1997 North Queensland Cowboys season

The 1997 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 3rd in the club's history. Coached by Tim Sheens and captained by Ian Roberts, they competed in the breakaway News Limited-run competition, the Telstra Cup.

1997 North Queensland Cowboys season
Super League Rank10th
Play-off resultMissed finals
1997 recordWins: 5; draws: 2; losses: 11
Points scoredFor: 328; against: 452
Team information
CoachTim Sheens
Captain
StadiumStockland Stadium
Avg. attendance17,539
High attendance30,122 (vs. Brisbane Broncos, Rd 6)
Top scorers
TriesLuke Phillips (8)
GoalsLuke Phillips (45)
PointsLuke Phillips (122)
← 1996 1998 →

Season summary

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After an improved 1996 season, the club pulled off a major coup in signing three-time premiership winning coach Tim Sheens from the Canberra Raiders, who brought five players with him from his old club, including Australia and Queensland representative hooker Steve Walters. Former Australia and New South Wales prop Ian Roberts was brought in as captain as part of a major off-season rebuild in which 20 players were let go, including a number of foundation players.

The club, who were competing in News Limited's breakaway Super League competition, got off to a promising start after defeating the newly formed Adelaide Rams in the opening round of the season. The good times under Sheens and his new signings were short lived, as a four game losing streak followed. A win over the Auckland Warriors in Round 9 was followed by two consecutive draws, which included a 20-all draw against arch-rivals Brisbane, their best ever result against them at the time.

Back-to-back wins in Round 14 and 15 had the Cowboys sitting just four points outside the Top 5, but a three-game losing streak to end the season left the club languishing in last place. The Cowboys recorded their second wooden spoon in three seasons, with just five wins from 18 games. Despite the disappointing year, Tim Sheens signed a five-year contract renewal with the club. Owen Cunningham, an off-season recruit from Manly, was named the club's Player of the Year.

Towards the end of the season, the club took part in the World Club Championship. The tournament featured all 22 clubs from the Australasian and Super League competitions and was contested over six rounds in two hemispheres. The Cowboys played home and away games against three Super League clubs; (Leeds Rhinos, Oldham Bears and Salford Reds), winning all but once (a 16-20 loss to Oldham at Boundary Park). Despite the great results, the Cowboys missed out on the finals, while clubs in other pools got through without even winning a game. It would be the last time the club would face a Super League side or play a game in England until the 2016 World Club Challenge.

Milestones

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Squad list

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In Super League, players were able to choose their own jersey number (regardless of their starting position), which they wore for the entire season.

North Queensland Cowboys Super League Squad 1997
First team squad Coaching staff

Head coach

Assistant coach


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



Squad movement

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1997 Gains

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Player Signed From
Dion Cope   Cronulla Sharks
Owen Cunningham   Manly Sea Eagles
Jason Ferris   Canberra Raiders
John Lomax   Canberra Raiders
Scott Mahon   Parramatta Eels
Ray Mercy   Atherton Roosters
Luke Phillips   Canberra Raiders
Ian Roberts   Manly Sea Eagles
Jason Ryan   South Sydney Rabbitohs
Tyran Smith   South Sydney Rabbitohs
Bert Tabuai   Canberra Raiders
Shane Vincent   South Sydney Rabbitohs
Steve Walters   Canberra Raiders

1997 Losses

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Player Signed To
David Bouveng   Halifax Blue Sox
Steve Edmed   Sheffield Eagles
Damian Gibson   Leeds Rhinos
Shane Howarth   Auckland Blues
Jason Martin   Paris Saint-Germain
Jamie Mathiou   Leeds Rhinos
Willie Morganson   Sheffield Eagles
Willie Poching   Hunter Mariners
Dean Schifilliti   Adelaide Rams
Wayne Sing   Paris Saint-Germain
Tyran Smith   Hunter Mariners (mid-season)
Whetu Taewa   Sheffield Eagles
Adrian Vowles   Castleford Tigers

Ladder

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Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts
1   Brisbane (P) 18 14 1 3 481 283 +198 29
2   Cronulla 18 12 0 6 403 230 +173 24
3   Canberra 18 11 0 7 436 337 +99 22
4   Canterbury 18 10 0 8 453 447 +6 20
5   Penrith 18 9 0 9 431 462 -31 18
6   Hunter 18 7 0 11 350 363 -13 14
7   Auckland 18 7 0 11 332 406 -74 14
8   Perth 18 7 0 11 321 456 -135 14
9   Adelaide 18 6 1 11 303 402 -99 13
10   North Queensland 18 5 2 11 328 452 -124 12
  • (P) - Premiers


