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2001 North Queensland Cowboys season

Coordinates: 19°18′58″S 146°42′43″E / 19.31611°S 146.71194°E / -19.31611; 146.71194 (Willow Sports Complex)
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2001 North Queensland Cowboys season
NRL Rank13th
Play-off resultMissed finals
2001 recordWins: 6; draws: 2; losses: 18
Points scoredFor: 514; against: 771
Team information
CoachTim Sheens (resigned on 25 May)
Murray Hurst
Captain
StadiumDairy Farmers Stadium
Avg. attendance13,133
High attendance21,729 (vs. Brisbane Broncos, Round 1)
Top scorers
TriesGlenn Morrison (13)
GoalsJulian O'Neill (56)
PointsJulian O'Neill (156)
← 2000 2002 →

The 2001 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 7th in the club's history. Coached by Tim Sheens and captained by Paul Bowman, they competed in the NRL's 2001 Telstra Premiership.

Following a mid-season club taker over by News Limited, Sheens resigned as head coach on 25 May and was replaced by his assistant, Murray Hurst.

Season summary

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2001 was another season that started with high hopes but ended in disaster for the club. It got off to an awful start before a ball was even kicked, when club captain Tim Brasher injured his knee in the pre-season, resulting in a complete reconstruction and ruling him out for the year.[1] The club struggled to replace the outgoing Scott Prince in the halves and Brasher at fullback, winning just two games after 11 games to sit in last place on the ladder.

Their Round 6 win over the Wests Tigers was shrouded in controversy when Tigers' winger John Hopoate, in an attempt to unsettle several of his opponents, inserted his finger in three players' anuses, the first occurring during the seventh minute of play. Hopoate was subsequently suspended for 12 games.[2]

Following the Round 11 loss to the Canterbury Bulldogs, Tim Sheens took a period of stress-leave and later resigned from the club on 25 May after News Limited took full control of the club.[3] He was replaced by his assistant, former Tongan national team coach Murray Hurst.

The change did little to alter the fortunes of the side, winning just four of their last 15 games. A win in Round 26 over the Warriors in Auckland spared the side of a second straight wooden spoon, finishing ahead of the Penrith Panthers on points differential.

Despite the issues on and off the field, there were a number of bright spots throughout the season, including the emergence of Matthew Bowen. Bowen, who made his debut in Round 2, would go onto play 270 games, scoring 130 tries, and representing Australia and Queensland during his 13-year career at the club.[4] Another positive was the selection of four players in the victorious Queensland squad for the 2001 State of Origin series, the most for the club at the time. All four players selected (Paul Bowman, John Buttigieg, John Doyle and Nathan Fien) were local products who came through the junior ranks of the club.[5]

Milestones

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Squad List

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North Queensland Cowboys NRL Squad 2001
First team squad Coaching staff

Head coach

Assistant coach


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



Squad Movement

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2001 Gains

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Player Signed From
Trent Leis Redcliffe Dolphins
Tim Maddison Cronulla Sharks
Danny Moore London Broncos
Adam Nable Wests Tigers
Lee Oudenryn Auckland Warriors
Scott Whiting Wests Panthers

2001 Losses

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Player Signed To
Graham Appo Huddersfield Giants
Greg Bourke Burleigh Bears
Scott Donald Parramatta Eels
Noel Goldthorpe Released
Paul Green Sydney Roosters
Chad Halliday Parramatta Eels
Jason Nicol Salford City Reds
Scott Prince Brisbane Broncos
Ben Rauter Wakefield Trinity Wildcats

