1998 North Queensland Cowboys season

June 2020 August 2019 1998 navy white NRL NRL 16th 9 0 15 361 556 Missed finals Coach Tim Sheens John Lomax Malanda Stadium 17,034 30,250 (vs. Brisbane Broncos, Round 22) Josh Hannay (15) Josh Hannay (29) Josh Hannay (118) 1997 1999 The 1998 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 4th in the club's history. Coached by Tim Sheens and captained by John Lomax, they competed in the inaugural season of the newly formed National Rugby League (NRL) competition. Season summary After a disappointing 1997 season, the Cowboys entered the newly unified National Rugby League competition with high hopes. While the squad from a year earlier was kept mostly the same, the club added former Australia and Queensland representative and local favourite Dale Shearer, veteran forward Dale Fritz from the recently folded Perth Reds and former Canberra Raiders flyer Noa Nadruku, who reunited with coach Tim Sheens. The year got off to the best start possible, as the club went on a four-game winning streak, the first time they'd won three and four games in a row. They then bounced back from a big loss to Brisbane in Round 5, with a 17-4 win over Newcastle. After six rounds, the club sat in equal 1st on 10 competition points and a maiden finals appearance looked to be a real possibility. It turned out to be false dawn, as a five-game losing streak followed. The club would then make history in Round 12, defeating the Penrith Panthers 36-28, after trailing 26-0 at half time. As of 2019, this still stands as the biggest comeback victory in Australian first grade history. They followed that up with another milestone, recording 40 points in a game for the first time, defeating the Western Suburbs Magpies 40-10. Over the last 10 rounds, the club would win just two games, finishing in 16th place after such a promising start to the season. The club's lone representative in 1998, New Zealand's John Lomax, was named Player of the Year and Players' Player. The club blooded two talented 18-year-olds during the season, Moranbah's Josh Hannay and Mt Isa's Scott Prince. Hannay, whose planned debut in 1996 as a 16-year-old was vetoed by the ARL, played 21 games and was the club's top try and point scorer. He went onto set numerous point scoring records for the club, playing 150 games over nine seasons, and representing Queensland on two occasions. Prince, a Junior Kangaroo in 1998, played 16 games (10 of those off the bench) and would play 53 games over three seasons before joining the Cowboys' arch-rivals, the Brisbane Broncos, in 2001. In 2005, he guided the Wests Tigers to their maiden premiership, defeating the Cowboys in the Grand Final. Milestones Round 1: Dale Fritz, Noa Nadruku, Dale Shearer and Scott Wilson made their debuts for the club. Round 2: Ray Mercy became the first player to score four tries in a match for the club. Round 3: Josh Hannay made his NRL debut. Round 3: The club won three games in a row for the first time. Round 4: Scott Prince made his NRL debut. Round 4: The club won four games in a row for the first time. Round 12: The club overcame a 26-0 half time deficit to defeat Penrith 36-28 (Biggest comeback in NSWRL/ARL/NRL history). Round 13: The club scored 40 points in a game for the first