Coming off the back of their maiden Grand Final appearance, the Cowboys were strong premiership favourites heading into the 2006 season. They looked like they would be living up to those expectations, with a six-game winning streak to start the season. It wouldn't last though, as the club would lose eight of their next 10, including a six-game losing streak which left them outside the Top 8 halfway through the season. A win against arch-rivals Brisbane in the Queensland derby put them into 6th place with six games remaining but they would lose Johnathan Thurston to injury and another losing streak followed, dashing their finals aspirations. Wins over South Sydney and Parramatta ended their season a good note but it wasn't enough, the pre-season title favourites finishing the season in 9th.
Despite the disappointing season, 2006 saw the debut of club legend Gavin Cooper, who made his debut in Round 2. Cooper would leave the club at the end of the year, spending two seasons with the Gold Coast Titans and two with the Penrith Panthers before rejoining the Cowboys in 2011. Cooper would become an integral part of the club, starting in their 2015 NRL Grand Final and 2016 World Club Challenge winning sides.
2006 was also the final season for club stalwarts Travis Norton and Matt Sing. Norton, who captained the side from 2004 to 2007, and Sing, who scored 73 tries for the club and rejuvenated his career in the process, were key figures in the club's transformation from cellar dwellers into a credible premiership threat. In 2015, Sing was one of the two inaugural inductees into the Cowboys Hall of Fame.
1 The Melbourne Storm were later stripped of this minor premiership due to gross salary cap breaches. 2 The New Zealand Warriors were deducted 4 competition points due to gross salary cap breaches.
2006, north, queensland, cowboys, season, 12th, club, history, coached, graham, murray, captained, travis, norton, they, competed, 2006, telstra, premiership, rank9thplay, resultmissed, finalsrecordwins, draws, losses, 13points, scoredfor, against, 463team, in. The 2006 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 12th in the club s history Coached by Graham Murray and captained by Travis Norton they competed in the NRL s 2006 Telstra Premiership 2006 North Queensland Cowboys seasonNRL Rank9thPlay off resultMissed finalsrecordWins 11 draws 0 losses 13Points scoredFor 450 against 463Team informationCEOPeter ParrCoachGraham MurrayCaptainTravis NortonStadiumDairy Farmers StadiumAvg attendance19 681High attendance24 658 vs Brisbane Broncos Round 20 Top scorersTriesMatt Sing 13 GoalsJohnathan Thurston 49 PointsJohnathan Thurston 142 2005 2007 Contents 1 Season summary 1 1 Milestones 2 Squad List 3 Squad Movement 3 1 2006 Gains 3 2 2006 Losses 4 Ladder 5 Fixtures 5 1 Regular season 6 Statistics 7 Representatives 8 Honours 8 1 League 8 2 Club 9 Feeder Clubs 9 1 Queensland Cup 10 References 11 External linksSeason summary editComing off the back of their maiden Grand Final appearance the Cowboys were strong premiership favourites heading into the 2006 season They looked like they would be living up to those expectations with a six game winning streak to start the season It wouldn t last though as the club would lose eight of their next 10 including a six game losing streak which left them outside the Top 8 halfway through the season A win against arch rivals Brisbane in the Queensland derby put them into 6th place with six games remaining but they would lose Johnathan Thurston to injury and another losing streak followed dashing their finals aspirations Wins over South Sydney and Parramatta ended their season a good note but it wasn t enough the pre season title favourites finishing the season in 9th Despite the disappointing season 2006 saw the debut of club legend Gavin Cooper who made his debut in Round 2 Cooper would leave the club at the end of the year spending two seasons with the Gold Coast Titans and two with the Penrith Panthers before rejoining the Cowboys in 2011 Cooper would become an integral part of the club