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'Ride wave like 2017': Cowboys gun predicts finals run
Joel Gould, AAP •  September 9th, 2026 3:11 pm
Jason Taumalolo (centre) was key to the 2017 finals run by North Queensland that lit up Townsville | Photo: Michael Chambers/AAP
Late in the 2017 season North Queensland centre Jaxon Purdue was a 12-year-old fan riding the Cowboys home to an unlikely NRL grand final appearance, and he is confident he can do it again as a player this year despite the team being written off.
No one gives the inconsistent Cowboys a hope in hell of repeating that remarkable 2017 run, when they scraped into the top eight and won three games on the road before colliding with red-hot Melbourne in the decider, one of the great teams of the modern era.
North Queensland, fresh from a woeful 50-30 thumping by Canberra, play Cronulla on Saturday night at Allianz Stadium in an elimination final that Purdue insists will be the start of a winning streak.
North Queensland centre Jaxon Purdue (right) is ready to prove the Cowboys can go deep into finals | Photo: Dan Himbrechts/AAP
"As a team, inside these four walls, we are very confident that we can go deep into this finals series," Purdue told AAP.
"When we are on, we are a very hard side to beat. The key is our mentality. We are going to need to be physical and ready to play.
"Everyone is writing us off and that is motivating us because we know we can win a premiership with this talented group.
"We want to show other people and teams that we can do the job."
The inconsistent Cowboys finished the regular season with 13 wins and 11 losses | Photo: Steven Markham/AAP
The Cowboys also have good memories from their 32-30 golden-point win over Cronulla at Shark Park in 2022 in a qualifying final.
Purdue, a Norths Devils Mackay junior, recalls that win and the 2017 heroics like they were yesterday.
"Every time the Cowboys made the finals when I was a young kid I was super excited and I used to ride the wave with them as a fan," he said.
"In 2017 everyone had written them off, but they all showed up and made the grand final. I also remember that 2022 finals series at Shark Park when it was a Val (Holmes) field goal to win the game.
"Now I am a player getting the opportunity to play in my first finals series, it is a pinch-yourself moment to look back on."
Purdue, who will switch to fullback next year, has shown himself to be an elite player at centre, No.6 or halfback and has played every game of the past two seasons. The Cowboys have re-signed the rare talent until 2030.
"This year I felt like I could read the game a bit better in the halves than last year. Coming back into the centres, I am really excited to play my best footy," he said.
"I really like playing in the centres. There is more freedom than half and I can run the ball more. It's going to be fun."
In 2017 the Cowboys rode on the displays of Michael Morgan and Jason Taumalolo, and as a collective played beyond what they had appeared capable of from outside the camp.
Taumalolo will need the same kind of support nine years later.
"In a finals series you have got to play your best footy, and as a team we need to do that," Purdue said.
"There are a lot of other teams that are wishing they were in our shoes. We are ready to go."
