In his 13th and final season at the North Queensland Toyota Cowboys, Scott Bolton remained an essential part of Paul Green’s middle-forward rotation.

With Jason Taumalolo, Josh McGuire and Matt Scott all missing time through injury at different points of the season, Bolton’s veteran presence was crucial for the Cowboys.

The 32-year-old started six games throughout the year, including the final three of the season.

His best performance came in Round 14 against the Wests Tigers when he ran for a season-high 173 metres in just 38 minutes.

Bolton also booted the first goal of his career in the final ever game at 1300SMILES Stadium. After Shane Wright scored a try in the final minute in Round 24 against the Bulldogs, Bolton was handed the ball to attempt the conversion and he promptly slotted it through the posts, sending both his teammates and the crowd into raptures.

A Cowboys life member, Bolton finished his career ranking fourth on the club’s all-time appearances list with 246, trailing only long-time teammates Johnathan Thurston, Matt Bowen and Matt Scott.

2019 stats:

Games: 18

Average runs: 9

Average run metres: 89

Average post-contact metres: 33

Average tackles: 23