starting in their 2015 NRL Grand Final and 2016 World Club Challenge winning sides 2006 was also the final season for club stalwarts Travis Norton and Matt Sing Norton who captained the side from 2004 to 2007 and Sing who scored 73 tries for the club and rejuvenated his career in the process were key figures in the club s transformation from cellar dwellers into a credible premiership threat In 2015 Sing was one of the two inaugural inductees into the Cowboys Hall of Fame Milestones edit Round 2 Clint Amos and Gavin Cooper made their NRL debuts Round 4 Mitchell Sargent played his 50th game for the club Round 5 Shane Tronc played his 50th game for the club Round 5 Gavin Cooper scored his first NRL try Round 7 Steve Southern played his 50th game for the club Round 7 Ashley Graham made his debut for the club Round 10 Robert Tanielu made his debut for the club Round 14 Travis Norton played his 50th game for the club Round 16 Rod Jensen played his 50th game for the club Round 16 Ray Cashmere made his debut for the club Round 17 Mark Henry and Brent McConnell made their NRL debuts Round 17 Brent McConnell scored his first NRL try Round 21 Mark Henry scored his first NRL try Round 22 David Faiumu played his 50th game for the club Round 22 Matt Sing played his 100th game for the club Round 26 Josh Hannay played his 150th game for the club Squad List editNorth Queensland Cowboys NRL Squad 2006 First team squad Coaching staffClint Amos HK Brett Anderson CE Jason Barsley WG Brenton Bowen WG Matthew Bowen FB Paul Bowman CE Ray Cashmere PR Gavin Cooper SR Mark Dalle Cort SR David Faiumu HK Brett Firman FE Ashley Graham WG Josh Hannay CE Mark Henry WG Rod Jensen LK Jacob Lillyman PR Ben Lowe SR Brent McConnell HB Shane Muspratt FE Travis Norton c LK Luke O Donnell SR Aaron Payne HK Mitchell Sargent PR Matthew Scott PR Justin Smith SR Steve Southern SR Daniel Strickland SR Neil Sweeney WG Robert Tanielu PR Johnathan Thurston HB Shane Tronc PR Carl Webb PR Ty Williams WG Head coach Graham MurrayAssistant coaches Neil Henry assistant coach Grant Bell assistant coach Kelly Egan football manager Billy Johnstone strength amp conditioning coach Legend c Captain s vc Vice captain s Squad Movement edit2006 Gains edit Player Signed FromRussell Aitken nbsp Cronulla SharksBrett Anderson nbsp Parramatta EelsRay Cashmere nbsp Wests TigersAshley Graham nbsp Parramatta Eels mid season Mark Henry nbsp Central CometsRobert Tanielu nbsp Melbourne Storm2006 Losses edit Player Signed ToRussell Aitken nbsp Melbourne Storm mid season Jaiman Lowe nbsp South Sydney RabbitohsMicheal Luck nbsp WarriorsLeigh McWilliams RetiredDavid Myles nbsp Toulouse OlympiquePaul Rauhihi nbsp Warrington WolvesLadder edit2006 NRL seasonvtePos Team Pld W D L B PF PA PD Pts1 nbsp Melbourne Storm 24 20 0 4 2 605 404 201 4412 nbsp Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs 24 16 0 8 2 608 468 140 363 nbsp Brisbane Broncos P 24 14 0 10 2 497 392 105 324 nbsp Newcastle Knights 24 14 0 10 2 608 538 70 325 nbsp Manly Warringah Sea Eagles 24 14 0 10 2 534 493 41 326 nbsp St George Illawarra Dragons 24 14 0 10 2 519 481 38 327 nbsp Canberra Raiders 24 13 0 11 2 525 573 48 308 nbsp Parramatta Eels 24 12 0 12 2 506 483 23 289 nbsp North Queensland Cowboys 24 11 0 13 2 450 463 13 2610 nbsp New Zealand Warriors 24 12 0 12 2 552 463 89 24211 nbsp Wests Tigers 24 10 0 14 2 490 565 75 2412 nbsp Penrith Panthers 24 10 0 14 2 510 587 77 2413 nbsp Cronulla Sutherland Sharks 24 9 0 15 2 515 544 29 2214 nbsp Sydney Roosters 24 8 0 16 2 528 650 122 2015 nbsp South Sydney Rabbitohs 24 3 0 21 2 429 772 343 101 The Melbourne Storm were later stripped of this minor premiership due to gross salary cap breaches 2 The New Zealand Warriors were deducted 4 competition points due to gross salary cap breaches Fixtures editRegular season edit Date Round Opponent Venue Score Tries Goals Attendance12 March Round 1 nbsp Brisbane Broncos Suncorp Stadium 36 4 Thurston 3 Bowen Sing Sweeney Thurston 6 7 46 22918 March Round 2 nbsp Manly Sea Eagles Dairy Farmers Stadium 20 16 Sing 3 Firman