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Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Todd Owen Payten | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1979-01-18)18 January 1979 (age 46) Parramatta,New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 188 cm (6 ft 2 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 110 kg (17 st 5 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Prop, Second-row | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Coaching information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As of 7 April 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Todd Payten (born 18 January 1979) is an Australian professionalrugby league coach who is thehead coach of theNorth Queensland Cowboys in theNational Rugby League (NRL) and former professionalrugby league footballer.
As a player he played as aprop andsecond-row forward for theCanberra Raiders,Sydney Roosters and theWests Tigers over his 16-year NRL career, winning a premiership with the Tigers in2005. He previously coached theNew Zealand Warriors for the2020 NRL season.
Born inSydney, New South Wales and raised inTemora, New South Wales, Payten played junior rugby league for theTemora Dragons before signing a scholarship with theCanberra Raiders when he was 16. While living in Canberra, he attendedErindale College, representing theAustralian Schoolboys in 1996.[4]
In Round 18 of the1996 ARL season, after playing just tworeserve grade games, Payten made his first grade debut for the Raiders as a 17-year old in a 16–24 loss to theWestern Suburbs Magpies. He played two games for the Raiders that year and represented the New South Wales under-17 team.[5][6]
In 1997, Payten played 11 games for the Raiders, scoring his first try in a 26–38 loss to theCanterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. Over the next two seasons, he gradually made more appearances for the Raiders, initially playing from the bench, until he cemented a position as starting prop in 2000.[7] Over his seven seasons with the club, he played 90 games and in four finals series (1997, 1998, 2000, 2002).[7]
In 2003, having been released from the final two years of his contract with the Raiders, he joined theSydney Roosters. His first game with the club was the2003 World Club Challenge, coming off the bench and scored a try in the Roosters' 38–0 win overSuper League championsSt Helens R.F.C.[8] In Round 14 of the2003 NRL season, he played his 100th NRL game in a 15–14 win over theNorth Queensland Cowboys. He played 18 games for the Roosters in his lone season at the club, missing their run to the Grand Final after suffering a foot injury in their Round 23 win over theSouth Sydney Rabbitohs.[9]
After being released by the Roosters, Payten joined theWests Tigers in 2004, which meant he was being paid by three clubs.[4] CoachTim Sheens said of the signing, "We had players likeJohnny Skandalis who could take the ball up but what we were looking for was someone with a little bit of nous around his game."[10] In his first season with the club, he played 17 games.
On 2 October 2005, he came off the bench and scored the final try of the game in the Tigers' 30–16 win over theNorth Queensland Cowboys in the2005 NRL Grand Final. In Round 21 of the2008 NRL season, he played his 200th NRL game in a 56–4 win over theCanterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.[citation needed]
In 2010, Payten was named in theAustralian train-on squad for theFour Nations.[11] During that year's semi finals, he suffered an injury to his ankle when he stepped on a tennis ball. He took no further part in the season, and missed games at the start of 2011 with knee andankle problems. In an effort to return to full fitness, Payten underwent experimental stem-cell therapy, saying, "At the moment I'm retiring unless this works dramatically.".[12]
In Round 3 of the2011 NRL season, he played his 250th NRL game in a 34–24 win over his former club, theCanberra Raiders.[13]
In June 2011, prior to the Tigers' Round 13 game against theNewcastle Knights, Payten announced that he would retire at the end of the season.[14] Payten said, "This isn't the way I wanted it to finish. If I'm really honest with myself, I'd be hard-pressed to continue on the way it's going at the moment. I can't."[15] Already a Level 2 certified coach, Payten said he intended to pursue coaching. He returned from injury to make six more appearances off the bench towards the end of the season, but was unable to participate in the finals due to another injury.
Shortly after his retirement in 2011, Payten was announced as the head coach of the Wests TigersNYC team for 2012.[16] In his first season as coach, the Tigers finished 4th in the regular season. They went on to win all their post-season games, including beating pre-game favouriteCanberra Raiders 46–6 in the grand final.[17][18] He coached the side again 2013, before moving into an assistant coaches role with the Tigers' NRL side in 2014.
In 2013, Payten made his representative coaching debut, as his New South Wales Under-18 team defeated Queensland 56–6.[19] He coached the side again in 2014, with New South Wales winning 24–10.
In October 2014, Payten joined theNorth Queensland Cowboys as theirNYC head coach for the 2015 season and assistant to head coachPaul Green's NRL side.[20] On 4 October 2015, Payten was a member of the Cowboys' coaching staff in the side's 17-16Grand Final victory over theBrisbane Broncos. He remained on the North Queensland coaching staff until 2018, including their run to the 2017 Grand Final.
On 8 August 2018, Payten signed with theNew Zealand Warriors as an assistant coach for the 2019 season, replacing his former Raiders' teammateAndrew McFadden.[21]
On 20 June 2020, Payten was appointed interim head coach of theNew Zealand Warriors following the sacking ofStephen Kearney. He was later offered the role on a full-time basis, but declined.[22]
On 4 September 2020, he was announced as the head coach of theNorth Queensland Cowboys on a three-year deal, starting in 2021.[23] The Warriors finished the2020 season in 10th place. Before Payten took over as interim head coach, the Warriors were 14th and had won just two of their first six games. Under Payten they won six of their last 14 games and finished four points outside the top 8.
In the2021 NRL season, Payten had a difficult campaign with the North Queensland side remaining cellar dwellers for most of the season – winning only seven games and finishing second last (15th).[24]
In 2022, the club returned to the finals series after four seasons, finishing the regular season in third and equalling a club record of 17 regular season wins.[25] They ultimately fell just one game short of theGrand Final, with Payten later named theDally M Coach of the Year.[26]On 24 February 2023, Payten signed a three-year contract extension to remain as North Queensland head coach until the end of 2026.[27]In the2024 NRL season, Payten guided North Queensland back to the finals with a 5th-placed finish. They would be eliminated in the semi-finals by Cronulla.[28]In the2025 NRL season, North Queensland endured a difficult campaign where they finished 12th on the table. There was calls by some sections of the media and by fans that Payten should be relieved of his coaching duties due to North Queensland's poor performances throughout the year.[29]
| † | Denotes seasons in which Payten won anNRL Premiership |
| Season | Team | Matches | T | G | GK % | F/G | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 |  Canberra | 2 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 |
| 1997 | Canberra | 11 | 1 | 0 | – | 0 | 4 |
| 1998 | Canberra | 7 | 1 | 0 | – | 0 | 4 |
| 1999 | Canberra | 16 | 1 | 0 | – | 0 | 4 |
| 2000 | Canberra | 19 | 3 | 0 | – | 0 | 12 |
| 2001 | Canberra | 17 | 1 | 0 | – | 0 | 4 |
| 2002 | Canberra | 18 | 2 | 0 | – | 0 | 8 |
| 2003 |  Sydney Roosters | 18 | 1 | 0 | – | 0 | 4 |
| 2004 |  Wests Tigers | 17 | 1 | 0 | – | 0 | 4 |
| 2005† | Wests Tigers | 20 | 2 | 0 | – | 0 | 8 |
| 2006 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 2 | 0 | – | 0 | 8 |
| 2007 | Wests Tigers | 22 | 2 | 0 | – | 0 | 8 |
| 2008 | Wests Tigers | 11 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 |
| 2009 | Wests Tigers | 24 | 2 | 0 | – | 0 | 8 |
| 2010 | Wests Tigers | 21 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 |
| 2011 | Wests Tigers | 12 | 0 | 0 | – | 0 | 0 |
| Career totals | 259 | 19 | 0 | – | 0 | 76 | |
