| 2000 North Queensland Cowboys season | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NRL Rank | 14th | |||
| Play-off result | Missed finals | |||
| 2000 record | Wins: 7; draws: 0; losses: 19 | |||
| Points scored | For: 436; against: 612 | |||
| Team information | ||||
| Coach | Tim Sheens | |||
| Captain | ||||
| Stadium | Dairy Farmers Stadium | |||
| Avg. attendance | 15,511 | |||
| High attendance | 27,643 (vs. Brisbane Broncos, Round 6) | |||
| Top scorers | ||||
| Tries | Paul Bowman (8) | |||
| Goals | Julian O'Neill (66) | |||
| Points | Julian O'Neill (144) | |||
| ||||
The 2000 North Queensland Cowboys season was the 6th in the club's history. Coached by Tim Sheens and captained by new signing Tim Brasher, they competed in the National Rugby League's 2000 Telstra Premiership, finishing in last place.
The Cowboys entered the new millennium with a renewed sense of hope, adding veterans Tim Brasher and Julian O'Neill from the South Sydney Rabbitohs, with Brasher becoming the club's fifth captain.
The competition started a month earlier due to the Sydney Olympics being held later that year. Because of this, the side played their first month away from home. It was a disastrous away trip, with the club losing their first three games. They managed a win on their final away game against Parramatta but were later stripped of the two competition points after fielding a fourteenth player for three minutes.
After two straight losses, back-to-back wins followed, which included the club's biggest ever victory at the time, a 50-10 win over the Northern Eagles. It was the first time the club had scored 50 points in a game. Five rounds later they recorded 50 points again, breaking their biggest winning margin record with a 50-4 victory over St George Illawarra. It would be one of the last bright spots of the season, as the club managed just two wins from the final 13 rounds and ended the season in last place.
Paul Green represented Queensland in State of Origin once again, and was joined by O'Neill and Paul Bowman, who made his first appearance for the Maroons. Brasher was selected for New South Wales, becoming the club's first Blues' representative.
Despite playing State of Origin, Green was sacked halfway through the season for allegedly negotiating with other clubs while still under contract. He would subsequently win an out-of-court settlement against the club. In a further blow to the club, homegrown halfback Scott Prince, who made his debut at 18 and played 53 games for the side, departed at the end of the season for rivals, the Brisbane Broncos.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Brisbane Broncos (P) | 26 | 18 | 2 | 6 | 696 | 388 | +308 | 38 |
| 2 |  Sydney Roosters | 26 | 16 | 0 | 10 | 601 | 520 | +81 | 32 |
| 3 |  Newcastle Knights | 26 | 15 | 1 | 10 | 686 | 532 | +154 | 31 |
| 4 |  Canberra Raiders | 26 | 15 | 0 | 11 | 506 | 479 | +27 | 30 |
| 5 |  Penrith Panthers | 26 | 15 | 0 | 11 | 573 | 562 | +11 | 30 |
| 6 |  Melbourne Storm | 26 | 14 | 1 | 11 | 672 | 529 | +143 | 29 |
| 7 |  Parramatta Eels | 26 | 14 | 1 | 11 | 476 | 456 | +20 | 29 |
| 8 |  Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks | 26 | 13 | 0 | 13 | 570 | 463 | +107 | 26 |
| 9 |  St George Illawarra Dragons | 26 | 12 | 0 | 14 | 576 | 656 | −80 | 24 |
| 10 |  Wests Tigers | 26 | 11 | 2 | 13 | 519 | 642 | −123 | 24 |
| 11 |  Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs | 26 | 10 | 1 | 15 | 469 | 553 | −84 | 21 |
| 12 |  Northern Eagles | 26 | 9 | 0 | 17 | 476 | 628 | −152 | 18 |
| 13 |  Auckland Warriors | 26 | 8 | 2 | 16 | 426 | 662 | −236 | 18 |
| 14 |  North Queensland Cowboys | 26 | 7 | 0 | 19 | 436 | 612 | −176 | 12 [a] |
| Name | App | T | G | FG | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graham Appo | 15 | 4 | 3 | - | 2 |
| Geoff Bell | 12 | 5 | - | - | 20 |
| Greg Bourke | 3 | - | - | - | - |
| Paul Bowman | 20 | 8 | - | - | 32 |
| Brett Boyd | 10 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Tim Brasher | 16 | 4 | - | - | 16 |
| John Buttigieg | 22 | - | - | - | - |
| Des Clark | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| Adam Connelly | 11 | 4 | - | - | 16 |
| Paul Dezolt | 4 | - | - | - | - |
| Darrien Doherty | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Scott Donald | 2 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| John Doyle | 3 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Nathan Fien | 16 | 2 | - | - | 8 |
| Noel Goldthorpe | 12 | - | - | - | - |
| Paul Green | 15 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Chad Halliday | 4 | - | - | - | - |
| Josh Hannay | 5 | - | - | - | - |
| Brett Hetherington | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Brian Jellick | 13 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Peter Jones | 20 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Shane Kenward | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| Naipolioni Kuricibi | 4 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Martin Locke | 9 | - | - | - | - |
| Jamie McDonald | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| Leigh McWilliams | 12 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Bruce Mamando | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| John Manning | 10 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Glenn Morrison | 20 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Shane Muspratt | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| Jason Nicol | 3 | - | - | - | - |
| Julian O'Neill | 24 | 3 | 66 | - | 144 |
| Nick Paterson | 1 | - | - | - | - |
| Paul Pensini | 4 | - | - | - | - |
| Scott Prince | 19 | 6 | 13 | - | 50 |
| Ben Rauter | 6 | - | - | - | - |
| Grant Reibel | 2 | - | - | - | - |
| Robert Relf | 24 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Jeremy Schloss | 18 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Mark Shipway | 23 | - | - | - | - |
| Damien Smith | 15 | 3 | - | - | 12 |
| Daniel Strickland | 6 | - | - | - | - |
| Shaun Valentine | 18 | 1 | - | - | 4 |
| Kyle Warren | 18 | 6 | - | - | 24 |
| Totals | 68 | 82 | - | 436 |
Source: [1]
The following players played a representative match in 2000.
| State of Origin 1 | State of Origin 2 | State of Origin 3 | World Cup | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Geoff Bell | - | - | - | Scotland |
| Paul Bowman | Queensland | Queensland | Queensland | - |
| Tim Brasher | - | New South Wales | New South Wales | - |
| Paul Green | Queensland | Queensland | - | - |
| Brian Jellick | - | - | - | New Zealand |
| Bruce Mamando | - | - | - | Papua New Guinea |
| Julian O'Neill | - | Queensland | Queensland | - |
North Queensland Cowboys - Unknown
