Utility backs Ben Hampton and Brendan Elliot have agreed to one-year contract extensions with the North Queensland Toyota Cowboys for the 2023 season.
Hampton has appeared in 81 games over the course of six seasons in North Queensland.
The 30-year-old has regularly been utilised as a utility weapon for the Cowboys, spending significant time at numerous positions including fullback, wing, centre, hooker and in the halves.
A product of Mareeba in far North Queensland, Hampton has been deployed almost exclusively as a half since the arrival of Todd Payten and was in career-best form prior to suffering a torn pec mid-way through the 2021 season.
“Ben goes about his work in a selfless manner every day with the goal of making our team better,” Cowboys General Manager of Football Micheal Luck said.
“His attitude is infectious and our group is better in every aspect when he is around.
“Benny can play a number of different positions and players like that are invaluable.”
Elliot arrived in North Queensland in January and made an instant impression on Cowboys coaching staff with his work ethic and team-first attitude.
The 28-year-old has appeared in three games for the Cowboys this season and 69 over the course of his nine-year NRL career.
“Brendan has been a terrific addition since he came on board. Since day one, he’s been everything we hoped he’d be – an absolute professional who does his job with minimal fuss, trains hard and in his couple of games has shown himself to be really valuable through his ability to play different positions at a high level,” Luck said.
“It’s great to have a guy like Brendan commit to us for another year.”
