Northern Pride RLFC

The original coach was Adrian Lam, who arrived in Cairns in August 2007 during the bid process, but was released a month later to take up a coaching position at the Sydney Roosters.[7] He was replaced by former NRL Canberra Raiders player Andrew Dunemann, with former North Queensland Cowboys player David Maiden, and Foley Shield coach Troy Cummings as Assistant Coaches. In their first year in the competition, the Pride finished in third place, and the following year they reached the Grand Final.

Dunemann resigned at the end of 2009 and Maiden was promoted to Head Coach with former Canberra Raiders and PNG international David Westley as Assistant Coach. In Maiden's first year, the Pride won the grand finals. Maido left at the end of 2012 season and was replaced by former Super League player Jason Demetriou as head coach with Ben Rauter as Assistant Coach.

Demetriou coached the Pride to a minor premiership in his first season, winning 17 of their 22 games and being awarded the 'Men of League Coach of the Year' award. In his second season he secured the minor premiership again, winning 20 games in 24 rounds, before taking out the premiership and the inaugural NRL State Championship. Demetriou resigned at the end of the 2014 season to further his career as a coach in the NRL. He was replaced by assistant coach Joe O'Callaghan, who coached the team during the 2015 and 2016 seasons with assistant coaches Shane O'Flanagan and Leon Hallie, and trainer Darren Ferricks.

Former North Queensland Cowboys and Queensland Origin winger Ty Williams was appointed coach in 2017, with assistant coaches Sam Obst and Shane O'Flanagan. Williams was named QRL 'Coach of the Year' for the 2018 season, and he signed several contract extensions which saw him coach until the end of the 2023 season.[8]

Eric Smith was appointed coach for the 2024 season, with former Pride players Sam Obst and Will Bugden as assistant coaches.[9]

The foundation captain of the Northern Pride was former North Queensland Cowboys and St. George Illawarra Dragons player Chris Sheppard.[10] He was the first player signed to the team in July 2007, and was captain and operations manager for the first three seasons. Sheppard retired after leading the Pride to the 2010 Queensland Cup premiership.

Former North Queensland Cowboys player Ty Williams was captain for the next three seasons (2011–2013), before retiring to captain-coach the CDRL Innisfail Leprechauns. In 2014 Brett Anderson and Jason Roos were named as joint co-captains.

Ryan Ghietti was named as captain in 2016, with Jack Svendsen as vice-captain. Ghietti retired at the end of the 2018 season and Tom Hancock and Dave Murphy were named as joint co-captains for the 2019 season. Javid Bowen was named captain for the 2020 Season, but only one round was played before the season was cancelled due to COVID-19.

When matches restarted in 2021, Bowen re-signed with the Cowboys and Chris Ostwald and Jayden Hodges were named co-captains. Hodges left at the end of the 2022 season, and Ostwald was named captain for the 2023 season, with Ewan Moore as vice-captain. Newly signed hooker, Kyle Schneider was appointed captain for the 2024 season, with Ewan Moore and Evan Child as joint vice-captains.

When the team captain has been unavailable due to injury or representative duties, they have been replaced by other team members, including Chey Bird, Ben Laity and Mark Cantoni. Other players have been named as captain for pre-season trials, including Warren Jensen, Ryan Stig, Sheldon Powe-Hobbs, Jordan Biondi-Odo and Tom Hancock.

The foundation Chief Executive Officer was Dennis Keeffe (former CEO of the North Queensland Cowboys), who held the position from 2007 to 2009. He was replaced in 2010 by QRL Northern Division chairman John Moore. From 2011 to 2013 former team captain Chris Sheppard was chief executive officer. In 2013–2014 Northern Pride business development manager, Brock Schaefer was CEO.[11] Schaefer resigned at the end of the 2014 season to take up a role at South Sydney Rabbitohs, and was replaced by former Pride player Rod Jensen for the 2015 and 2016 seasons. Greg Dowling was CEO for the 2017 season, but resigned half-way through the 2018 season. He was replaced by Mark Quinn, who resigned at the end of the 2020 season. Paul Callaghan was CEO for the 2021 season, with Garreth Smith taking up the role in 2022.

