2026 North Queensland Cowboys season
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NRL Rank6th
2026 recordWins: 5; draws: 0; losses: 3
Points scoredFor: 211; against: 215
CoachTodd Payten
| 2026 North Queensland Cowboys season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NRL Rank | 6th | |||
| 2026 record | Wins: 5; draws: 0; losses: 3 | |||
| Points scored | For: 211; against: 215 | |||
| Team information | ||||
| Coach | Todd Payten | |||
| Captain | ||||
| Stadium | Queensland Country Bank Stadium | |||
| ||||
The 2026 North Queensland Cowboys season is the 32nd in the club's history. Coached by Todd Payten and captained by Reuben Cotter and Tom Dearden, they compete in the NRL's 2026 Telstra Premiership.
The club played its first game in the United States in 2026 with their Round 1 fixture against the Newcastle Knights in Las Vegas.[1][2][3]
Milestones
Squad
| Top 30 squad – 2026 NRL season | Development list | Coaching staff | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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Head coach Assistant coaches
Updated: 25 April 2026 | |||||
Squad movement
Gains
| Player | Signed from | Until end of | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ethan King |  Sydney Roosters | 2027 | |
| Matthew Lodge |  Manly Sea Eagles | 2026 | |
| Reed Mahoney |  Canterbury Bulldogs | 2028 | |
| Ronald Philitoga |  Wynnum Manly Seagulls | 2026 | |
| Liam Sutton | Wynnum Manly Seagulls | 2026 | |
| James Walsh |  Dolphins | 2028 |
Losses
| Player | Signed to | Until end of | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marly Bitungane |  London Broncos | 2026 | |
| Tom Duffy |  Brisbane Broncos | 2026 | |
| Temple Kalepo | Wynnum Manly Seagulls | 2026 | |
| Nic Lenaz |  Townsville Blackhawks | 2026 | |
| Jeremiah Mata'utia |  Leeds Rhinos | 2026 | |
| Jordan McLean | Retired | – | |
| Reece Robson | Sydney Roosters | 2029 | |
| Jamal Shibasaki | Wynnum Manly Seagulls | 2026 | |
| Semi Valemei |  Castleford Tigers | 2027 |
Re-signings
Ladder
Fixtures
Pre-season
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 7 February | Trial 1 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Jubilee Oval | 34 – 30 | Derby (2), Barber, Laybutt, Luki, O'Donnell | Clifford (4/5), Sutton (1/1) | 3,926 | |||
| Friday, 13 February | Trial 2 |  Penrith Panthers | BB Print Stadium | 66 – 24 | O'Donnell (3), Burns (2), Clifford (2), Drinkwater, Luki, Mikaele, Purdue, Taulagi | Drinkwater (6/8), Clifford (2/3), Sutton (1/1) | ||||
| Legend: Win Loss Draw Bye | ||||||||||
Regular season
Matches
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, February 28 | Round 1 |  Newcastle Knights | Allegiant Stadium | 18 – 28 | Luki, Taulagi | Clifford (3/3) | 45,719 | |||
| Saturday, 14 March | Round 2 |  Wests Tigers | Leichhardt Oval | 16 – 44 | Burns, Chester, Purdue | Clifford (1/3) | 17,367 | |||
| Sunday, 22 March | Round 3 |  Gold Coast Titans | QCB Stadium | 30 – 16 | Taulagi (2), Clifford, Drinkwater, Purdue | Clifford (5/6) | 16,999 | |||
| Saturday, 28 March | Round 4 |  Melbourne Storm | QCB Stadium | 28 – 24 | Burns (2), Clifford, Luki, McIntyre, Taulagi | Clifford (1/4), Drinkwater (1/2) | 20,931 | |||
| Saturday, 4 April | Round 5 |  St George Illawarra Dragons | Jubilee Oval | 32 – 0 | Drinkwater, Purdue (2), Burns, Taulagi, Clifford | Clifford (4/6) | 8,491 | |||
| Friday, 10 April | Round 6 | Brisbane Broncos | Suncorp Stadium | 35 – 31 | Purdue, Laybutt, Luke, Drinkwater, Chester, Luki | Clifford (5/6) | 45,582 | |||
| Thursday, 16 April | Round 7 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | QCB Stadium | 6 – 38 | Hess | Clifford | 17,476 | |||
| Friday, 24 April | Round 8 |  Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | QCB Stadium | 46 – 34 | Drinkwater, Taulagi (3), Mahoney, Burns, Luke, Dearden, Luki | Clifford (5/9) | 17,886 | |||
| Friday, 1 May | Round 9 | Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | Accor Stadium | |||||||
| Friday, 8 May | Round 10 |  Parramatta Eels | QCB Stadium | |||||||
| Sunday, 16 May | Round 11 | Sydney Roosters | Suncorp Stadium | |||||||
| Sunday, 24 May | Round 12 |  South Sydney Rabbitohs | QCB Stadium | |||||||
| Sunday, 31 May | Round 13 |  Canberra Raiders | GIO Stadium | |||||||
| Saturday, 6 June | Round 14 | Dolphins | QCB Stadium | |||||||
| Round 15 | Bye | |||||||||
| Sunday, 21 June | Round 16 |  New Zealand Warriors | One NZ Stadium | |||||||
| Saturday, 27 June | Round 17 | Penrith Panthers | QCB Stadium | |||||||
| Round 18 | Bye | |||||||||
| Sunday, 12 July | Round 19 | Manly Warringah Sea Eagles | 4 Pines Park | |||||||
| Sunday, 19 July | Round 20 | Dolphins | Suncorp Stadium | |||||||
| Saturday, 25 July | Round 21 | Brisbane Broncos | QCB Stadium | |||||||
| Thursday, 30 July | Round 22 | Sydney Roosters | QCB Stadium | |||||||
| Thursday, 6 August | Round 23 | Gold Coast Titans | Cbus Super Stadium | |||||||
| Saturday, 15 August | Round 24 | Parramatta Eels | CommBank Stadium | |||||||
| Round 25 | Bye | |||||||||
| Saturday, 29 August | Round 26 | Wests Tigers | QCB Stadium | |||||||
| Saturday, 5 September | Round 27 | Canberra Raiders | QCB Stadium | |||||||
| Legend: Win Loss Draw Bye | ||||||||||
Statistics
Representatives
The following players played a representative match in 2026.