Thurston 2 6 23 93625 March Round 3 nbsp Melbourne Storm Dairy Farmers Stadium 40 8 Thurston 2 Bowman O Donnell Sweeney Williams Thurston 8 8 21 34631 March Round 4 nbsp Parramatta Eels Parramatta Stadium 26 18 Sing 2 Faiumu Scott Thurston 5 6 15 1317 April Round 5 nbsp Wests Tigers Dairy Farmers Stadium 32 12 Jensen 2 Cooper Sing Thurston Thurston 6 7 20 26216 April Round 6 nbsp Newcastle Knights EnergyAustralia Stadium 18 16 Bowen Sargent Thurston Thurston 3 3 26 04822 April Round 7 nbsp Cronulla Sharks Toyota Park 22 24 O Donnell 2 Jensen Sing Thurston 3 4 9 02529 April Round 8 nbsp Sydney Roosters Dairy Farmers Stadium 18 22 Payne Sweeney Thurston Thurston 3 3 21 1756 May Round 9 nbsp Penrith Panthers Dairy Farmers Stadium 22 6 B Bowen Payne Thurston Tronc Thurston 3 4 16 80813 May Round 10 nbsp Melbourne Storm Olympic Park 6 18 B Bowen Thurston 1 1 10 830Round 11 Bye27 May Round 12 nbsp Canberra Raiders Dairy Farmers Stadium 14 15 Cooper Thurston Thurston 3 3 16 9714 June Round 13 nbsp Wests Tigers Telstra Stadium 14 24 Bowman Cooper Thurston Thurston 1 3 16 73610 June Round 14 nbsp Cronulla Sharks Dairy Farmers Stadium 4 26 B Bowen Hannay 0 1 16 77818 June Round 15 nbsp Canterbury Bulldogs Carrara Stadium 12 20 B Bowen Bowman Thurston 2 2 16 23124 June Round 16 nbsp St George Illawarra Dragons WIN Stadium 14 34 Hannay Sing Sweeney Thurston 1 4 13 2891 July Round 17 nbsp South Sydney Rabbitohs Dairy Farmers Stadium 16 14 Payne 2 McConnell McConnell 1 1 Smith 1 2 17 506Round 18 Bye15 July Round 19 nbsp Penrith Panthers CUA Stadium 8 17 Southern Thurston 2 2 8 21222 July Round 20 nbsp Brisbane Broncos Dairy Farmers Stadium 26 10 Sing 3 Graham Hannay Hannay 3 6 24 65830 July Round 21 nbsp Sydney Roosters Sydney Football Stadium 20 40 Henry Graham Sing Hannay 2 4 7 6175 August Round 22 nbsp Canterbury Bulldogs Dairy Farmers Stadium 14 54 Graham Henry Scott Graham 1 2 Smith 0 1 20 48612 August Round 23 nbsp Warriors Mt Smart Stadium 0 26 5 42519 August Round 24 nbsp Newcastle Knights Dairy Farmers Stadium 12 19 Smith Sweeney McConnell 1 1 Sweeney 1 1 17 89827 August Round 25 nbsp South Sydney Rabbitohs Telstra Stadium 34 12 Smith 2 Bowen Faiumu O Donnell Payne Graham 5 7 8 9141 September Round 26 nbsp Parramatta Eels Dairy Farmers Stadium 22 8 Bowen 2 Payne Sweeney Hannay 3 4 18 351Legend Win Loss Draw ByeStatistics editName App T G FG PtsClint Amos 6 Brenton Bowen 7 4 16Matthew Bowen 24 5 20Paul Bowman 16 3 12Ray Cashmere 6 Gavin Cooper 18 3 12David Faiumu 18 2 8Brett Firman 7 1 4Ashley Graham 14 3 6 24Josh Hannay 9 2 8 24Mark Henry 8 3 12Rod Jensen 12 3 12Jacob Lillyman 15 Brent McConnell 3 1 2 8Shane Muspratt 2 Travis Norton 20 Luke O Donnell 16 4 16Aaron Payne 21 6 24Mitchell Sargent 20 1 4Matthew Scott 22 2 8Matt Sing 24 13 52Justin Smith 22 3 1 14Steve Southern 18 1 4Daniel Strickland 1 Neil Sweeney 13 6 1 26Robert Tanielu 3 Johnathan Thurston 17 11 49 142Shane Tronc 21 1 4Carl Webb 20 Ty Williams 5 1 4Totals 79 67 0 450Source 1 Representatives editThe following players played a representative match in 2006 ANZAC Test City vs Country State of Origin 1 State of Origin 2 State of Origin 3 Tri Nations World Cup qualifiersMatthew Bowen Queensland David Faiumu New Zealand Josh Hannay Queensland Jacob Lillyman Queensland Luke O Donnell Australia New South Wales New South Wales Australia Mitchell Sargent Country Matthew Scott Queensland Malo Solomona SamoaJohnathan Thurston Australia Queensland Queensland Queensland Australia Carl Webb Queensland Queensland Queensland Honours editLeague edit Wally Lewis Medal Johnathan ThurstonClub edit Player of the Year Aaron Payne Player s Player Luke O Donnell Club Person of the Year Glen MurphyFeeder Clubs editQueensland Cup edit nbsp North Queensland Young Guns 2nd lost semi finalReferences edit NRL 2006 North Queensland Cowboys Rugby League Project External links editOfficial North Queensland Cowboys Website 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 2006 North Queensland Cowboys season amp oldid 1197307657, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