The founding Northern Pride chairman was John O'Brien. He was replaced at the end of 2008 by Bob Fowler, who retired in December 2015. Terry Mackenroth acted as interim chairman until June 2016, when Cairns real-estate agent and club director, Tony Williamson, was appointed chairman. Williamson resigned at the end of the 2020 season, with Nigel Tillett acting as interim chairman until Terry Medhurst was appointed chairman at the start of the 2024 season.[12]

The Northern Pride Board of Directors for the 2024 season is Terry Medhurst (chair), Joel Riethmuller (player representative), Micheal Luck (North Queensland Cowboys representative), (FNQRL representative), Mark Whitnall, Leon Yeatman, Stephen Devenish and Sarah Campbell.

There are four life members. The first three life memberships were awarded at a Round 22 pre-game luncheon at Barlow Park, 7 August 2016.

The Pride's home ground is Barlow Park, corner Scott & Severin St, Parramatta Park, in Cairns. The playing field is 114 metres long (100 metres of field plus two 7-metre in-goal areas) by 68 metres wide. The venue has a capacity of 15,000, which includes 1,700 seats (mostly undercover) in a stand on the northern side of the park. The stand was constructed in 1987, with an extension added in 2003. Further upgrades are proposed to enable the venue to be used for preliminary soccer matches in the lead up to the 2032 Olympic games, with construction due to start in 2025.[13]

The facility is floodlit for night games with four towers providing 620 lux. In 2024 a $10.9 million project installed four LED towers which increased the lighting capacity to broadcast standard of 1800 lux, and also installed a large video screen for scoring and replays.[14]

The car park can accommodate approximately 300 vehicles.

In 2012–2013 the Pride played 13 consecutive home games at Barlow Park without loss. In 2014 Barlow Park was renamed 'The Jungle' and the Pride won all 12 matches they played there.

When Barlow Park was unavailable due to renovations, maintenance and conflicts with other events, the Pride played at nearby venues. They played three home games at CDRL Kangaroos' Vico Oval (two in 2010 and one in 2019), one home game at CDJRL Jones Park in 2018, and two home games at CDRL Brothers Cairns Stan Williams Park in 2018.

Inclement weather resulted in a change of venue in Round 7 2014, when the Pride home game against Easts Tigers was postponed by Cyclone Ita and later played at Davies Park, Mareeba, and Round 1 2018, when heavy rain closed Barlow Park, so the Pride's home game against Wynnum Manly Seagulls was played at Langlands Park, Brisbane.

The Pride have relocated home games to regional venues: Davies Park, Mareeba (2014); Atherton Stadium (2016 against Burleigh Bears, and 2018 against Townsville Blackhawks); Callendar Park, Innisfail (2022 against Wynnum Manly Seagulls); Tully Showgrounds (2023 against Sunshine Coast Falcons); and Queensland Country Bank Stadium, Townsville (2024 against Souths Logan Magpies).

As part of the QRL's 'Country Week' initiative, the Northern Pride have played at Alec Inch Oval, Mount Isa (2012); Jilara Oval, Yarrabah (2013); Davies Park, Mareeba (2014); Callendar Park, Innisfail (2015); Ravenshoe JRL Grounds (2016); Yusia Ginau Oval, Bamaga (2017); John Street Oval, Cooktown (2018 and 2024); Ken Brown Oval, Thursday Island (2019 and 2022), Atherton Stadium (2021); and Andoom Oval, Weipa (2023). [15]

The Pride purchased CDRL Kangaroos Leagues Club and Vico Oval, Irene Street, Mooroobool from the Redcliffe Dolphins in June 2008 for $1.85m (the Dolphins having purchased the Oval and Leagues Club from the Kangaroos in 2005 when the Roos were in financial difficulty). Vico Oval was renamed Pride Oval and the 2008 Northern Pride Player Awards ceremony was held at the Pride Leagues Club. Pre-season trials were played at Pride Oval in 2009, as well as rounds 9 and 11 of the 2010 season.

