In a five-part series the Bulletin will re-examine the twists and turns of the 2023 NRL season to unpack how and why the Cowboys regressed, starting with the pre-season.

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PART 1: THE WORLD CUP HANGOVER

One season ago the Cowboys went within a game of the grand final.

With a young core one year wiser and battle-hardened by the experience of a Rugby League World Cup, 2023 shaped as the year of the Cowboy.

Instead that World Cup hangover left North Queensland on a catch-up mission the club could not complete.

North Queensland had seven players make their first appearance at pre-season training after Christmas: Valentine Holmes, Reuben Cotter, Jeremiah Nanai, Murray Taulagi, Jason Taumalolo, Peta Hiku and Taniela Sadrugu.

Mid-season recruit Semi Valemei did the same in Canberra after playing for Fiji.

Todd Payten said on multiple occasions that the World Cup had disrupted North Queensland’s approach to the pre-season.

“The World Cup hurt us as a club,” Payten said after thrashing the Tigers 74-0 in Round 18.

“We get them five weeks after Christmas and things have to go perfectly for that five week period between the time they get back and our first game. It just took those guys a little bit longer to get themselves going.”

That early struggle saw the Cowboys anchored to the competition’s cellar, forcing the club to empty the tank in a mid-season rescue mission that fell ultimately short.

While top four clubs like Penrith and Brisbane could afford to rest players throughout the season, the Cowboys could not afford to take the same approach.

Club head of performance Paul Bowman said North Queensland had paid the price for the athletic toll on its players during the season.

“We probably struggled a little bit (athletically) at the start of the year with so many guys involved in the World Cup,” Bowman said after Round 22.

“It wasn’t so much what we were doing, we just didn’t have enough time with those players because most of the guys didn’t start training until four weeks before our first trial.

“In my opinion that is nowhere near enough time to get ready for the season. You just couldn’t do it in that time.

“There was a lot of responsibility that fell on the players to come back in good shape and unfortunately most of them didn’t. It took a while to get a few of them up to speed and you probably saw that in the form of some of those guys early in the season.

“It’s been hard. Unfortunately, because of our form during the start of the year and where we sat on the ladder, we couldn’t rest those Origin guys like Brisbane and Penrith. Our guys have been working really hard and have paid for that physically.”

Forward Coen Hess enjoyed one of his best seasons in years but acknowledged that the World Cup’s impact had been severe for the Cowboys’ top stars.

“I don’t know what you’d put it (the early season form slump) down to. Maybe we had a hangover from last year, or guys were a bit underdone coming back from successful Cup campaigns,” Hess said.

Nanai admitted he had come home “sloppy,” with the bulk of his pre-season work focused on stripping down added kilograms.

Holmes echoed Nanai’s thoughts.

“It probably wasn’t the greatest (pre-season),” the veteran centre said.

“I only trained post-New Year’s, so even when the boys came back I came back probably another week later and had about five weeks with the lads.

“Obviously anyone who does that probably not going to get in the best physical shape, ready.

“I felt like I still needed that break mentally away from footy. It was a massive year for all of us and then playing in the World Cup. Being away from the family for a while and I just wanted to kind of be at home and be with my family and it was a much-needed break.”

Payten said the Cowboys had learned “a lot of lessons” in handling the representative period but insisted five weeks had not been enough time to prepare the squad.