The 2023 North Queensland Cowboys Women season was the first in the club's history. Coached by Ben Jeffries and captained by Kirra Dibb and Tallisha Harden, they competed in the NRLW's 2023 Telstra Women's Premiership.
| 2023 North Queensland Cowboys Women season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NRLW Rank | 9th | |||
| 2023 record | Wins: 2; draws: 0; losses: 7 | |||
| Points scored | For: 133; against: 266 | |||
| Team information | ||||
| CEO | Jeff Reibel | |||
| Coach | Ben Jeffries | |||
| Captain | ||||
| Stadium | Queensland Country Bank Stadium | |||
| Avg. attendance | 9,005 | |||
| High attendance | 22,659 (vs. Brisbane, Round 3) | |||
| Top scorers | ||||
| Tries | Emma Manzelmann Vitalina Naikore Jasmine Peters (3) | |||
| Goals | Kirra Dibb (18) | |||
| Points | Kirra Dibb (41) | |||
| ||||
They finished their inaugural season in 9th, missing the finals with just two wins from nine games.
Season summary
editMilestones
edit- Round 1: The club played their first NRLW game (losing 16–6 to the Gold Coast Titans).
- Round 1: Emma Manzelmann scored the club's first try.
- Round 1: Krystal Blackwell, Bree Chester, Fran Goldthorp, Sera Koroi, Shellie Long, Mia Middleton, Sareka Mooka and Vitalina Naikore made their NRLW debuts.
- Round 2: The club won their first game (def. Newcastle Knights 31-20).
- Round 3: Autumn-Rain Stephens-Daly made her debut for the club.
- Round 3: Shellie Long and April Ngatupuna scored their first NRLW tries.
- Round 4: Essay Banu and Jessikah Reeves made their NRLW debuts.
- Round 4: Tahlulah Tillett made her debut for the club.
- Round 4: China Polata scored her first NRLW try.
- Round 6: Libby Surha made her NRLW debut.
- Round 6: Libby Surha scored her first NRLW try.
- Round 7: Lily Peacock made her NRLW debut.
- Round 7: Krystal Blackwell and Fran Goldthorp scored their first NRLW tries.
- Round 9: Alisha Foord and Merewalesi Rokouono made their NRLW debuts.
Squad
edit| NRLW Squad – 2023 season | Development Players | Coaching Staff | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Extended squad |
Head coach Assistant coaches
Updated: 4 June 2023 | ||||||
Squad movement
editGains
edit
Ladder
edit| 2023 NRLW season | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | |
| 1 |  Newcastle Knights |
9 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 224 | 119 | +105 | 16 | |
| 2 |  Sydney Roosters |
9 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 284 | 120 | +164 | 14 | |
| 3 |  Gold Coast Titans |
9 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 164 | 126 | +38 | 14 | |
| 4 |  Brisbane Broncos |
9 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 256 | 165 | +91 | 12 | |
| 5 |  Canberra Raiders |
9 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 173 | 206 | -33 | 10 | |
| 6 |  Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks |
9 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 202 | 150 | +52 | 8 | |
| 7 |  St George Illawarra Dragons |
9 | 3 | 0 | 6 | 182 | 210 | -28 | 6 | |
| 8 |  Wests Tigers |
9 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 136 | 186 | -50 | 4 | |
| 9 |  North Queensland Cowboys |
9 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 133 | 266 | -133 | 4 | |
| 10 |  Parramatta Eels |
9 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 104 | 310 | -206 | 2 | |
- Source:NRL
Fixtures
editRegular season
editStatistics
edit| Name | App | T | G | FG | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay Banu | 1 | – | – | – | - |
| Krystal Blackwell | 7 | 1 | – | – | 4 |
| Bree Chester | 8 | 2 | – | – | 8 |
| Kirra Dibb | 9 | 1 | 18 | 1 | 41 |
| Jetaya Faifua | 5 | 2 | – | – | 8 |
| Alisha Foord | 1 | – | – | – | – |
| Fran Goldthorp | 8 | 1 | – | – | 4 |
| Tallisha Harden | 9 | – | – | – | - |
| Sera Koroi | 8 | – | – | – | - |
| Shellie Long | 8 | 1 | – | – | 4 |
| Emma Manzelmann | 9 | 3 | – | – | 12 |
| Mia Middleton | 4 | – | – | – | - |
| Sareka Mooka | 6 | 1 | – | – | 4 |
| Vitalina Naikore | 7 | 3 | – | – | 12 |
| April Ngatupuna | 8 | 1 | – | – | 4 |
| Lily Peacock | 3 | – | – | – | – |
| Jasmine Peters | 9 | 3 | – | – | 12 |
| China Polata | 8 | 1 | – | – | 4 |
| Shaniah Power | 5 | – | – | – | - |
| Tiana Raftstrand-Smith | 8 | 2 | – | – | 8 |
| Jessikah Reeves | 5 | – | – | – | - |
| Merewalesi Rokouono | 1 | – | – | – | – |
| Autumn-Rain Stephens-Daly | 3 | – | – | – | - |
| Libby Surha | 1 | 1 | – | – | 4 |
| Tahlulah Tillett | 6 | – | – | – | - |
| Makenzie Weale | 7 | 1 | – | – | 4 |
| Totals | 24 | 18 | 1 | 133 |
Representatives
editThe following players played a representative match in 2023.