The Oval and Leagues Club cost around $230,000 a year to maintain, and so in December 2010 Cairns Regional Council agreed to purchase the sporting complex for $2.5m to guarantee its future as a sporting field, prevent residential development on the land and free the Northern Pride rugby league club from an oppressive debt. The Pride were given a six-month lease, and when it expired in May 2011 they decided not to renew and moved to Barlow Park. Pride Oval was leased to CDRL Kangaroos RLFC and became Vico Oval and Kangaroos Leagues Club once again. The Pride played pre-season trial matches at Vico Oval in 2012 and 2016.

In their first year in the Queensland Cup the Northern Pride came third, losing the preliminary final in golden point extra-time to the Souths Logan Magpies, who went on to win the 2008 grand final. The foundation coach was Andrew Dunemann, who had played first-grade in both the NRL and English Super League. The assistant coach was David Maiden, a rugby league international who had played in the NRL, English Super League, and Queensland Cup. The foundation captain was Chris Sheppard, who had played for the North Queensland Cowboys and St. George Illawarra Dragons.

The Northern Pride followed up their impressive first season by finishing second and reaching the grand final. The Pride's first grand final appearance ended in a 32–18 loss to the Sunshine Coast Sea Eagles at Stockland Park. Coach Andrew Dunemann left at the end of the season to take up a position as assistant coach to Rick Stone at the Newcastle Knights.

David Maiden took over as coach. Maiden played for the North Queensland Cowboys, Gateshead Thunder and Hull FC, as well as representing Scotland as an international in the 2000 Rugby League World Cup. The Northern Pride finished fourth and made the Grand Final, having won 11 matches in a row. They won their first premiership, beating Norths Devils 30–20 at Suncorp Stadium. Captain Chris Sheppard won the Duncan Hall Medal for his man-of-the-match performance, which was his last game before retirement.

Grand Final video highlights.

The new captain was recently retired North Queensland Cowboys wing Ty Williams. Between Round 14 of the 2010 season and Round 5 of the 2011 season, the Northern Pride won 17 consecutive games, a Queensland Cup record. After a draw in Round 6 and a win in Round 7, the Pride were unbeaten after 19 matches. The Pride finished the 2011 season in second place, but were eliminated after losing the semi-final 26-20 to Tweed Heads Seagulls at Dolphin Oval, Redcliffe.

In 2012, the club finished seventh to miss out on a finals appearance for the first time in their short history. At the end of the season, coach David Maiden resigned, while fullback Chey Bird, who scored 572 points in 94 appearances for the Pride, retired along with former North Queensland Cowboys star Rod Jensen, who scored 36 tries in 69 games for the club, second on the Pride's all-time try scorer list.

Former Super League player Jason Demetriou replaced David Maiden as coach, and Brock Schaefer replaced Chris Sheppard as CEO. The Pride finished first and won their first minor premiership. Head Coach Jason Demetriou was awarded the Men of League Coach of the Year. The Pride lost the major semi-final and the preliminary final, and missed out on a Grand Final appearance. At the end of the season Captain Ty Williams retired.

Coach Jason Demetriou named Brett Anderson and Jason Roos as joint co-captains. Barlow Park was renamed 'The Jungle' and the Pride introduced a new mascot, Barlow the lion. The Pride won 20 of their 24 games (including all 11 home games at Barlow Park) and they took out the minor premiership for the second year in a row. The Pride won the grand final 36–4 against Easts Tigers and won the inaugural NRL State Championship against the New South Wales Cup premiers, Penrith Panthers. At the end of the season four of the Pride's players were offered NRL contracts and Demetriou left to take up the role of assistant coach at the North Queensland Cowboys.

