NRLW squad watch: Cowboys' youth set to shine in first season

North Queensland will field one of the youngest NRLW sides in 2023 but with the youth will come with plenty of exuberance to learn in an environment under respected coach Ben Jeffries.  

The Cowboys have an average squad age of 22.5 and 109 games of NRLW experience in total - the second most inexperienced behind the Eels.

However, what that statistic doesn't show is the representative experience already achieved by a core group of the side at young ages, from All Stars to Origin and more recently last year's World Cup. 

Jeffries has managed to lure back plenty of homegrown talent for the inaugural season while a host of new recruits adds optimism that the Cowboys can surprise many and make an impact in their first year.

Round 1 Predicted Team

1. Fran Goldthorp 2. China Polata 3. Jasmine Peters 4. Mia Middleton 5. Autumn-Rain Stephens Daly 6. Kirra Dibb 7. Tahlulah Tillett 8. April Ngatupuna 9. Emma Manzelmann 10. Sareka Mooka 11. Tiana Raftstrand-Smith 12. Shaniah Power 13. Tallisha Harden 14. Makenzie Weale 15. Shellie Long 16. Bree Chester 17. Essay Banu

Other: Jetaya Faifua, Jessikah Reeves, Sera Koroi, Shaylee Joseph, Vitalina Naikore, Merewalesi Rokouono, Krystal Blackwell

Biggest strength

The side has one of the best young spines in the competition with representative experience littered throughout the squad overall.

English recruit Fran Goldthorp is set to make the No.1 jersey her own while Kirra Dibb and Talulah Tillett have been the Indigenous All Stars halves for the past two years.

Add in Emma Manzelmann, who is coming off an Origin debut and premiership with Newcastle and there is plenty of promise in the Cowboys' key positions. 

Tillett missed the side's trial with a hand injury and is touch and go for the season opener against the Titans on July 22. 

Biggest question mark

Recent history in the NRLW has shown that experience matters and the Cowboys were outclassed in the trial against their Round 1 opponents Gold Coast with 30 points leaked defensively in Burleigh last week. 

Understandably, it was the side's first-ever showing as a unit and they will be better for the run ahead of the season opener but you get the feeling it will be a slow burn up north for a couple of years before the side truly reaps the rewards.

Best recruit

Former Knights premiership-winner Kirra Dibb arrives to North Queensland coming off a stellar 2022 season that included her first NRLW title, an All Stars win and State of Origin victory. 

Dibb continued her form in the Harvey Norman NSW Premiership for North Sydney earlier this year but was not retained by the Knights, opening the door for her to link with Jeffries, whom the pair have worked together before at All Stars.

Dibb will be the key to the side's attack and be the first-choice goal-kicker. When the 25-year-old is in good form she's one of the best players in the competition.

The challenge for her will be handling that type of pressure at a new club as the chief playmaker and star recruit. 

Rookie to watch

Promising forward Sareka Mooka has enjoyed a rapid rise in the past 12 months, representing the Australian Prime Minister's XIII in September before making her Indigenous All Stars debut under Ben Jeffries in February. 

The 23-year-old is a Cairns product who can produce some big carries and is defensively sound through the middle or on an edge.