Cowboys INSIDER

This week's inside news from the North Queensland Toyota Cowboys:

• The son of the North Queensland Cowboys’ inaugural captain, Laurie Spina, has earned a train and trial contract with the Cowboys. Front-rower Ben Spina will train with the club through to Christmas after enjoying an outstanding season in 2012 with the Northern Pride in the Intrust Super Cup. Not only did he become only the 12th player to play more than 50 games for the Pride, he won three club awards, including Player of the Year. “I’m the type of person who doesn’t want to just be happy with where I am, I strive for higher,” Spina said. “I’m always trying to improve myself and pushing myself to play better.” The 24-year-old Ingham product will join Mackay Cutters halfback Matt Minto on train and trial contracts with the goal of playing in one of the Cowboys’ pre-season matches. Back-rower Joel Riethmuller is the latest Cowboy to earn a full NRL contract through the train and trial system.

• Cowboys co-captain Matthew Scott has managed to dodge the bad weather which is heading for the east coast of the United States. Matt and wife Lauren were on holidays with Johnathan Thurston and his partner Samantha in New York but left before the transportation system closed down. JT and Sam are safe and well in the Big Apple and will ride out the storm.

• Cowboys lock Dallas Johnson is a proud father for the second time. Dallas and wife Mel welcomed a baby girl, Capri, into their lives last Thursday. She is a little sister to Inez.

• Ignatius Park College old boys Michael Morgan and Chris Grevsmuhl took time out from their break to attend the school’s Deadly Awards earlier this month. The night is used to highlight and award students for achievements throughout the year and also promote the cultural experiences and programs the students have the opportunity to take part in while at Iggy Park. Each of the indigenous students received certificates highlighting their achievements through sport, school and extracurricular. The Cowboys Learn Eearn Legend! program was highlighted in the yearly review and all Year 12s had their participation in the program announced when they received their individual certificates.

• Tickets for the Cowboys’ pre-season trial against the Gold Coast Titans in Mackay on 23 February have yet to go on sale. We expect they will sometime in mid-November and will let everyone know the details once they’ve been finalised.

• Good mates Chris Grevsmuhl and Jason Taumalolo joined Cowboys development officer Gavin Lloyd at the annual Battle of the Mines rugby league carnival in Cloncurry. During their three-day stay, they visited the Cloncurry State School for classroom visits as well as attending their school chaplaincy dinner which helped raise much-needed funds for their school. They also were in the crowd for the Battle of the Mines which sees different mine sites come together for a one-day carnival with all proceeds going to the North Queensland Helicopter Rescue.

• The Cowboys’ first member for 2013, Kookaburras goalkeeper Nathan Burgers, has announced his retirement from international hockey. It should give him more time to head along to the stadium and cheer on his favourite team with the rest of his family next year.