The 2007 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 13th in the club's history. Coached by Graham Murray and captained by Johnathan Thurston, they competed in the NRL's Telstra Premiership. They finished the regular season in 3rd place, falling one game short of the Grand Final after losing to the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles.
Season summary
The Cowboys started the 2007 NRL season strongly, winning their first four games. By the halfway point of the season, they were placed inside the top four, despite losing key forward Luke O'Donnell for the season in Round 4.
In August, News Limited sold its majority stake in the club to the Cowboys Leagues Club for just over $2 million. News Limited took over the club in late 2001, helping it through a turbulent and difficult era.
Following five losses from seven games, the Cowboys dropped to 8th place in Round 20. A strong finish to the regular season, in which they won their final five games, saw them finish in 3rd, their highest ever placing at the time. Their first two finals games were played at home, defeating the Canterbury Bulldogs (20–18) and the New Zealand Warriors (49–12), to move within one game of the Grand Final. The Cowboys' season ended the following week, losing to Manly in the preliminary final.
Club legend Paul Bowman retired at the end of the 2007 season. The last foundation player from the club's inaugural season, Bowman played 203 games for the Cowboys over 13 seasons. The club's Player of the Year medal was named in his honour following his retirement. He became an assistant coach with the club in 2008. 2007 also saw the debut of 19-year-old Scott Bolton, who would go on to play over 150 games for the Cowboys and be a member of their 2015 NRL Grand Final and 2016 World Club Challenge winning sides.
Milestones
Round 1: Sione Faumuina and Jason Smith made their debuts for the club. Round 3: Justin Smith played his 50th game for the club. Round 4: Scott Bolton made his NRL debut for the club. Round 6: Ben Vaeau made his debut for the club. Round 7: Johnathan Thurston played his 50th game for the club. Round 7: Scott Minto made their debuts for the club. Round 7: Ben Farrar made his NRL debut for the club and scored his first NRL try. Round 9: Brett Anderson made his debut for the club. Round 9: Scott Bolton scored his first NRL try. Round 10: Sam Faust made his NRL debut for the club. Round 11: John Frith made his NRL debut for the club. Round 13: Ty Williams played his 100th game for the club. Round 13: Matthew Bartlett made his debut for the club. Round 13: Jackson Nicolau made his NRL debut for the club. Round 18: Aaron Payne played his 100th game for the club. Round 20: Matthew Bowen played his 150th game for the club. Round 22: Carl Webb played his 50th game for the club. Round 25: Paul Bowman played his 200th game for the club, the first player to do so. Finals Week 2: Jacob Lillyman played his 50th game for the club.
Squad List
Squad Movement
2007 Gains
2007 Losses
Ladder
Fixtures
Pre-season
Regular season
Finals
Statistics
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