| All Stars match | State of Origin 1 | State of Origin 2 | Prime Minister's XIII | Pacific Championships | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay Banu | Indigenous All Stars |
PNG PM's XIII |
Papua New Guinea
| ||
| Bree Chester | Indigenous All Stars |
||||
| Kirra Dibb | Indigenous All Stars |
||||
| Tallisha Harden | Aus PM's XIII |
||||
| Sera Koroi | PNG PM's XIII |
Papua New Guinea
| |||
| Shellie Long | PNG PM's XIII |
Papua New Guinea
| |||
| Emma Manzelmann | Queensland |
Queensland |
Aus PM's XIII |
Australia
| |
| Mia Middleton | Indigenous All Stars |
||||
| Sareka Mooka | Indigenous All Stars |
Papua New Guinea
| |||
| Vitalina Naikore | Fiji
| ||||
| China Polata | Queensland |
Aus PM's XIII |
Tonga
| ||
| Shaniah Power | Indigenous All Stars |
Queensland |
Queensland |
||
| Tiana Raftstrand-Smith | Māori All Stars |
Aus PM's XIII |
|||
| Jessikah Reeves | PNG PM's XIII |
Papua New Guinea
| |||
| Tahlulah Tillett | Indigenous All Stars |
Honours
editLeague
edit- Veronica White Medal: Tahlulah Tillett[15]
Club
edit- Cowboy of the Year: Emma Manzelmann[16]
- Players' Player: Emma Manzelmann[16]
- The Cowboys Way Award: China Polata[16]
- Rookie of the Year: Fran Goldthorp[16]
- Fans Choice Player of the Year: Kirra Dibb[16]
References
edit- ^ a b c d "PNG Orchids World Cup stars join Cowboys". NQ Cowboys. 23 April 2023.
- ^ a b c d e "Cowboys add five more players to NRLW squad". NQ Cowboys. 23 May 2023.
- ^ a b c d e f "Cowboys announce six more NRLW signings". NQ Cowboys. 10 May 2023.
- ^ "Cowboys sign Dibb". NQ Cowboys. 19 April 2023.
- ^ "Cowboys sign English fullback Goldthorp". NQ Cowboys. 29 April 2023.
- ^ "Cowboys sign Jillaroos and Maroons star Tallisha Harden". NQ Cowboys. 11 May 2023.
- ^ "Cowboys announce Manzelmann as inaugural NRLW signing". NQ Cowboys. 4 April 2023.
- ^ "Cowboys sign Indigenous All Star Sareka Mooka". NQ Cowboys. 6 May 2023.
- ^ a b "Cowboys sign Fijian Internationals". NQ Cowboys. 25 May 2023.
- ^ "Peters joins Cowboys". NQ Cowboys. 10 April 2023.
- ^ "Power signs for Cowboys". NQ Cowboys. 12 April 2023.
- ^ a b "Cowboys sign Raftstrand-Smith sisters". NQ Cowboys. 20 May 2023.
- ^ "Cowboys sign Kiwi Ferns star Stephens-Daly". NQ Cowboys. 17 May 2023.
- ^ "Cowboys sign Tillett". NQ Cowboys. 5 April 2023.
- ^ "Tahlulah Tillett honoured with 2023 Veronica White Medal". NRL. 27 September 2023.
- ^ a b c d e "Full list of winners from the Cowboys 2023 Presentation Night". NQ Cowboys. 20 September 2023.