2018 Northern Pride RLFC season
2018 was the eleventh competitive season for the Cairns based Northern Pride Rugby League Football Club. They were one of 14 clubs that played in the twenty-second season of Queensland's top rugby league competition, QRL's Intrust Super Cup, with each team playing 12 home games and 11 away games over 24 weeks between March and August.
Channel 9 continued to be the television broadcast provider, but televised games moved from 2:00pm Sunday to 1:00pm on Saturday afternoon.
The Pride signed Dally M medal winner Todd Carney, a huge coup for the club. Carney hoped to join the Cowboys and play in the NRL again. After eight rounds, Carney resigned to move to Sydney to look after a family member, but promptly signed with Intrust Super Premiership side, North Sydney Bears. The Pride requested $15,000 in compensation to cover relocation costs they had paid, but Carney and the Bears refused. Carney then signed a short-term contract with Hull Kingston Rovers and returned to England to play Super League.
This was Ty Williams second season as coach. The Pride had a promising start, with three consecutive wins, but then had three straight losses, setting the tone for a turbulent season marked by inconsistent performances. The Pride won 13 games and finished fourth. They were knocked out of the finals series in the first week, with a resounding defeat to Easts Tigers 32-0. The Tigers were beaten in the Grand Final by minor-premiers Redcliffe Dolphins.
2018 Season - Northern Pride
- Competition: Intrust Super Cup.
- Sponsor: The Pride started the season with no major sponsor, after Sea Swift's sponsorship ended. Part way through the season 'Mount Peter Estate' signed as the Pride's major sponsor.
Squad
The Pride used 32 players this season. Seventeen players from last year signed with the club again, three of the Cowboys allocation players from last year were assigned to the Pride again this year, and allocation player Ethan Lowe* returned to the Pride after last season's absence. Nine new players made their debut this season; four were new signings, and five were new Cowboys allocation players. Dave Murphy and Brett Anderson re-signed with the Pride.Adrian Henley
Ben Cocciolone
Dale Ambrym
Dan Moevao
George House
Isaac Pedersen
Keelan White
Lachlan Parmenter
Lata Fakalelu
Mat Laumea
Milton Mossman
Willem Foster
Allocated but did not play for the Pride in 2018:
Connor Luhan
Wiremu Greig
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Player losses after 2017 season
Cowboys no longer allocated to the Pride
----2018 player awards
26 August 2018, Brothers World of Entertainment, ManundaJerseys
----Trial matches
| Round | Opponent | Score | Date | Venue |
| Trial 1 | Mackay Cutters | 2228 | Saturday, 10 February 2018 | Townsville Sports Reserve, Townsville |
| Trial 2 | Cairns Connection | 4010 | Saturday, 17 February 2018 | Barlow Park, Cairns |
| Trial 3 | Townsville Blackhawks | CANCELLED | Saturday 24 February 2018 | Jack Manski Oval, Townsville |
| Trial 4 | Northern Pride | In House | Tuesday 27 February 2018 | Barlow Park, Cairns |
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Intrust Super Cup matches
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| Position | Round 9 – 2018 | P | W | D | L | B | For | Against | Diff | Pts |
| 7 | Northern Pride | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 138 | 129 | +9 | 10 |
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2018 Ladder
Northern Pride (regular season 2018)
- Win = 13
- Loss = 9
- Draw = 1
Final series
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