Ladder

[edit]
Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1 Parramatta Eels 26 20 2 4 839 406 +433 42
2 Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs 26 17 3 6 617 568 +49 37
3 Newcastle Knights (P) 26 16 1 9 782 639 +143 33
4 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 26 15 2 9 594 513 +81 32
5 Brisbane Broncos 26 14 1 11 696 511 +185 29
6 Sydney Roosters 26 13 1 12 647 589 +58 27
7 St. George Illawarra Dragons 26 12 2 12 661 573 +88 26
8 New Zealand Warriors 26 12 2 12 638 629 +9 26
9 Melbourne Storm 26 11 1 14 704 725 -21 23
10 Northern Eagles 26 11 1 14 603 750 -147 23
11 Canberra Raiders 26 9 1 16 600 623 -23 19
12 Wests Tigers 26 9 1 16 474 746 -272 19
13 North Queensland Cowboys 26 6 2 18 514 771 -257 14
14 Penrith Panthers 26 7 0 19 521 847 -326 14

Fixtures

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Regular season

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Date Round Opponent Venue Score Tries Goals Attendance
17 February Round 1 Brisbane Broncos Dairy Farmers Stadium 17 – 18 Morrison, O'Neill O'Neill (4/5), Fien (1 FG) 21,729
24 February Round 2 Melbourne Storm Colonial Stadium 32 – 28 Strickland (2), Buttigieg, Fien, O'Neill, Relf O'Neill (4/7) 12,321
3 March Round 3 Sydney Roosters Dairy Farmers Stadium 8 – 32 Buttigieg, Morrison O'Neill (0/2) 19,263
10 March Round 4 Penrith Panthers Cazaly's Stadium 18 – 32 Hannay, Morrison, Relf O'Neill (3/3) 13,500
17 March Round 5 Cronulla Sharks Toyota Park 16 – 24 Bowman, Morrison, Relf O'Neill (2/3) 10,250
24 March Round 6 Wests Tigers Dairy Farmers Stadium 24 – 10 Bowman, Buttigieg, O'Neill, Shipway O'Neill (4/6) 12,357
1 April Round 7 St George Illawarra Dragons WIN Stadium 12 – 48 Fien, Warren O'Neill (2/2) 9,583
7 April Round 8 Parramatta Eels Dairy Farmers Stadium 14 – 14 Bowman, Buttigieg, Warren O'Neill (1/4) 12,949
15 April Round 9 Canberra Raiders Bruce Stadium 26 – 34 Bowen, Doyle, Leis, Morrison, Warren Leis (3/4), O'Neill (0/1) 7,191
22 April Round 10 Northern Eagles Cazaly's Stadium 22 – 24 Bowen, Fien, O'Neill O'Neill (5/5) 6,113
28 April Round 11 Canterbury Bulldogs Dairy Farmers Stadium 14 – 26 Jellick, Morrison O'Neill (3/3) 9,820
13 May Round 12 Newcastle Knights Marathon Stadium 34 – 42 Bowman (2), Jellick, Morrison, Paterson, Warren Leis (4/4), O'Neill (1/2) 18,039
20 May Round 13 Warriors Dairy Farmers Stadium 35 – 18 Leis (2), Bowman, Fien, Luck, Morrison Leis (3/6), O'Neill (2/3), Fien (1 FG) 10,819
27 May Round 14 Brisbane Broncos ANZ Stadium 6 – 50 Fien Leis (1/1) 14,714
2 June Round 15 Melbourne Storm Dairy Farmers Stadium 24 – 38 O'Neill (3), Bowen Leis (4/5) 10,987
16 June Round 16 Sydney Roosters SFS 24 – 50 Bowman, Morrison, O'Neill, Shipway, Warren Leis (1/2), O'Neill (1/3) 6,432
23 June Round 17 Penrith Panthers Penrith Stadium 26 – 20 Doyle, Hannay, Luck, O'Neill O'Neill (5/5) 7,326
7 July Round 18 Cronulla Sharks Dairy Farmers Stadium 6 – 36 Maddison O'Neill (1/1) 13,494
14 July Round 19 Wests Tigers Leichhardt Oval 18 – 20 Jellick, Leis, Morrison, O'Neill O'Neill (1/4) 4,724
21 July Round 20 St George Illawarra Dragons Dairy Farmers Stadium 34 – 10 Bowman, Hannay, Jellick, Jones, Leis, Morrison Leis (5/7) 14,293
29 July Round 21 Parramatta Eels Parramatta Stadium 0 – 62 13,192
4 August Round 22 Canberra Raiders Dairy Farmers Stadium 10 – 29 Bowman, Jones O'Neill (1/2) 11,261
12 August Round 23 Northern Eagles Brookvale Oval 24 – 24 Bowman (2), Bowen, Jellick, Morrison O'Neill (2/5), Bowen (0/1) 8,009
18 August Round 24 Canterbury Bulldogs Sydney Showground 22 – 30 Bowen, Bowman, Jones O'Neill (4/5), Bowen (1/1) 6,715
25 August Round 25 Newcastle Knights Dairy Farmers Stadium 18 – 34 Morrison, O'Neill, Relf O'Neill (3/3) 14,147
2 September Round 26 Warriors Ericsson Stadium 30 – 18 Gatis (2), Bowen, Relf O'Neill (7/8) 24,568
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw   Bye

