Welcome back to Marlee and Me, storytelling beyond the scoreline.

Yaama I’m Marlee Silva and if you’re new here this is a sports podcast unlike the kind you’re used to. These are conversations that get to the heart of your favourite athletes.

This year, I’ve had the great pleasure of sitting down with so many of our NRL and NRLW athletes through my role with 100% Footy and other parts of our broadcast with Nine’s WWOS and over the next couple of weeks you’ll get to hear the raw extended version of these chats in compilation style episodes that focus on one club or one theme - today, it’s the North Queensland Cowboys.

At the beginning of 2026, not many expected much from the Cowboys' season. Their coach was listed as one of the potential on the chopping block if things went down hill and nobody was talking about them being in sight of the 8.

Halfway through this year, they’d well and truly exceeded expectation and I caught up with a couple of their stars up in Townsville around about the Origin Period.

Today you’ll hear from Reed Mahoney, Jake Clifford and Jaxon Purdue. Get some insight from these stars before you watch them take on the Cronulla Sharks in their elimination final this weekend!

If you enjoyed the show make sure you hit subscribe wherever you’re listening, follow @marleeandmepod for more and I’ll catch you next week.

This episode of Marlee and Me was recorded on the lands of the Bindal and Wulgurukaba people, we pay our respects to elders past and present. Always was, always will be Aboriginal land.