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.
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.
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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 1998 North Queensland Cowboys seasonNRL Rank16thPlay off resultMissed finals1998 recordWins 9 draws 0 losses 15Points scoredFor 361 against 556Team informationCoachTim SheensCaptainJohn LomaxStadiumMalanda StadiumAvg attendance17 034High attendance30 250 vs Brisbane Broncos Round 22 Top scorersTriesJosh Hannay 15 GoalsJosh Hannay 29 PointsJosh Hannay 118 1997 1999 Contents 1 Season summary 1 1 Milestones 2 Squad list 3 Squad movement 3 1 1998 Gains 3 2 1998 Losses 4 Ladder 5 Fixtures 5 1 Regular season 6 Statistics 7 Representatives 8 Feeder Clubs 8 1 Queensland Cup 9 Honours 9 1 Club 10 ReferencesSeason summary editAfter 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 edit 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 editNorth Queensland Cowboys NRL Squad 1998 First team squad Coaching staff Jimmy Ahmat FB Paul Bowman CE John Buttigieg PR Michael Coorey SR Owen Cunningham SR Jason Death LK Scott Donald WG John Doyle HB Andrew Dunemann FE Jason Ferris HB Dale Fritz LK Josh Hannay CE Liam Johnson SR Peter Jones SR Denny Lambert HB Martin Locke PR John Lomax c PR Scott Mahon FB John Malu WG Ray Mercy CE Leigh McWilliams HK Glen Murphy SR Noa Nadruku CE Paul Pensini PR Scott Prince FE Ian Roberts PR Luke Scott SR Dale Shearer FB Mark Shipway SR Bert Tabuai LK Kris Tassell WG Steve Walters HK Kyle Warren SR Adam Warwick WG Scott Whiting CE Scott Wilson FB Head coach Tim Sheens Assistant coaches Mark Graham assistant coach Murray Hurst assistant coach Legend c Captain s vc Vice captain s Squad movement edit1998 Gains edit Player Signed From Dale Fritz nbsp Perth Reds Leigh McWilliams nbsp Hunter Mariners Noa Nadruku nbsp Canberra Raiders Dale Shearer nbsp Sydney City Roosters Scott Wilson nbsp Perth Reds 1998 Losses edit Player Signed To Justin Loomans nbsp South Sydney Rabbitohs Luke Phillips nbsp Manly Sea Eagles Scott Wilson nbsp Canterbury Bulldogs mid season Ladder edit1998 NRL seasonvte Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD Pts 1 nbsp Brisbane Broncos P 24 18 1 5 688 310 378 37 2 nbsp Newcastle Knights 24 18 1 5 562 381 181 37 3 nbsp Melbourne Storm 24 17 1 6 546 372 174 35 4 nbsp Parramatta Eels 24 17 1 6 468 349 119 35 5 nbsp North Sydney Bears 24 17 0 7 663 367 296 34 6 nbsp Sydney City Roosters 24 16 0 8 680 383 297 32 7 nbsp Canberra Raiders 24 15 0 9 564 429 135 30 8 nbsp St George Dragons 24 13 1 10 486 490 4 27 9 nbsp Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs 24 13 0 11 489 411 78 26 10 nbsp Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 24 13 0 11 503 473 30 26 11 nbsp Cronulla Sutherland Sharks 24 12 1 11 438 387 51 25 12 nbsp Illawarra Steelers 24 11 1 12 476 539 63 23 13 nbsp Balmain Tigers 24 9 1 14 381 463 82 19 14 nbsp Penrith Panthers 24 8 2 14 525 580 55 18 15 nbsp Auckland Warriors 24 9 0 15 417 518 101 18 16 nbsp North Queensland Cowboys 24 9 0 15 361 556 195 18 17 nbsp Adelaide Rams 24 7 0 17 393 615 222 14 18 nbsp South Sydney Rabbitohs 24 5 0 19 339 560 221 10 19 nbsp Gold Coast Chargers 24 4 0 20 289 654 365 8 20 nbsp Western Suburbs Magpies 24 4 0 20 371 802 431 8Fixtures editRegular season edit Date Round Opponent Venue Score Tries Goals Attendance 13 March Round 1 nbsp Adelaide Rams Adelaide Rams 18 8 Nadruku Shearer Walters Ferris 3 5 11 289 21 March Round 2 nbsp Balmain Tigers Malanda Stadium 26 2 Mercy 4 Tassell Dunemann 