Statistics

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Name App T G FG Pts
Geoff Bell 10 - - - -
Matthew Bowen 15 6 1 - 26
Paul Bowman 25 12 - - 48
Tarin Bradford 2 - - - -
John Buttigieg 15 4 - - 16
Adam Connelly 7 - - - -
Paul Dezolt 5 - - - -
John Doyle 11 2 - - 8
Nathan Fien 26 5 - 2 22
George Gatis 8 2 - - 8
Josh Hannay 12 3 - - 12
Brett Hetherington 7 - - - -
Brian Jellick 17 5 - - 20
Peter Jones 24 3 - - 12
Naipolioni Kuricibi 1 - - - -
Trent Leis 17 5 21 - 62
Micheal Luck 16 2 - - 8
Tim Maddison 19 1 - - 4
Bruce Mamando 1 - - - -
John Manning 1 - - - -
Jamie McDonald 13 - - - -
Leigh McWilliams 3 - - - -
Danny Moore 2 - - - -
Glenn Morrison 23 13 - - 52
Chris Muckert 10 - - - -
Shane Muspratt 12 - - - -
Adam Nable 1 - - - -
Julian O'Neill 23 11 56 - 156
Lee Oudenryn 3 - - - -
Nick Paterson 12 1 - - 4
Paul Pensini 2 - - - -
Robert Relf 21 5 - - 20
Chris Sheppard 17 - - - -
Mark Shipway 17 2 - - 8
Damien Smith 3 - - - -
Daniel Strickland 17 2 - - 8
Shaun Valentine 7 - - - -
Kyle Warren 17 5 - - 20
Totals 89 78 2 514

Source:[6]

Representatives

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The following players played a representative match in 2001.

City vs Country State of Origin 1 State of Origin 2 State of Origin 3
Paul Bowman
-
Queensland
Queensland
Queensland
John Buttigieg
-
Queensland
-
Queensland
John Doyle
-
Queensland
-
Queensland
Nathan Fien
-
-
Queensland
-
Glenn Morrison
Country
-
-
-

Honours

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Club

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Feeder Clubs

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References

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  1. ^ "Eight freak off-field NRL injuries". Daily Telegraph. 20 March 2014.
  2. ^ Willacy, Mark (29 March 2001). "Rugby league bottoms out again". abc.net.au. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  3. ^ "Sheens and staff quit Cowboys" (fee required). AAP Sports News (Australia). 25 May 2001. Retrieved 18 April 2008.[dead link]
  4. ^ "Matt Bowen announces retirement". 29 August 2013.
  5. ^ "Where Are They Now? John Buttigieg: Maroons hard-head". 6 July 2011. Archived from the original on 15 November 2017. Retrieved 24 October 2018.
  6. ^ "NRL 2001 - North Queensland Cowboys - Rugby League Project".

19°18′58″S 146°42′43″E / 19.31611°S 146.71194°E / -19.31611; 146.71194 (Willow Sports Complex)