2009 saw the appointment of Neil Henry as head coach which saw some hope for the club after winning NRL Coach of the Year with the Canberra Raiders the previous year. Throughout the year, the club were poised to make the finals however, the club slumped the consecutive losses to miss out on playing in the finals for the second straight year. 2009 also saw Matthew Bowen score his 100th try becoming the first Cowboy to score 100 tries for the club.