North Queensland Cowboys head to Atherton as part of their preseason

Rugby league fans in the Atherton-Tablelands area will get the chance to rub shoulders with some of the greats of our game when the Cowboys arrive for a three day camp in the region.

Rugby league fans in the Atherton-Tablelands area will get the chance to rub shoulders with some of the greats of our game when the Cowboys arrive for a three day camp in the region.

The North Queensland Cowboys have returned from the Christmas break with their new squad ready to hit the ground running for a big year ahead.

It starts in Atherton for the players and coaches who will spend the next three days in the region.

Cowboys football manager Micheal Luck said it was important for the group to get away together.

“With all the rep footy and the return to training guidelines, we had to go by the second week the full group are back now,” Luck said.

North Queensland Cowboys player Tom Duffy during pre-season training. Picture: Alix Sweeney / North Queensland Cowboys.

“So we thought it was pretty good time to come up and get the group away from Townsville, especially this time of the year.

“We can get up here where we have a new squad, a new staff group and they will get to spend some time together and we’ll do some training at the back end of it.

“I think this year with the turnover we have had, especially with senior players, it is important to get away and this group has to find their own identity and who they are and what they want to be and this gives us a good opportunity to do that without distraction up in a beautiful setting at Tinaroo.”

It is the second year in a row the Cowboys have headed out to a regional town to restart their pre-season.

In January in 2024, the club visited Charters Towers for a three day clinic, and will repeat it again this year in Atherton and Tinaroo.

The club aim to continue to do it as part of giving back to the region known as ‘Cowboy territory’.

Cowboys middle forward Harry Edwards said he was excited to get out of Townsville for the weekend and into the regions.

“I’ve never been up there, so it’s new for me. I’m excited to get around the community up there,” Edwards said.

“I’ve heard they all support the Cows, so I’m excited to get up there.

“I grew up in a little coastal town in New South Wales, so to get out to the country areas and get around the town and meet the kids there, to be honest I love doing it.

“Putting a smile on their faces. It makes me happy and I enjoy doing it.”

The Cowboys arrived on Thursday afternoon and hit the gym first thing Friday morning for a strength session before completing a goal-setting session in the afternoon.

Saturday morning, the Cowboys will do a three-way opposed session with the full squad and the Northern Pride followed by a coaching skills and drills clinic with the kids in the afternoon.

“Saturday mornings we always put our group through an opposed session so a match-like training session,” Luck said.

Jake Clifford of the Cowboys in action during the round 27 NRL match between Canterbury Bulldogs and North Queensland Cowboys at Accor Stadium, on September 07, 2024, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Nolan/Getty Images)

“We invited the Pride up to be part of that, so I guess instead of just playing half our group against the other half, you can throw the Northern Pride in as well for a bit of variation.

“Hopefully they get as much out of it as we will.

“Then straight after the training session, all the kids will jump on the field and they get to come out and mingle with our boys, our development team and coaching staff as well.”

The Cowboys are only a month away from trials, one of which the club plays in Cairns.

“We are only a month away from our first trail in Cairns against the Dolphins, so it is pretty important we make every session count,” Luck said.

“We’ve put a fair bit of work into the group because it is a new group, new playmakers, new senior players.”

Northern Pride products Tom Duffy and Jake Clifford have both impressed so far this pre-season as they aim to lock down their respective spots.

“Yeah he (Duffy) has been great, as has Jaxon Purdue and Jake Clifford was going really well as well,” Luck said.

“He (Clifford) had surgery on Wednesday to tidy up a little hernia that he had.

“So he should be back for the first trial, they have been great all three of them, competing for a spot and that’s a good thing because it is making our sessions better, better quality.”

EDWARDS EYES COWBOYS MIDDLE ROTATION

Cowboys workhorse Harry Edwards is determined to lock down a position in North Queensland’s middle forward rotation after being used in multiple positions in 2024.

North Queensland Cowboys player Harry Edwards during pre-season training. Picture: Alix Sweeney / North Queensland Cowboys.

The versatile 24-year-old joined the Cowboys last year in a mid-season move and cemented his place in the match day squad with his impressive fitness and defence.

While Edwards didn’t set the world on fire in attack, he averaged almost 24 tackles per game at 92 per cent efficiency.

His tireless efforts during games and on the training paddock saw him used at prop, lock and hooker, but Edwards said his focus this season would be playing in the middle.

“I’m more trying to lean towards getting a spot in that middle there. Obviously there’s some really good middle forwards in this club, and it’s also why I’ve come up here as well: to compete with those boys and try and get a spot,” Edwards said.

“Last year, I kind of came to the side halfway through the year, so I had to learn on the run, and didn’t really have many connections with the boys.

“I was just doing my little things, little jobs. But this year I really want to get my hands on the ball and add to this team.

“So that’s with running the ball, touches, involvement, and obviously in defence as well.

“Getting a strong preseason, I can definitely add to this team this year.”

Edwards said he had been impressed at the leadership qualities shining through from some of the younger boys in the playing group.

“The thing I’ve noticed this year is a lot of the boys are all leaders this year,” he said.

“You’ve got your Reubs (Reuben Cotter) and your boys that have been there for a while, but there are some younger fellas that are putting their hand up and everyone’s competing, and everyone’s leading with their own actions.”

Originally published as North Queensland Cowboys head to Atherton as part of their preseason