| Year: | 2005 |
| Team Colour: | navy |
| Font Colour: | white |
| League: | NRL |
| League Rank: | 5th |
| League Wins: | 14 |
| League Draws: | 0 |
| League Losses: | 10 |
| Points For: | 639 |
| Points Against: | 563 |
| Playoff Result: | Lost Grand Final |
| Ceo Title: | CEO |
| Ceo: | Denis Keeffe |
| Coach Title: | Coach |
| Avg Attendance: | 20,590 |
| High Attendance: | 22,477 (vs. Brisbane Broncos, Round 10) |
| Top Tries: | Matthew Bowen (20) |
| Top Goals: | Josh Hannay (62) |
| Top Points: | Josh Hannay (152) |
| Next Season: | 2006 |
The 2004 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 11th in the club's history. Coached by Graham Murray and captained by Travis Norton, they competed in the NRL's 2005 Telstra Premiership. They finished the regular season in 5th and played in their first Grand Final, which they lost to the Wests Tigers.
| Player | Signed From | |
|---|---|---|
| Easts Tigers | ||
| Redcliffe Dolphins | ||
| Sydney Roosters (mid-season) | ||
| St George Illawarra Dragons | ||
| Burleigh Bears | ||
| Parramatta Eels | ||
| South Sydney Rabbitohs | ||
| Canterbury Bulldogs | ||
| Brisbane Broncos |
| Player | Signed From | |
|---|---|---|
| Retired | ||
| Warriors | ||
| Steven Goodhew | Easts Tigers | |
| Widnes Vikings (mid-season) | ||
| Released | ||
| Melbourne Storm | ||
| Michael Meigan | Balmain Tigers | |
| Norths Devils | ||
| Parramatta Eels | ||
| St George Illawarra Dragons (mid-season) | ||
| Wynnum Manly Seagulls | ||
| Hale Vaa'sa | Easts Tigers | |
| Brisbane Broncos |
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September | Qualifying Final | Wests Tigers | Telstra Stadium | 6 – 50 | Hannay (1/1) | 26,463 | |||||
| 17 September | Semi Final | Melbourne Storm | Aussie Stadium | 24 – 16 | Hannay (2/3), Thurston (2/2) | 16,810 | |||||
| 25 September | Preliminary Final | Parramatta Eels | Telstra Stadium | 29 – 0 | Hannay (4/6), Thurston (1 FG) | 44,327 | |||||
| 2 October | Grand Final | Wests Tigers | Telstra Stadium | 16 – 30 | Hannay (2/3) | 82,453 | |||||
| Legend: | |||||||||||
| Name | App | T | G | FG | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | - | - | - | - | ||
| 10 | 5 | - | - | 20 | ||
| 25 | 21 | - | - | 84 | ||
| 25 | 9 | - | - | 36 | ||
| 21 | 5 | - | - | 20 | ||
| 11 | 2 | - | - | 8 | ||
| 21 | 7 | 62 | - | 152 | ||
| 23 | 11 | - | - | 44 | ||
| 12 | 1 | - | - | 4 | ||
| 8 | 1 | - | - | 4 | ||
| 9 | 1 | - | - | 4 | ||
| 7 | - | - | - | - | ||
| 7 | - | 1 | - | 2 | ||
| 17 | 2 | - | - | 8 | ||
| 26 | 2 | - | - | 8 | ||
| 28 | 5 | - | - | 20 | ||
| 26 | - | 1 | - | 2 | ||
| 19 | 1 | - | - | 4 | ||
| 3 | - | - | - | - | ||
| 5 | - | - | - | - | ||
| 25 | 16 | - | - | 64 | ||
| 25 | 5 | 10 | - | 40 | ||
| 27 | 3 | - | - | 12 | ||
| 3 | 2 | - | - | 8 | ||
| 26 | 5 | 28 | 2 | 78 | ||
| 27 | 1 | - | - | 4 | ||
| 16 | 3 | - | - | 12 | ||
| 23 | 18 | - | - | 72 | ||
| Totals | 127 | 102 | 2 | 714 |
The following players played a representative match in 2005.
| Tri-Nations | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matthew Bowen | - | - | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | - | |
| Paul Bowman | - | - | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | - | |
| David Faiumu | - | - | - | - | - | New Zealand | |
| Luke O'Donnell | City | - | - | - | - | Australia | |
| Paul Rauhihi | New Zealand | - | - | - | - | New Zealand | |
| Matt Sing | Australia | - | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | - | |
| Johnathan Thurston | - | - | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | - | |
| Carl Webb | - | - | Queensland | Queensland | - | - | |
| Ty Williams | - | - | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | - |