCB Stadium
Sunday, 24 August	Round 25	Wests Tigers	Leichhardt Oval
Saturday, 30 August	Round 26	Brisbane Broncos	QCB Stadium
	Round 27	Bye
Legend:   Win  Loss  Draw  Bye

Representatives

The following players played a representative match in 2025.

Feeder clubs

Queensland Cup

• Mackay Cutters
• Northern Pride

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 promote six to NRL squad for 2025". NQ Cowboys. 4 November 2024.
7. "Cowboys sign Lawton". NQ Cowboys. 18 April 2024.
8. "Get to know our young players ahead of Friday's trial". NQ Cowboys. 13 February 2025.
9. "O'Donnell returns home". NQ Cowboys. 5 June 2024.
10. "Cowboys sign Paulo". NQ Cowboys. 12 November 2024.
11. "Cowboys utility back finds new home for 2025". Zero Tackle. 16 November 2024.
12. "Kyle Feldt to Become a Saint". St Helens. 27 August 2024.
13. "Finefeuiaki to join Dolphins from 2025". Dolphins. 24 April 2024.
14. "Granville to depart Cowboys". NQ Cowboys. 8 August 2024.
15. "Capras are thrilled to announce the signing of Jai Hansen". Instagram. 12 November 2024.
16. "Dragons announce signing of Valentine Holmes". St George Illawarra. 15 August 2024.
17. "Cowboys release Pua'avase". NQ Cowboys. 13 November 2024.
18. "Knights Secure Young Guns". Newcastle Knights. 19 March 2025.
19. "North Queensland Cowboys' touching tribute to Taunoa-Brown". Townsville Bulletin. 21 November 2024.
20. "Chad Townsend to Join Roosters in 2025". Sydney Roosters. 3 July 2024.