The Northern Pride defended their premiership under new coach Joe O'Callaghan. This was the inaugural season of the Townsville Blackhawks in the Queensland Cup, who became the third feeder club of the North Queensland Cowboys. The Pride were eliminated 54–26 in the first week of the finals by the Ipswich Jets, who would go on to win the Queensland Cup. The Pride got off to a poor start, losing the first four rounds, but then began to string some wins together, climbing into the top eight by Round 9. They won 14 games this season, and finished in sixth place, but were eliminated in the first week of the finals, losing 26–54 to the Ipswich Jets, who would go on to win the Grand Final against the new Townsville side.

The Pride lost a wealth of talent to retirement at the end of last season. In 2016 they fielded the youngest team so far, with an average age of 21. While the Pride had some memorable wins, they lost more home games than they won and finished eighth, missing out on the finals series for just the second time. At the end of the season coach Joe O'Callaghan resigned.

Ty Williams succeeded Joe O'Callaghan as coach. The Pride struggled this year, winning only six games, and losing seventeen, including eight losses in a row from Round 11 to Round 19. The Pride, who previously had an unenviable record of wins at home, managed only two victories at Barlow Park. They finished in twelfth place, their worst season to date.

In their second year under coach Ty Williams the Pride won 13 games, an improvement on last year. They finished fourth and qualified for the finals, the first time since 2015. However they were eliminated in the first week of the finals by Easts Tigers. This game was played at Stan Williams Park, the home of Cairns Brothers, as Barlow Park was unavailable.

The Pride's 2019 season was disappointing. While they started the season well, winning their first two games against tough opponents, they went on to lose the next 10 straight, a club record, and finished in twelfth place with just five wins from 23 games. They managed to finish the season in a competitive fashion, pulling off a thrilling comeback to defeat Easts Tigers 18-16 in their last home game, before narrowly falling to Tweed Seagulls 12-10 in the final round.

The season was cancelled after one round due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[16] The Pride played three pre-season trials, two of which attracted large crowds - the trial against the Blackhawks was a curtain-raiser to the Cowboys v Broncos pre-season trial, and the trial against the Hunters attracted a large ex-pat following. The only match in the regular season was an away game where the Pride lost to Tweed Heads Seagulls. In August and September a special four-team 'Lightning Challenge' competition was held to give the players and fans some rugby league in what was otherwise a very quiet year.

The 2021 Intrust Super Cup was played over 19 rounds.[17] The Northern Pride finished ninth and missed out playing in the finals.

The 2022 Hostplus Cup saw fourteen teams playing 20 rounds. The Northern Pride finished 8th and were knocked out of the finals series in week one, losing 30-22 to the Central Queensland Capras.

The 2023 Hostplus Cup was played over 22 rounds. The Northern Pride finished in seventh place, but were knocked out of the finals series in week one, losing 15-14 to Wynnum Manly Seagulls. Coach Ty Williams retired at the end of the season.

The 2024 Hostplus Cup is the 29th season of Queensland's top-level statewide rugby league competition run by the Queensland Rugby League. Fifteen teams will play over 23 rounds between March and August, with the finals series played in September.

Eric Smith was appointed as coach.[18] New signings included Lachlan West, Nat McGavin and Bacho Salam from the Brisbane Tigers, Dane Aukafolau (Newcastle Knights), Jensen Taumoepeau (Newtown Jets), Kyle Schneider (Mackay Cutters), Josh Allen (Canberra Raiders) and Ashton Galea (Innisfail Brothers).

The Cowboys split their squad of NRL and development list players between their two feeder clubs, the Pride and Mackay Cutters, with players not required for that weekend's NRL fixture heading to their Queensland Cup team.[19]

Cowboys who played for the Pride in 2024

• Braidon Burns – CE
  
• Emarly Bitungane – PR
  
• Harrison Edwards – LK, SR
  
• Jack Gosiewski – SR
  
• Jake Clifford – FE
  
• Jodeci Baker-Tiraha – CE
  
• Kaiden Lahrs – PR
  
• Tom Chester – FB
  
• Tom Duffy – HB
  

• 2010: NAIDOC Week black jersey designed by Kevin Edmondston (Aboriginal) and Joey Laifoo (Torres Strait Islander) and worn in Round 16, Friday 9 July 2010 at Barlow Park for the game against the Ipswich Jets.
• 2011: NAIDOC Week green jersey worn in Round 15, Friday 8 July 2011 at Barlow Park for the game against the Burleigh Bears.
• 2011: Special Northern Peninsula Area ((NPA) Indigenous jersey designed by Mario Assan for the Round 20 game played on Saturday 20 August 2011 at Yusia Ginau Oval, Bamaga, Queensland against Souths Logan Magpies. The design incorporates:

