| Year: | 2009 |
| Team Colour: | navy |
| Font Colour: | white |
| League: | NRL |
| League Rank: | 12th |
| League Wins: | 11 |
| League Draws: | 0 |
| League Losses: | 13 |
| Points For: | 558 |
| Points Against: | 474 |
| Playoff Result: | Missed finals |
| Ceo Title: | CEO |
| Ceo: | Peter Parr |
| Coach Title: | Coach |
| Avg Attendance: | 17,309 |
| High Attendance: | 24,332 (vs. Brisbane Broncos, Round 25) |
| Top Tries: | Matthew Bowen (12) Willie Tonga (12) |
| Top Goals: | Johnathan Thurston (79) |
| Top Points: | Johnathan Thurston (202) |
| Next Season: | 2010 |
The 2009 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 15th season in the club's history. Coached by Neill Henry and captained by Johnathan Thurston, they competed in the National Rugby League's 2009 Telstra Premiership and finished the regular season 12th place, failing to reach the finals for the second consecutive year.
The 2009 season was an improvement on 2008 for the Cowboys, with 11 wins from 24 games. The closeness of the 2009 season meant the Cowboys finished 12th, just three points behind eventual Grand Finalists Parramatta, who finished 8th.
Neil Henry re-joined the club as head coach in 2009, taking over from interim head coach Ian Millward. Henry was an assistant coach at the club from 2002 to 2006, before moving to the Canberra Raiders in 2007 and winning the Dally M Coach of the Year award in 2008. Renowned strength and conditioning coach Billy Johnstone also returned to the club after a stint at the Gold Coast Titans. The club's key off-season recruits included Australian and Queensland representatives Willie Tonga, Antonio Kaufusi and Shannon Hegarty.
After a slow start to the season, the Cowboys enjoyed a strong run of form that included a four-game winning streak. With five rounds to play, they were sitting inside the top eight in 6th position. The club then endured four-game losing streak to end the season, dropping to 12th place.
2009 saw the debut of James Tamou, who joined the club from the Sydney Roosters under-20's side. Tamou would become an Australian and New South Wales representative at the Cowboys and play integral role in the club's maiden premiership victory in 2015.
| Player | Signed From | Until End of | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mitch Achurch | |||
| Clint Amos | |||
| Michael Bani | Manly Sea Eagles (mid-season) | ||
| Shannon Hegarty | |||
| Antonio Kaufusi | |||
| Donald Malone | |||
| Manase Manuokafoa | |||
| David Pangai | |||
| Steve Rapira | |||
| Grant Rovelli | |||
| James Tamou | |||
| Willie Tonga |
| Player | Signed To | Until End of | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daniel Abraham | |||
| Daniel Backo | Released | ||
| Greg Byrnes | |||
| Ray Cashmere | |||
| Ben Farrar | Manly Sea Eagles (mid-season) | ||
| Sione Faumuina | |||
| Sam Faust | |||
| John Frith | Released | ||
| George Gatis | Retired | ||
| Luke Harlen | |||
| Mark Henry | |||
| Keiron Lander | |||
| Jacob Lillyman | |||
| Jackson Nicolau | |||
| Chris Sheppard | |||
| Justin Smith | Retired | ||
| Ben Vaeau |
| Date | Round | Opponent | Venue | Score | Tries | Goals | Attendance | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 21 February | Trial 1 | Warriors | North Harbour Stadium | 28 – 32 | - | - | style="text-align:center;" | - | |||
| 28 February | Trial 2 | Penrith Panthers | Barlow Park | 18 – 18 | - | - | style="text-align:center;" | - | |||
| Legend: | |||||||||||
| Name | App | T | G | FG | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | - | - | - | - | ||
| 9 | 2 | - | - | 8 | ||
| 24 | 3 | - | - | 12 | ||
| 20 | 12 | - | - | 48 | ||
| 20 | 4 | - | - | 16 | ||
| 10 | 5 | - | - | 20 | ||
| 16 | 4 | - | - | 16 | ||
| 8 | - | - | - | - | ||
| 5 | 2 | - | - | 8 | ||
| 22 | 2 | - | - | 8 | ||
| 2 | 1 | - | - | 4 | ||
| 12 | - | - | - | - | ||
| 17 | 5 | - | - | 20 | ||
| 16 | 4 | - | - | 16 | ||
| 16 | 1 | - | - | 4 | ||
| 13 | - | - | - | - | ||
| 23 | 1 | - | - | 4 | ||
| 20 | 3 | - | - | 12 | ||
| 12 | 2 | - | - | 8 | ||
| 1 | - | - | - | - | ||
| 23 | 11 | 79 | - | 202 | ||
| 19 | 12 | - | - | 48 | ||
| 24 | 2 | - | - | 8 | ||
| 14 | 2 | - | - | 8 | ||
| 22 | 5 | - | - | 20 | ||
| 2 | - | - | - | - | ||
| 17 | 10 | 4 | - | 48 | ||
| 17 | 5 | - | - | 20 | ||
| Totals | 98 | 83 | 0 | 558 |
The following players have played a representative match in 2009
| ANZAC Test | Four Nations | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luke O'Donnell | ||||||||
| Matthew Scott | ||||||||
| Johnathan Thurston | ||||||||
| Willie Tonga |