time. Round 14: Paul Pensini made his NRL debut. Round 19: Scott Donald made his NRL debut. Round 20: John Malu made his NRL debut. Round 21: Andrew Dunemann played his 50th game for the club, the first player to do so. Round 23: Scott Whiting made his NRL debut. Round 24: Denny Lambert made his NRL debut. Squad list North Queensland Cowboys NRL Squad 1998 navy white #c0c0c0 black AUS FB Jimmy Ahmat AUS CE Paul Bowman AUS PR John Buttigieg AUS SR Michael Coorey AUS SR Owen Cunningham AUS LK Jason Death AUS WG Scott Donald AUS HB John Doyle AUS FE Andrew Dunemann AUS HB Jason Ferris AUS LK Dale Fritz AUS CE Josh Hannay AUS SR Liam Johnson AUS SR Peter Jones AUS HB Denny Lambert AUS PR Martin Locke AUS PR John Lomax y AUS FB Scott Mahon AUS WG John Malu AUS CE Ray Mercy AUS HK Leigh McWilliams AUS SR Glen Murphy AUS CE Noa Nadruku AUS PR Paul Pensini AUS FE Scott Prince AUS PR Ian Roberts AUS SR Luke Scott AUS FB Dale Shearer AUS SR Mark Shipway AUS LK Bert Tabuai AUS WG Kris Tassell AUS HK Steve Walters AUS SR Kyle Warren AUS WG Adam Warwick AUS CE Scott Whiting AUS FB Scott Wilson Tim Sheens Mark Graham (assistant coach) Murray Hurst (assistant coach) Squad movement 1998 Gains Player Signed from Dale Fritz Western Reds 16 Perth Reds Leigh McWilliams Hunter 16 Hunter Mariners Noa Nadruku Canberra 16 Canberra Raiders Dale Shearer Sydney Roosters 16 Sydney City Roosters Scott Wilson Western Reds 16 Perth Reds 1998 Losses Player Signed To Dion Cope Released Reggie Cressbrook Townsville Stingers 16 Townsville StingersAnniversary Team http://www.qrl.com.au/intrust-super-cup/anniversary-team.html QRL 28 March 2026 Ian Dunemann Townsville Stingers 16 Townsville Stingers Aaron Ketchell Released Justin Loomans South Sydney 16 South Sydney Rabbitohs Marshall Miller Balmain Tigers 16 Wests Tigers Mackay Wests Tigers Mackay Honour Board http://www.weststigersmackay.com.au/index.php/about/honour-board www.weststigersmackay.com.au 28 March 2026 Luke Phillips Manly 16 Manly Sea Eagles John Skardon Released Shane Vincent Released Scott Wilson Canterbury 16 Canterbury Bulldogs (mid-season) Ladder Fixtures Regular season Date Round Opponent Venue Score Tries Goals Attendance13 MarchRound 1Adelaide 16 Adelaide RamsAdelaide Rams18 – 8 Nadruku, Shearer, Walters Ferris (3/5) 11,28921 MarchRound 2Balmain 16 Balmain TigersMalanda Stadium26 – 2 Mercy (4), Tassell Dunemann (2/3), Ferris (1/5) 18,39929 MarchRound 3Parramatta 16 Parramatta EelsParramatta Stadium16 – 15 Bowman, Hannay, Tassell Ferris (1/2, 2 FG), Hannay (0/1) 10,1774 AprilRound 4Canberra 16 Canberra RaidersMalanda Stadium14 – 12 Murphy, Nadruku Doyle (1/2), Ferris (1/1), Hannay (1/1) 20,04812 AprilRound 5Brisbane 16 Brisbane BroncosANZ Stadium4 – 58 Hannay Hannay (0/1) 20,90418 AprilRound 6Newcastle 16 Newcastle KnightsMalanda Stadium17 – 4 Warren (2), Hannay Hannay (2/5), Dunemann (1 FG) 18,42825 AprilRound 7Sydney Roosters 16 Sydney City RoostersMalanda Stadium16 – 50 Mercy, Tassell, Warren Hannay (2/3) 21,0272 MayRound 8Cronulla 16 Cronulla SharksShark Park8 – 16 Hannay, Roberts Hannay (0/2) 5,9789 MayRound 9Canterbury 16 Canterbury BulldogsMalanda Stadium18 – 24 Ahmat, Hannay, Mahon, Mercy Doyle (1/3), Hannay (0/2) 15,28817 MayRound 10Canberra 16 Canberra RaidersBruce Stadium12 – 50 