The five communities of the NPA Region: Injinoo, Umagico, Bamaga, New Mapoon and Seisia, the communities are represented on the five dots on the boomerang.

The five tribes the Traditional Owners of the NPA Anggamuthi, Atambaya, Wuthati, Yadhaykenu and Gudang. The tribes are depicted through the five rivers that stream from the bottom of the boomerang.

The main centrepiece of the design the Torres Strait Headress (Dhari) traditionally known as a Dhibal, is from Saibai Island, which makes up the majority of the TSI population in the NPA which migrated to the NPA throughout the 1940s. The Dhari as a significant importance in TSI culture, the initiation of young men into warriors, celebrated through dance and ceremonies.

The boomerang represents the Aboriginal peoples of the NPA, used in hunting and gathering and significant ceremonies.

• 2012: Pink socks and pink bootlaces for the Breast Cancer Foundation and Women in League Round, Round 15 played on Saturday 23 June 2012 at Barlow Park against Tweed Heads Seagulls.
• 2012: Orange jersey for the Round 17 game played on Saturday 14 July 2012 at Alec Inch Oval, Mt Isa against Souths Logan Magpies.

• 2008–2013: CRGT / Skill360
• 2014–2017: Sea Swift
• 2018–2019: Mount Peter (Kenfrost Homes) (The Pride started the 2018 season without a major sponsor)
• 2020– : Kenfrost Homes

• Jersey sponsor: Sea Swift, Brothers Leagues Club, Queensland Country Credit Union.
• Sleeve sponsor: NQ X-Ray (2008–2010), Skytrans (2011–2014), Rivers Insurance Brokers (2015), Rivers Insurance Brokers & LJ Hooker (2016)
• Shorts sponsor: Brothers Leagues Club, Cairns Regional Council, Fuller Sports, Intrust Super, Cairns Hardware.
• Playing strip manufacturer: EMU Sportswear
• Other sponsors: XXXX; Gilligans Backpacker Hotel and Resort; Pacific Toyota; Cairns District Rugby League; Calanna Pharmacy; Tropic Wings; GATA Plastering; All Seasons Cairns Colonial Club; Cairns Plan Printing; Yalumba Winery.

• Sea FM; Zinc 102.7; Triple M; WIN Television; Cairns Post.

In 2011 the Pride began live-streaming their home games, starting with the last home game of the season (Round 22 against Tweed Heads). For the 2012 season, home games were live-streamed via the Pride website using video distribution service Rivus TV Ltd. Games were free for members to watch, and $5 per game for non-members.[20] From Round 5 2012 away games were streamed through the website as well.[21]

From 2013 to 2016, all matches (including pre-season trials but excluding matches broadcast live by Channel Nine) were streamed live through the Pride website, with access granted exclusively to Pride members.[22] Video production was by Studio Productions and the commentary team was Adam Jackson and Northern Pride Under-18s coach, Cameron 'Spiller' Miller.

In 2022 Sydney based Cluch.tv gained exclusive rights for live-streaming all QRL games; Hostplus Cup, BMD Premiership, Auswide Bank Mal Meninga Cup, Cyril Connell Challenge, Harvey Norman U19, and Harvey Norman U17. The subscription service operated under the website name Qplus.TV, with Cluch selling a subscription to all games for $4.99 a week or $49.99 a season. In September 2023 Cluch Pty. Ltd. entered voluntary administration with the QRL owed $233,000.

QRL relaunched QPlus.TV at the start of the 2024 season with the same subscription deal. The match of the round is shown free on QPlus, 9Now and Kayo Free.