The North Queensland Cowboys have confirmed they will revert to a two feeder team system in 2024.
It comes after the South Sydney Rabbitohs recently continued their raid on Queensland by signing the Townsville Blackhawks as an affiliate club for 2024.
It meant the Cowboys lost the club closest to their own backyard, but the Townsville-based NRL outfit have now confirmed they will continue their work with the Northern Pride and Mackay Cutters.
The move will strengthen both of those QLD Cup teams, with North Queensland's fringe NRL squad now split between two feeder teams instead of three, while it also will see players from those two outfits train with the Cowboys, and coaches develop within the four walls of the Cowboys' Townsville base.
“We are excited about the opportunity we have in 2024 to allocate the players not playing NRL for the Cowboys to clubs who have player development and progression as core parts of their values system,” Cowboys general manager of football Michael Luck said in a club statement.
“Incoming Pride Coach Eric Smith and incumbent Cutters' mentor Michael Comerford have proven track records of preparing players for the challenges of the NRL arena are both clearly aligned with the philosophies of Todd Payten and our coaching team.
“We look forward to welcoming them and their staff spending time with us during the season and both teams playing curtain raisers at Queensland Country Bank Stadium in 2024.”
The system in play for 2024 was last used between 2008 and 2014, with both Mackay and the Pride winning competitions during that time.