Cunningham, Tassell Hannay (2/2) 8,29123 MayRound 11Parramatta 16 Parramatta EelsMalanda Stadium12 – 29 Hannay, Tassell Hannay (2/3) 17,36129 MayRound 12Penrith 16 Penrith PanthersPenrith Panthers36 – 28 Nadruku (3), Dunemann (2), Mercy, Shipway Hannay (4/7) 8,6856 JuneRound 13Western Suburbs 16 Western Suburbs MagpiesMalanda Stadium40 – 10 Nadruku (2), Ferris, Mercy, Prince, Tassell, Warren, Warwick Shearer (2/2), Dunemann (1/1), Ferris (1/4), Warren (0/1) 10,62814 JuneRound 14St George 16 St George DragonsKogarah Oval14 – 16 Mercy (2), Hannay Hannay (1/3) 9,48620 JuneRound 15Melbourne 16 Melbourne StormMalanda Stadium8 – 10 Mercy Hannay (2/3) 24,46428 JuneRound 16Illawarra 16 Illawarra SteelersWIN Stadium18 – 24 Hannay (2), Nadruku, Tabuai Hannay (1/4) 6,5584 JulyRound 17Gold Coast Chargers 16 Gold Coast ChargersMalanda Stadium14 – 4 Hannay, Shearer Hannay (3/4) 7,12711 JulyRound 18Balmain 16 Balmain TigersLeichhardt Oval0 – 18 10,65318 JulyRound 19Adelaide 16 Adelaide RamsMalanda Stadium14 – 10 Hannay, Locke Hannay (3/4) 11,34025 JulyRound 20South Sydney 16 South Sydney RabbitohsMalanda Stadium16 – 22 Dunemann, Nadruku, Walters Hannay (2/3) 10,40931 JulyRound 21Auckland 16 Auckland WarriorsEricsson Stadium18 – 34 Hannay, Mercy, Shipway Hannay (3/4) 4,5008 AugustRound 22Brisbane 16 Brisbane BroncosMalanda Stadium10 – 22 Nadruku (2) Hannay (1/3) 30,25016 AugustRound 23Manly 16 Manly Sea EaglesBrookvale Oval12 – 28 Hannay (3) Hannay (0/3) 8,42223 AugustRound 24North Sydney 16 North Sydney BearsNorth Sydney Oval0 – 62 15,604 Legend: #CCFFCC Win 1px solid #AAAAAA #FFBBBB Loss 1px solid #AAAAAA #FFFFCC Draw 1px solid #AAAAAA #cfecec Bye 1px solid #AAAAAA Statistics NameAppTGFGPtsJimmy Ahmat21--4Paul Bowman Paul Bowman (rugby league)61--4John Buttigieg John Buttigieg (rugby league)9----Michael Coorey7----Owen Cunningham231--4Jason Death17----Scott Donald1----John Doyle John Doyle (rugby league)8-2-4Andrew Dunemann2133119Jason Ferris1917220Dale Fritz21----Josh Hannay211529-118Liam Johnson Liam Johnson (rugby league, born 1977)2----Denny Lambert Denny Lambert (rugby league)1----Martin Locke171--4John Lomax John Lomax (rugby league)21----Scott Mahon41--4John Malu2----Ray Mercy2412--48Glen Murphy Glen Murphy (rugby league)91--4Noa Nadruku2211--44Paul Pensini6----Scott Prince161--4Ian Roberts Ian Roberts (rugby league)121--4Luke Scott Luke Scott (rugby league)10----Dale Shearer1322-12Mark Shipway192--8Bert Tabuai51--4Kris Tassell186--24Steve Walters222--8Kyle Warren204--16Adam Warwick71--4Scott Whiting1----Scott Wilson Scott Wilson (rugby league born 1970)2---- Totals 68 43 3 361 Source:http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/seasons/nrl-1998/north-queensland-cowboys/summary.html NRL 1998 - North Queensland Cowboys - Rugby League Project www.rugbyleagueproject.org Representatives The following players played a representative match in 1998. Anzac Test John Lomax New Zealand Feeder Clubs Queensland Cup Townsville Stingers 16 Townsville Stingers - 7th, missed finals Honours Club Player of the Year: John Lomax Players' Player: John Lomax Club Person of the Year: Scott Mahon References 19 18 58 S 146 42 43 E type:event_region:AU-QLD title Willow Sports Complex Category:North Queensland Cowboys seasons North Queensland Cowboys