2026 North Queensland Cowboys season

2026 North Queensland Cowboys season
Team information
Coach	Todd Payten
Captain	Reuben Cotter Tom Dearden
Stadium	Queensland Country Bank Stadium
←  2025

The 2026 North Queensland Cowboys season will be the 32nd in the club's history. Coached by Todd Payten and captained by Reuben Cotter and Tom Dearden, they will compete in the NRL's 2026 Telstra Premiership.

The club will play its first game in the United States in 2026 when they play their Round 1 fixture against the Newcastle Knights in Las Vegas. ^{[1] [2] [3]}

Season summary

Squad

North Queensland Cowboys 2026 squad

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Top 30 squad – 2026 NRL season						Development list		Coaching staff
John Bateman – SR Braidon Burns – WG Tom Chester – CE, FB Jake Clifford – FE, HB Reuben Cotter (c) – LK Tom Dearden (c) – HB, FE Robert Derby – WG Scott Drinkwater – FB Harrison Edwards – LK, PR		Zac Herdegen – HB, HK Coen Hess – PR Mason Kira – SR Kaiden Lahrs – PR Karl Lawton – HK Zac Laybutt – CE Heilum Luki – SR Reed Mahoney – HK Sam McIntyre – PR, LK		Thomas Mikaele – PR Jeremiah Nanai – SR Griffin Neame – PR Kai O'Donnell – SR Jaxson Paulo – WG, CE Jaxon Purdue – CE, FE Murray Taulagi – WG Jason Taumalolo – PR, LK Viliami Vailea – CE		Mason Barber – FB Xavier Kerrisk – HK Ethan King – FB, CE Ronald Philitoga – WG Liam Sutton – HB Matthew Watts – PR		Head coach Todd Payten Assistant coaches Paul Wellens Blake Green Brett O'Farrell Paul Bowman (Head of Performance) Dan Grange (Head of Strength) Ashley Graham (Strength & Conditioning) Steve Sartori (Head Physiotherapist) Jonathan Crawley (Physiotherapist) Mitch Pemberton (Sports Scientist) Legend: (c) Captain(s) (vc) Vice-captain(s) Supplementary list [4] Extended squad [5] Train and trial [6] Updated: 14 November 2025 Source(s): NQ Cowboys

Squad movement

Gains

Player	Signed from	Until end of	Notes
Ethan King	Sydney Roosters	2027	[7]
Reed Mahoney	Canterbury Bulldogs	2028	[8]
Ronald Philitoga	Wynnum Manly Seagulls	2026	[9]
Liam Sutton	Wynnum Manly Seagulls	2026	[10]

Losses

Player	Signed to	Until end of	Notes
Marly Bitungane	London Broncos	2026	[11]
Tom Duffy	Brisbane Broncos	2026	[12]
Nic Lenaz	Townsville Blackhawks	2026	[13]
Jeremiah Mata'utia	Leeds Rhinos	2026	[14]
Jordan McLean	Retired	–	[15]
Reece Robson	Sydney Roosters	2029	[16]
Jamal Shibasaki	Brisbane Broncos	2026	[17]
Semi Valemei	Castleford Tigers	2027	[18]

Fixtures

Pre-season

Main article: 2026 NRL Pre-season Challenge

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Score	Tries	Goals	Attendance
Saturday, 7 February	Trial 1	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	Jubilee Oval
Friday, 13 February	Trial 2	Penrith Panthers	BB Print Stadium
Legend:   Win  Loss  Draw  Bye

Regular season

Main article: 2026 NRL season results

Matches

Date	Round	Opponent	Venue	Score	Tries	Goals	Attendance
Saturday, February 28	Round 1	Newcastle Knights	Allegiant Stadium
Saturday, 14 March	Round 2	Wests Tigers	Leichhardt Oval
Sunday, 22 March	Round 3	Gold Coast Titans	QCB Stadium
Saturday, 28 March	Round 4	Melbourne Storm	QCB Stadium
Saturday, 4 April	Round 5	St George Illawarra Dragons	Jubilee Oval
Friday, 10 April	Round 6	Brisbane Broncos	Suncorp Stadium
Thursday, 16 April	Round 7	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles	QCB Stadium
Friday, 24 April	Round 8	Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks	QCB Stadium
Friday, 1 May	Round 9	Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs	Accor Stadium
Friday, 8 May	Round 10	Parramatta Eels	QCB Stadium
Sunday, 16 May	Round 11	Sydney Roosters	Suncorp Stadium
Sunday, 24 May	Round 12	South Sydney Rabbitohs	QCB Stadium
Sunday, 31 May	Round 13	Canberra Raiders	GIO Stadium
Saturday, 6 June	Round 14	Dolphins	QCB Stadium
	Round 15	Bye
Sunday, 21 June	Round 16	New Zealand Warriors	One NZ Stadium
Saturday, 27 June	Round 17	Penrith Panthers	QCB Stadium
	Round 18	Bye
Sunday, 12 July	Round 19	Manly Warringah Sea Eagles	4 Pines Park
Sunday, 19 July	Round 20	Dolphins	Suncorp Stadium
Saturday, 25 July	Round 21	Brisbane Broncos	QCB Stadium
Thursday, 30 July	Round 22	Sydney Roosters	QCB Stadium
Thursday, 6 August	Round 23	Gold Coast Titans	Cbus Super Stadium
Saturday, 15 August	Round 24	Parramatta Eels	CommBank Stadium
	Round 25	Bye
Saturday, 29 August	Round 26	Wests Tigers	QCB Stadium
Saturday, 5 September	Round 27	Canberra Raiders	QCB Stadium
Legend:   Win  Loss  Draw  Bye

Representatives

The following players played a representative match in 2026.

Feeder clubs

Queensland Cup

• Mackay Cutters
• Northern Pride
• Townsville Blackhawks

References

1. "The Cowboys are off to Las Vegas in 2026!". NQ Cowboys. 14 May 2025.
2. "Rugby League in Las Vegas 2026". NRL.
3. "Bulldogs, Cowboys, Knights and Dragons set for Las Vegas". ABC. 14 May 2025.
4. Development players train with the Top 30 squad but cannot play NRL until after Round 10.
5. Players in the extended squad train with the Top 30 squad but are on train and replacement or junior contracts.
6. Train and trial players are not contracted to the club but train with them over the pre-season.
7. "Roosters young gun confirms club switch for 2026". Zero Tackle. 21 August 2025.
8. "Cowboys sign Mahoney". NQ Cowboys. 6 July 2025.
9. "Cowboys announce six Dev List contracted players for 2026". NQ Cowboys. 29 October 2025.
10. "Cowboys announce six Dev List contracted players for 2026". NQ Cowboys. 29 October 2025.
11. "London Broncos set to land NRL duo on short-term deals as next steps outlined". Love Rugby League. 7 November 2025.
12. "Broncos Sign Duffy For 2026". Brisbane Broncos. 20 August 2025.
13. "Departed Cowboys hooker signs with new team for 2026". ZeroTackle. 27 October 2025.
14. "Rhinos add towering forward for 2026". Leeds Rhinos. 11 November 2025.
15. "McLean calls time". NQ Cowboys. 27 August 2025.
16. "Reece Robson to join the Roosters in 2026". Sydney Roosters. 6 December 2024.
17. "Cowboys to farewell seven departing players". NQ Cowboys. 3 September 2025.
18. "Valemei Signs For Tigers On A Two Year Deal". Castleford Tigers. 2 September 2025.