Cowboys coach Todd Payten believes his side have “put respect back in the jersey” after surging to a preliminary final to resurrect the club after several disappointing seasons.
Before their 2022 campaign begun many pundits tipped North Queensland to win the wooden spoon, but instead they came desperately close to a grand final — losing to the Eels 24-20 in a tight preliminary final.
After finishing 15th in 2021, 14th in 2020 and 2019 and 13th in 2018, the Cowboys bounced back to finish the regular season in third — and Payten was clearly emotional when reflecting on what his side achieved.
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“I want us to walk out with our heads up, I know they are disappointed, they really are, but we put some respect back into the jersey and the club,” Payten said in the post-match press conference.
“We have got a good foundation, if we don’t fall in love with ourselves and continue to work hard and get better, we will be back here again.
“It is hard to get here, we know that, and that is what makes the opportunity missed so disappointing, but we have got an abundance of talent.
“They are great kids, they work hard, we just need to keep pushing along… I have been proud of our lads for a long time, their attitude and their want to get better.”
The streets of Townsville were buzzing all week in the lead-up to the preliminary final and Queensland Country Bank Stadium was packed full of eager fans.
Payten labelled the North Queensland community his “people” and expressed how much he loved the region.
“We put some respect back into the place, we weren’t supposed to make the finals, and we are 25 minutes short of a grand final,”
“That’s one of the parts I love about this club, this is rugby league heartland, I am a rugby league person and they are my people.
“We have got a lot of kids in our system that have come from this area, we have three or four from Mackay, we have three or four from Cairns, three or four from Townsville, then we have some from in-between.
“That’s why playing for our club means something to them, this club is put here to make a pathway for our local kids and I am just glad the way we have become a team.
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“We represented the people of the north in North Queensland style.”
Fox League’s Gorden Tallis, who grew up in Townsville, explained that rugby league is everything to the North Queensland community, and they couldn’t be prouder of their team’s efforts.
“All my family are there, all my mates, for years, people don’t realise what rugby league means to North Queensland,”
“It is everybody’s game, everybody loves it, for North Queensland to have a side they are proud of, it is a hardworking area.
“You watch the way the side played this year, they represent their community well.”
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