Company of elites
Counting down to the Pride’s finest performers
THE Northern Pride will not strap on the boots again in 2020 after the cancellation of the Intrust Super Cup.
With that competition on hold, The Cairns Post rugby league writer Rowan Sparkes is taking a stroll down memory lane to rank the top 50 footballers to play for the Northern Pride since they entered the competition in 2008.
The players are ranked primarily on what they did in a Northern Pride jersey. 20. Kyle Feldt
The NRL premiership-winning winger played for the Northern Pride in the 2013 and 2014 seasons before cementing himself on the Cowboys’ flank as an elite finisher.
Feldt played for the Cowboys’ NYC side from 2010-12, earning Queensland under-18s and Junior Kangaroos selection, before becoming a regular for the Pride, where he helped the club win the title in 2014.
He would go on to win an NRL premiership the following year, with the Cowboys claiming their maiden title with a thrilling golden-point win over Brisbane. 19. Linc Port
An athletic prodigy in his teens, Port picked up a contract at the Wests Tigers while playing for Kangaroos in the CDRL competition.
After a stint in the NSW Cup, and a season with Norths Devils in 2013, he returned to the Far North in 2014.
He played four games that year before two breakout seasons at fullback, where he scored 35 tries in 47 games.
He was signed by Easts Tigers for 2017 and made a brief cameo with the Melbourne Storm at that year’s Auckland Nines tournament He currently plays for Easts Tigers.
In 2017, Port was named on the wing in the Pride’s Team of the Decade (2008-2017). 18. Tom Hancock
The Ivanhoes junior made his Queensland Cup debut with the Pride in 2014’s premiership-winning season and went on to become a stalwart at the club.
He was named co-captain, alongside David Murphy, for the club’s 2019 campaign and had a proud individual season.
At the end of the 2019 season, Hancock relocated to Townsville and signed with Townsville Blackhawks. 17. Davin Crampton
The Normanton product burst onto the scene as a tryscoring machine for the Northern Marlins in 2010 and joined the Pride for 2011.
It wasn’t until a standout 2013 season that Crampton cemented himself as one of the club’s best.
He was part of the Pride’s premiership and NRL State Championship wins, and was rewarded with an NRL contract at the Titans in 2015.
He wasn’t called upon for a NRL debut, and later linked with Redcliffe Dolphins and Townsville Blackhawks.
In 2017, he was named on the bench in the Pride’s Team of the Decade (2008-2017). 16. Javid Bowen
Bowen signed with the Sydney Roosters as a 17-year-old in 2011, then joined the Cowboys’ under-20s side in 2012.
After joining the Cowboys’ top squad in 2014, Bowen was allocated to the Pride and became an integral member of the side that would go on to be crowned State Champions.
He played 89 games for the Pride as a Cowboys’ allocated player from 2014-19, before signing with the club on a fulltime contract in 2020.
He was set to captain the team this year. 15. Ethan Lowe
Lowe returned to the Pride in 2012 after 61 games for Sydney Roosters’ under-20s side from 2009-11, where he earned Queensland under-18s and Junior Kangaroos representative honours.
He was named the Intrust Super Cup’s Rookie of the Year, earning a Cowboys contract for 2013.
Lowe was part of the squad to win the title in 2014, and was a regular in the Cowboys forward pack and went on to be part of the club’s inaugural NRL premiership. He has since joined the Rabbitohs and earned a long-awaited Origin debut. 14. Mark Cantoni
A Northern Pride foundation player, Cantoni joined the club from Easts Tigers for the club’s Queensland Cup debut in 2008.
The Atherton product went on to win the club’s Best Forward award in their first three seasons as the team earned the minor premiership in 2009 and first title in 2010.
He played 89 games for the club, before signing with Pia Donkeys in France’s Elite One
Championship. In 2017, Cantoni was named in the secondrow for the Pride’s Team of the Decade (2008-2017). 13. Shaun Nona
Nona signed with the Pride for 2011 after rising to prominence as a young playmaker with the Tully Tigers.
He had stints with the Storm and Broncos, but an NRL debut eluded him. Nona now plays for Townsville, and also had a stint with Limoux Grizzlies in France’s Elite One Championship. 12. Alex Starmer
A Mareeba junior, Starmer signed for the Pride’s inaugural
Queensland Cup campaign in 2008, playing 19 games as a reliable bench forward.
Despite missing the start of the 2009 season due to injury, Starmer forced his way into a permanent starting spot in the front row.
After off-season surgery, he was in and out of the side for the first half of 2010, but would return as starting prop by season’s end, playing in the Pride’s first grand final win. He played 120 games for the Pride over eight seasons from 2008-15. 11. Ryan Ghietti
The Innisfail junior started his Queensland Cup career at Redcliffe before moving to
Cairns in 2011. He played as a halfback in his first two seasons but became an understudy to stalwart hooker Jason Roos in the bench utility position after the arrival of Sam Obst in 2013. He came off the bench in the Pride’s grand final/NRL State Championship double, then in 2016 was promoted to captain.
Ghietti is the club’s mostcapped player with 169 games for the club, and was named on the bench in the Pride’s Team of the Decade (2008-2017).