2 3 Ferris 1 5 18 399 29 March Round 3 nbsp Parramatta Eels Parramatta Stadium 16 15 Bowman Hannay Tassell Ferris 1 2 2 FG Hannay 0 1 10 177 4 April Round 4 nbsp Canberra Raiders Malanda Stadium 14 12 Murphy Nadruku Doyle 1 2 Ferris 1 1 Hannay 1 1 20 048 12 April Round 5 nbsp Brisbane Broncos ANZ Stadium 4 58 Hannay Hannay 0 1 20 904 18 April Round 6 nbsp Newcastle Knights Malanda Stadium 17 4 Warren 2 Hannay Hannay 2 5 Dunemann 1 FG 18 428 25 April Round 7 nbsp Sydney City Roosters Malanda Stadium 16 50 Mercy Tassell Warren Hannay 2 3 21 027 2 May Round 8 nbsp Cronulla Sharks Shark Park 8 16 Hannay Roberts Hannay 0 2 5 978 9 May Round 9 nbsp Canterbury Bulldogs Malanda Stadium 18 24 Ahmat Hannay Mahon Mercy Doyle 1 3 Hannay 0 2 15 288 17 May Round 10 nbsp Canberra Raiders Bruce Stadium 12 50 Cunningham Tassell Hannay 2 2 8 291 23 May Round 11 nbsp Parramatta Eels Malanda Stadium 12 29 Hannay Tassell Hannay 2 3 17 361 29 May Round 12 nbsp Penrith Panthers Penrith Panthers 36 28 Nadruku 3 Dunemann 2 Mercy Shipway Hannay 4 7 8 685 6 June Round 13 nbsp Western Suburbs Magpies Malanda Stadium 40 10 Nadruku 2 Ferris Mercy Prince Tassell Warren Warwick Shearer 2 2 Dunemann 1 1 Ferris 1 4 Warren 0 1 10 628 14 June Round 14 nbsp St George Dragons Kogarah Oval 14 16 Mercy 2 Hannay Hannay 1 3 9 486 20 June Round 15 nbsp Melbourne Storm Malanda Stadium 8 10 Mercy Hannay 2 3 24 464 28 June Round 16 nbsp Illawarra Steelers WIN Stadium 18 24 Hannay 2 Nadruku Tabuai Hannay 1 4 6 558 4 July Round 17 nbsp Gold Coast Chargers Malanda Stadium 14 4 Hannay Shearer Hannay 3 4 7 127 11 July Round 18 nbsp Balmain Tigers Leichhardt Oval 0 18 10 653 18 July Round 19 nbsp Adelaide Rams Malanda Stadium 14 10 Hannay Locke Hannay 3 4 11 340 25 July Round 20 nbsp South Sydney Rabbitohs Malanda Stadium 16 22 Dunemann Nadruku Walters Hannay 2 3 10 409 31 July Round 21 nbsp Auckland Warriors Ericsson Stadium 18 34 Hannay Mercy Shipway Hannay 3 4 4 500 8 August Round 22 nbsp Brisbane Broncos Malanda Stadium 10 22 Nadruku 2 Hannay 1 3 30 250 16 August Round 23 nbsp Manly Sea Eagles Brookvale Oval 12 28 Hannay 3 Hannay 0 3 8 422 23 August Round 24 nbsp North Sydney Bears North Sydney Oval 0 62 15 604 Legend Win Loss Draw ByeStatistics editName App T G FG Pts Jimmy Ahmat 2 1 4 Paul Bowman 6 1 4 John Buttigieg 9 Michael Coorey 7 Owen Cunningham 23 1 4 Jason Death 17 Scott Donald 1 John Doyle 8 2 4 Andrew Dunemann 21 3 3 1 19 Jason Ferris 19 1 7 2 20 Dale Fritz 21 Josh Hannay 21 15 29 118 Liam Johnson 2 Denny Lambert 1 Martin Locke 17 1 4 John Lomax 21 Scott Mahon 4 1 4 John Malu 2 Ray Mercy 24 12 48 Glen Murphy 9 1 4 Noa Nadruku 22 11 44 Paul Pensini 6 Scott Prince 16 1 4 Ian Roberts 12 1 4 Luke Scott 10 Dale Shearer 13 2 2 12 Mark Shipway 19 2 8 Bert Tabuai 5 1 4 Kris Tassell 18 6 24 Steve Walters 22 2 8 Kyle Warren 20 4 16 Adam Warwick 7 1 4 Scott Whiting 1 Scott Wilson 2 Totals 68 43 3 361 Source 1 Representatives editThe following players played a representative match in 1998 Anzac Test John Lomax New ZealandFeeder Clubs editQueensland Cup edit nbsp Townsville Stingers 7th missed finalsHonours editClub edit Player of the Year John Lomax Players Player John Lomax Club Person of the Year Scott MahonReferences edit NRL 1998 North Queensland Cowboys Rugby League Project www rugbyleagueproject org 19 18 58 S 146 42 43 E 19 31611 S 146 71194 E 19 31611 146 71194 Willow Sports Complex Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 1998 North Queensland Cowboys season amp oldid 1197307196, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
