| Year: | 2008 |
| Team Colour: | navy |
| Font Colour: | white |
| League: | NRL |
| League Rank: | 15th |
| League Wins: | 5 |
| League Draws: | 0 |
| League Losses: | 19 |
| Points For: | 474 |
| Points Against: | 638 |
| Playoff Result: | Missed finals |
| Ceo Title: | CEO |
| Ceo: | Peter Parr |
| Coach Title: | Coach |
| Coach: | Graham Murray (Resigned on 19 May) Ian Millward (Interim) |
| Avg Attendance: | 18,102 |
| High Attendance: | 24,332 (vs. Brisbane Broncos, Round 25) |
| Top Tries: | Ashley Graham (10) John Williams (10) |
| Top Goals: | John Williams (96) |
| Top Points: | Johnathan Thurston (39) |
| Next Season: | 2009 |
The 2008 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 14th season in the club's history. They were coached by Graham Murray and captained by Johnathan Thurston, they competed in the National Rugby League's 2008 Telstra Premiership.
On 19 May, Murray resigned as head coach after just three wins from the opening 10 games. He was replaced by assistant coach Ian Millward, who took over as interim head coach until the end of the season. The Cowboys finished the season in 15th place, avoiding the wooden spoon by points differential.
The Cowboys entered the 2008 season optimistic about the finals chances after a preliminary final appearance in 2007. The club got off to the worst possible start, losing three straight games. They would win their next three but it proved to be a false dawn, as the side went on a club record 13-game losing streak. They finished the season with two wins from their final five games, finishing in 15th place and narrowly avoiding the wooden spoon. The season was plagued by injury, with key players Matthew Bowen, Luke O'Donnell, Matthew Scott and Johnathan Thurston all missing considerable playing time due to injuries.
On April 2, the Cowboys signed former assistant coach and then-Canberra Raiders coach Neil Henry as their head coach for the 2009 season.[1] A month later, Graham Murray re-signed as head coach and was replaced by his assistant Ian Millward as interim head coach for the rest of 2008. Millward's first win as head coach occurred in Round 22, as the Cowboys defeated the Canterbury Bulldogs 36-12 at Suncorp Stadium.
Despite the poor season, the club still maintained the fourth highest home crowd average in the NRL with an average of 18,102.
| Player | Signed From | Until End of | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel Abraham | |||
| Travis Burns | |||
| George Gatis | Huddersfield Giants (mid-season) | ||
| Ben Harris | |||
| Chris Sheppard | Northern Pride (mid-season) | ||
| Anthony Perkins | |||
| Anthony Watts | |||
| Dayne Weston | |||
| John Williams |
| Player | Signed To | Until End of | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brett Anderson | |||
| Brenton Bowen | |||
| Paul Bowman | Retired | ||
| David Faiumu | Huddersfield Giants (mid-season) | ||
| Rod Jensen | |||
| Karl Johnson | |||
| Scott Minto | Retired | ||
| Shane Muspratt | |||
| Jason Smith | Retired | ||
| Neil Sweeney | |||
| Colin Wilkie | Released |
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 February | Trial 1 | Brisbane Broncos | Browne Park | 10 – 20 | Nicolau (1/2) | style="text-align:center;" | - | ||
| 23 February | Trial 2 | Gold Coast Titans | Barlow Park | 22 – 30 | Graham (3/4) | style="text-align:center;" | - | ||
| 1 March | Trial 3 | Canberra Raiders | Dairy Farmers Stadium | 32 – 12 | Graham (3/4), Burns (1/2) | style="text-align:center;" | - |
| Name | App | T | G | FG | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | 1 | - | - | 4 | ||
| 6 | 1 | - | - | 4 | ||
| 4 | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2 | - | - | - | - | ||
| 6 | 3 | - | - | 12 | ||
| 1 | - | - | - | - | ||
| 14 | 3 | - | - | 12 | ||
| 3 | - | - | - | - | ||
| 24 | 3 | - | - | 12 | ||
| 4 | - | - | - | - | ||
| 18 | 3 | - | - | 12 | ||
| 14 | 1 | - | - | 4 | ||
| 10 | - | - | - | - | ||
| 1 | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2 | - | - | - | - | ||
| 22 | 10 | - | - | 40 | ||
| 5 | - | - | - | - | ||
| 24 | 7 | - | - | 28 | ||
| 23 | 5 | - | - | 20 | ||
| 11 | 1 | - | - | 4 | ||
| 1 | - | - | - | - | ||
| 15 | 5 | - | - | 20 | ||
| 24 | 1 | - | - | 4 | ||
| 6 | 1 | - | - | 4 | ||
| 1 | - | - | - | - | ||
| 2 | 1 | - | - | 4 | ||
| 11 | 3 | - | - | 12 | ||
| 18 | 2 | - | - | 8 | ||
| 17 | 4 | 39 | - | 94 | ||
| 18 | 2 | - | - | 8 | ||
| 11 | 1 | - | - | 4 | ||
| 12 | 2 | - | - | 8 | ||
| 21 | 6 | - | - | 24 | ||
| 19 | 2 | - | - | 8 | ||
| 20 | 10 | 28 | - | 96 | ||
| 12 | 7 | - | - | 28 | ||
| Totals | 85 | 67 | 0 | 474 |
The following players have played a representative match in 2008
| World Cup | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ray Cashmere | |||||||||
| Ben Harris | |||||||||
| Jacob Lillyman | |||||||||
| Luke O'Donnell | |||||||||
| Johnathan Thurston | |||||||||
| Carl Webb | |||||||||
| Ty Williams |