The North Queensland Toyota Cowboys will farewell 10 NRL squad members at tonight’s presentation night at the Townsville Entertainment & Convention Centre.
Scott Drinkwater, Murray Taulagi, Sam McIntyre, John Bateman, Kai O’Donnell, Jaxson Paulo, Viliami Vailea, Mason Barber, Zac Herdegen and Wiremu Greig will depart the club ahead of the 2027 season.
Drinkwater departs North Queensland as the 15th most-capped player in Cowboys history, having registered 168 games over eight seasons. The 29-year-old compiled an extraordinary 63 tries, 154 try assists, 77 line breaks and just shy of 23,000 running metres.
Taulagi leaves the Cowboys as the seventh-highest try scorer in club history, registering 74 four-pointers across eight campaigns. In total, Taulagi appeared in 125 games for North Queensland.
McIntyre arrived in North Queensland midway through the 2023 season and appeared in 60 games for the club. His 2024 campaign was a highlight, featuring in all 26 games as the Cowboys advanced to the second week of the finals.
Bateman signed ahead of the 2025 season and immediately became an integral member of the Cowboys pack. He registered 26 appearances for the Cowboys across two seasons.
O’Donnell (25), Paulo (3), Vailea (32) and Greig (3) all appeared in first grade for the Cowboys during their time in North Queensland, while Barber and Herdegen are yet to make their NRL debuts.
