Cowboys embody all the grit of NQ spirit

SO what is a North Queenslander? What defines us? What sets us apart? It’s hard to put a finger on it. There’s a certain grit, a resilience to all that life throws at us.

It might have something to do with the extremes of our environment.

We face down drought, floods, bushfires and cyclones. Plus the odd crocodile. And, perhaps because we’re so far from the big smoke, there’s also that can- do mentality.

Hell, if we don’t get it done, nobody else will.

You’d have to admit we’re also little laid back.

Even the traffic lights take their merry old time. Put that down to the humidity. We’re the ones who go out when it rains.

We don’t mind a laugh, even at our own expense.

And when a mate is down on their luck, they won’t be alone for long. We help them back to their feet. We’re a community. We might have a row and a stink but we’re there in a flash when the need arises.

This week we had the story of the XXXX cans our North Queensland Cowboys have been drinking postmatch during the finals series.

Some speculated there might be some magical performance- enhancing substance that is powering their remarkable winning run. Funny story. But the reality is, our Cowboys have bottled all that is great about North Queensland.

On and off the field, they do us proud.

The culture they have built inspires us all.

No matter what happens on Sunday, the entire North Queensland Cowboys, from Laurence Lancini and his board, through CEO Greg Tonner, football manager Peter Parr, coach Paul Green, the high performance unit, the coaching staff, the back office workers, and of course, our incredible NRL side, deserve our thanks and applause. You want to know who we are? We are North Queensland. And all that we love about us will be striding out to battle in Sydney on Sunday night. At that moment, the Storm will face 17 flint- hard footballers – and another 500,000 cheering from across the North.

Go get ’ em boys.