BLACKHAWKS SCORE COWBOYS’ RESERVES
THE Northern Pride will no longer field contracted North Queensland Cowboys after a change to the affiliation agreement between the state and national league clubs.
And it could make Townsville Blackhawks the team to beat in the Hostplus Cup.
Under the new agreement, the Cowboys will send all contracted NRL players not selected in Todd Payten’s top squad to the Blackhawks, who are based down the road from Cowboys HQ.
It is a plan discussed for years which will finally spring into action in 2023, and could transform the Blackhawks back into a team which start among the favourites.
Cowboys CEO Jeff Reibel and the club’s head of football Micheal Luck were in Cairns on Friday to meet with stakeholders across both the Pride and FNQ Rugby League, as the club gears up for its historic trial match against NRL newcomers, the Dolphins, at Barlow Park on February 12.
He said it was to better enhance the potential success of the NRL club, with the obvious benefit to North Queensland being that all contracted players will play in the same system, alongside the same players, and better develop the on-field relationships which are crucial to success.
“What we, as a NRL club, has been looking to do is trying to ensure our pathway is a pathway that is attractive to players, but also, from our perspective, how can we ensure all of our players are playing together week in, week out, whether that’s at NRL level or at state league level,” Reibel said.
“What we’ve been able to do is work with the Northern Pride, Blackhawks and Mackay Cutters, but this year all of our players will be allocated back to the Townsville Blackhawks.”
It means the Pride and Mackay Cutters will no longer receive fringe talent from the Cowboys to bolster their squads, with the Cowboys’ focus shifting to the development and grassroots level as they finetune the production of future NRL stars.
It is not an overnight development, with discussions ongoing for more than 18 months, but Reibel said the move would help ensure the strength of the NRL club and region in future.
“What we needed to do was find the balance, what’s good for the Cowboys but still supporting our footprint throughout all of northern Queensland,” Reibel said.
“We were quite open and transparent with this conversation which started more than 18 months ago about what we needed to do, we believe, to be better as a club.
“If the Cowboys are strong, then rugby league is strong within north Queensland
“It’s no different to what any other club is doing, whether that be Penrith and Parramatta. What’s important though is what we do on the field together, but off the field.
“It’s through our academies, both female and male, and what we’re doing in the community.”
It means the Pride and Cutters will field teams which prioritise locally sourced and developed talent, but it doesn’t totally disrupt how the Cairns club has gone about roster construction in recent years.
In 2022, Cowboys players allocated to the Pride played a combined 27 games, with winger Robert Derby, second-rowers Connelly Lemuelu and Brendan Frei, and utility Ben Hampton accounting for the bulk of the appearances.
The Pride prioritised their own players over the Cowboys allocations in that season, and it’s how they’ve gone structuring their squad for 2023 as they eye another run to the finals.
Pride CEO Garreth Smith conceded that working through the affiliation had been a process, but their focus was clearly on catering to local talent.
“For us as a club, we need to focus on and we have been focusing on, what do we do first for our local talent and how do we build as a club without focusing on the players who come back,” Smith said.
“That’s a focus for us anyway, we continue do that this year.
“In conjunction still working with the Cowboys, but what does that mean for the development pathway for players like Julian Christian.
“The focus is still on building a squad which heavily relies on local talent first.”
We were quite open and transparent with this conversation ... about what we needed to do, we believe, to be better as a club Cowboys CEO Jeff Reibel