The 2021 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 27th in the club's history. Coached by

Todd Payten Todd Payten (born 18 January 1979) is an Australian professional rugby league coach who is the head coach of the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL and former professional rugby league footballer. As a player he played as a and forward for ...

and captained by

Jason Taumalolo Vaai "Jason" Taumalolo (born 31 May 1993) is a professional rugby league footballer who captains and plays as a or forward for the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL. He has played for Tonga and New Zealand at international level. Taumalol ...

, they competed in the NRL's 2021 Telstra Premiership. The 2021 season was the Cowboys' first under Payten, who joined the club from the

New Zealand Warriors The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...

on a three-year deal. He became the club's eighth full-time head coach and their 10th overall. On 16 December 2020, Taumalolo was named as co-captain of the club alongside Morgan. The club endured another disappointing season in 2021, missing the finals for the fourth consecutive year.

Season summary

On 9 April , co-captain Michael Morgan announced his immediate retirement from rugby league due to an ongoing shoulder injury.

Milestones

* Round 1: Corey Jensen played his 50th NRL game for the club. * Round 2:

Lachlan Burr Lachlan Burr (born 27 September 1992) is a former Australian professional rugby league footballer who last played as a and for the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL. He previously played for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs, Gold Coast T ...

made his debut for the club. * Round 4:

Coen Hess Coen Hess (born 14 August 1996) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a forward for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League (NRL). He has played at representative level for Queensland in the Stat ...

played his 100th NRL game for the club. * Round 5: Ben Condon scored his first NRL try. * Round 5:

scored his first try for the club. * Round 5: The club won at

Leichhardt Oval Leichhardt Oval is a rugby league and soccer stadium in Lilyfield, New South Wales, Australia. It is currently one of three home grounds for the Wests Tigers National Rugby League (NRL) team, along with Campbelltown Stadium and Western Sydney ...

for the first time since Round 12, 2000. * Round 7: Jake Granville played his 150th NRL game. * Round 10:

played his 200th game for the club. * Round 11: Heilum Luki made his NRL debut. * Round 11: Heilum Luki scored his first NRL try. * Round 11: Valentine Holmes scored his 500th career point. * Round 14:

Tom Dearden Tom Dearden (born 13 March 2001) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a or for the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL (National Rugby League). He previously played for the Brisbane Broncos. He has played at rep ...

made his debut for the club. * Round 15:

scored his first try for the club. * Round 19: Kane Bradley made his NRL debut. * Round 19: Kane Bradley scored his first try for the club. * Round 19:

Kyle Feldt Kyle Feldt (born 9 February 1992) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a er for the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL. Feldt has played for the Prime Minister's XIII, and was a member of the Cowboys' 2015 NRL ...

scored his 100th try for the club. * Round 22: Jeremiah Nanai and

Griffin Neame Griffin Neame (born 1 March 2001) is a New Zealand professional rugby league footballer who plays as a for the North Queensland Cowboys in the National Rugby League (NRL). Background Neame was born in Greymouth, New Zealand. He played his ...

made their NRL debuts. * Round 22: Jeremiah Nanai scored his first NRL try. * Round 23: Laitia Moceidreke made his NRL debut. * Round 23: Laitia Moceidreke scored his first NRL try. * Round 24: Scott Drinkwater played his 50th NRL game. * Round 25: Scott Drinkwater played his 50th game for the club.

Squad

Squad movement

Gains

Losses

Re-signings

Ladder

Fixtures

Pre-season

On 13 February, the Cowboys played the

Townsville Blackhawks The Townsville & Districts Blackhawks are an Australian semi-professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, Queensland. They compete in Queensland's top rugby league competition, the Queensland Cup. The club was admitted to the Que ...

in an unofficial hour-long scrimmage match in

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire Subdivisions of Scotland, council area and the historic Shires of Scotlan ...

Regular season

Statistics

Representatives

The following players have played a representative match in 2021.

Honours

Club

* Paul Bowman Medal:

*Players' Player: Murray Taulagi *The Cowboys Way Award: Jake Granville *Member's Player of the Year: Jake Granville *Club Person of the Year:

Ben Hampton Ben Hampton (born 29 February 1992) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who plays as a utility for the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL. Hampton previously played for the Melbourne Storm and has played in a number of posi ...

*Rookie of the Year: Heilum Luki

Feeder Clubs

Queensland Cup The Queensland Cup, currently known as the Hostplus Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level regional rugby league football competition in Queensland, Australia. It is run by the Queensland Rugby League (QRL) and is contested by fou ...

Mackay Cutters The Mackay Cutters are a semi-professional rugby league football club based in Mackay, Queensland. They compete in Queensland's top rugby league competition, the Queensland Cup. The club was admitted to the Queensland Cup in 2007, alongside th ...

- 12th, missed finals * Northern Pride - 9th, missed finals *

- 7th, lost elimination final

Women's Team

QRL Women's Premiership The QRL Women's Premiership, known as the BMD Premiership due to sponsorship from BMD Group, is the top level of women's rugby league football in Queensland, Australia. Run by the Queensland Rugby League, the competition is Queensland's first s ...

* North Queensland Gold Stars - 3rd, lost semi final

References

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