The North Queensland Cowboys have made an interesting addition to their coaching ranks, signing former NRL star James Maloney as an assistant on a two-year contract.
The 37-year-old retired from the game as a player just this year, with his last professional game coming for Lezignan in the French Elite One competition.
Maloney had a player-coach role with Lezignan since joining the club at the end of 2021.
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Prior to that, Maloney played in 247 NRL games for the Storm, Roosters, Sharks, Warriors and Panthers from 2009-2020 before appearing in 42 games with Catalans in the UK Super League (2020-2021).
The classy playmaker won two premierships with the Roosters in 2013 and Sharks in 2016, the latter alongside current Cowboys Valentine Holmes and Chad Townsend.
Maloney will specialise in attack at the Cowboys on Todd Payten’s staff, working alongside another new assistant coach to the club in the experienced Justin Morgan.
He will be tasked with trying to turnaround the form of the Cowboys’ halves, who had an underwhelming 2023 campaign.
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“We are excited at the prospect of the new dimension James will add to our program,” Cowboys General Manager of Football Micheal Luck said in a club-issued statement.
“With an experienced assistant in Justin Morgan coming on board this year, we made the decision to target a younger coach with recent experience on the field to focus on our attack.
“We met with Jimmy in Townsville last week and we were impressed with how he presented and the ideas he had to improve our team.
“He will be an excellent sounding board for our spine, in particular our young halves in Tom Dearden, Tom Duffy and Jake Clifford.”
