Year in Review

LeagueUnlimited.com's Paul Zines looks at the 2008 NRL season, club-by-club.

More season reviews for other NRL clubs to follow in the days ahead.

15th Place - North Queensland Cowboys

Reasons:

Injuries: The North Queensland Cowboys played most of the year minus troops, most notably Johnathan Thurston and Matt Bowen. They were also missing plenty of other players such as Travis Burns, Jacob Lillyman and Steve Southern, which meant no consistency with the side each week. There was no flair in the side, which is something that the side has always strived on. When Thurston finally returned he brought back some belief to help the side avoid the wooden spoon.

Coach distraction: There were plenty of these this year. Coach Graham Murray was sacked mid year after a disastrous start to the season. Assistant coach Ian Millward took over and didn