Fixtures

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Regular season

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Date Round Opponent Venue Score Tries Goals Attendance
1 March Round 1   Adelaide Rams Stockland Stadium 24 – 16 Walters (2), Phillips, Smith Phillips (4/5) 17,738
7 March Round 2   Perth Reds Stockland Stadium 20 – 22 Ahmat, Ferris, Roberts Phillips (4/5) 15,745
15 March Round 3   Penrith Panthers Stockland Stadium 12 – 19 Phillips, Warren Phillips (2/3) 18,003
22 March Round 4   Hunter Mariners Topper Stadium 10 – 38 Phillips, Warren Phillips (1/3) 6,090
31 March Round 5   Canterbury Bulldogs Belmore Oval 16 – 14 Bowman, Mahon, Shipway Phillips (2/3) 9,830
5 April Round 6   Brisbane Broncos Stockland Stadium 16 – 42 Death (2), Cressbrook Doyle (2/2), Phillips (0/1) 30,122
12 April Round 7   Perth Reds WACA 4 – 6 Doyle (2/2) 9,701
20 April Round 8   Canberra Raiders Bruce Stadium 16 – 40 Phillips, Walters, Warren Phillips (2/3) 10,071
27 April Round 9   Auckland Warriors Stockland Stadium 30 – 22 Cressbrook, Jones, Phillips, Scott, Walters Phillips (5/6) 12,464
2 May Round 10   Adelaide Rams Adelaide Oval 14 – 14 Cressbrook, I. Dunemann, Shipway Phillips (1/4) 15,970
25 May Round 11   Brisbane Broncos ANZ Stadium 20 – 20 A. Dunemann, I. Dunemann, Shipway Phillips (4/5) 14,167
31 May Round 12   Cronulla Sharks Stockland Stadium 10 – 24 Mahon (2) Phillips (1/3) 16,095
28 June Round 13   Canterbury Bulldogs Stockland Stadium 22 – 29 Roberts, Tassell, Warren, Warwick Phillips (3/6) 14,176
4 July Round 14   Penrith Panthers Penrith Stadium 33 – 26 Mercy (3), Phillips (2), Loomans Phillips (4/7), A. Dunemann (1 FG) 5,335
13 July Round 15   Hunter Mariners Stockland Stadium 33 – 14 A. Dunemann (2), Mercy (2), Loomans, Murphy Phillips (4/7), A. Dunemann (1 FG) 11,480
9 August Round 16   Canberra Raiders Stockland Stadium 14 – 22 Bowman, Lomax Phillips (3/3) 22,026
16 August Round 17   Cronulla Sharks Shark Park 12 – 34 Phillips, Scott Phillips (2/3) 11,640
24 August Round 18   Auckland Warriors Ericsson Stadium 22 – 50 Mercy, Scott, Skardon, Warren Phillips (3/4) 12,000
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw   Bye

World Club Championship

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The World Club Championship was a mid-season tournament featuring all 22 clubs from the Australasian and Super League competitions. It was contested over six rounds in two hemispheres from 6 June to 11 October.

Pool Play

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Club Played Won Lost Drawn For Against Diff. Points
  Hunter Mariners 6 6 0 0 226 50 176 12
  North Queensland Cowboys 6 5 1 0 228 92 136 10
  Adelaide Rams 6 4 2 0 170 68 102 8
  Perth Reds 6 4 2 0 148 104 44 8
Date Round Opponent Venue Score Tries Goals Attendance
7 June Round 1   Leeds Rhinos Stockland Stadium 42 – 20 Murphy (2), Cressbrook, Jones, Phillips, Shipway, Tabuai, Warwick Phillips (5/8) 14,561
14 June Round 2   Oldham Bears Stockland Stadium 54 – 16 Cressbrook (2), Vincent (2), Walters (2), A. Dunemann, Murphy, Phillips, Shipway Phillips (7/10) 12,600
21 June Round 3   Salford Reds Stockland Stadium 44 – 8 Warwick (2), Bowman, Cressbrook, Cunningham, I. Dunemann, Shipway, Tabuai Phillips (6/8) 15,508
18 July Round 4   Oldham Bears Boundary Park 20 – 16 Bowman, Mercy, Phillips Phillips (2/3) 2,691
27 July Round 5   Salford Reds The Willows 24 – 14 Cunningham, Murphy, Phillips, Skardon Phillips (4/4) 7,448
3 August Round 6   Leeds Rhinos Headingley Stadium 48 – 14 A. Dunemann (2), Phillips (2), Cressbrook, Mercy, Murphy, Shipway Phillips (8/8) 12,224
Legend:   Win   Loss   Draw   Bye

Statistics

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Name App T G FG Pts
Jimmy Ahmat 2 1 - - 4
Paul Bowman 10 2 - - 8
John Buttigieg 5 - - - -
Dion Cope 7 - - - -
Reggie Cressbrook 11 3 - - 12
Owen Cunningham 18 - - - -
Jason Death 20 3 - - 12
John Doyle 12 - 4 - 8
Andrew Dunemann 14 3 - 2 14
Ian Dunemann 6 2 - - 8
Jason Ferris 7 1 - - 4
Paul Galea 1 - - - -
Peter Jones 15 1 - - 4
Aaron Ketchell 3 - - - -
Martin Locke 11 - - - -
John Lomax 15 1 - - 4
Justin Loomans 7 2 - - 8
Scott Mahon 14 3 - - 12
Ray Mercy 6 6 - - 24
Marshall Miller 1 - - - -
Glen Murphy 11 1 - - 4
Luke Phillips 17 8 45 - 122
Ian Roberts 17 2 - - 8
Jason Ryan 1 - - - -
Luke Scott 12 3 - - 12
Mark Shipway 13 3 - - 12
John Skardon 3 1 - - 4
Tyran Smith 9 1 - - 4
Bert Tabuai 5 - - - -
Kris Tassell 3 1 - - 4
Shane Vincent 2 - - - -
Steve Walters 15 4 - - 16
Kyle Warren 14 5 - - 20
Adam Warwick 6 1 - - 4
Totals 57 49 2 328

Source:[1]

Representatives

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The following players played a representative match in 1997.

Anzac Test Super League Tri-series End of Year Test SL Test Series
Owen Cunningham
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Queensland
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John Lomax
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New Zealand
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Ian Roberts
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New South Wales
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Tyran Smith
New Zealand
New Zealand
-
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Steve Walters
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Queensland
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Australia

Honours

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Club

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References

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  1. ^ "Super League 1997 - 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)