Former North Queensland Cowboys star Kyle Feldt will make his Australian Rules football debut this Saturday after returning from the Northern Hemisphere and immediately linking up with the Thuringowa Bulldogs club based in Townsville.
The Cowboys' greatest try-scorer of all time has signed with the Bulldogs for the remainder of their 2026 campaign after Feldt and Super League club St. Helens mutually agreed to part ways at the end of last month.
Feldt made 29 appearances for St. Helens since he arrived ahead of the 2025 season, scoring an impressive 33 tries and 32 goals in the British competition.
The 34-year-old will return to the town where he achieved brilliant success during his professional sporting career, and test himself in unfamiliar waters.
The Bulldogs confirmed Feldt's code-switch in a statement over the weekend.
“The executive committee is ecstatic to announce that the Thuringowa Bulldogs have secured Kyle for the remainder of the 2026 season upon his return from England,” a Bulldogs statement read.
“The club welcomes Kyle and his family to the Kennel.
“We welcome fans of all footy codes to come down this Saturday to Riverway Stadium to see Kyle wear the colours for this first time and represent the Thuringowa Bulldogs.
“Bring your family and friends down and cheer him and the rest of the team on. Game starts at 3:30pm”
Feldt left the NRL at the conclusion of the 2024 season and finished his time at the Cowboys as the top-try scorer of all time at the North Queensland club.
During his 12-year career, he crossed the white line 151 times on the wing, including his iconic try on the siren in the 2015 Grand Final to send the match into golden point, leading the Cowboys to claim their maiden premiership as an NRL club.
Cowboys' favourite son Johnathan Thurston stepped up in golden point to drill a wobbly field goal in the 83rd minute of the match to move the trophy up north.
Feldt cemented himself in rugby league folklore, while also being widely regarded as a Cowboys legend for his role in North Queensland's drought-breaking premiership.
The Bulldogs lead the local Townsville competition, undefeated after 10 matches, with marquee signing Feldt expected to strengthen its push to five AFL Townsville premierships in a row in 2026.
The two-time Queensland Maroons representative amassed 217 matches in the NRL and will add great professionalism to the local competition immediately this Saturday against the Hermit Park Tigers.
One of the most recent code switches between the two rival sports happened when Melbourne Storm pathways product Matt Hill made the switch in 2024.
Hill was granted a release in 2024 to pursue an opportunity at Hawthorn, who recently made his AFL debut against Melbourne in Round 17, then followed up with a comfortable win against Carlton in the wet on Saturday.
Feldt's towering stature of 191cm and kicking specialist makes him an appropriate candidate for a code-hop to Australian Rules.
He has already acquired the overlapping physical demands needed to make the switch to the oval, but the jury is still out on Feldt's football IQ and game sense compared to the Bulldogs juniors growing up surrounded by Aussie rules.
After spending an entire career catching cross-field bombs from Thurston at NRL level, it's expected Feldt won't have any trouble securing marks in the local Townsville competition.
In his Cowboys days, Feldt remained a reliable option at kicking goals off the tee or on foot with a field goal.
He can produce power and depth off the boot, which suggests the former winger can transition to a heavy-built utility or key forward for the Bulldogs.
Cross-code stars Israel Folau and Karmichael Hunt created plenty of noise in their highly publicised switches in sport at AFL level, and it's expected the Townsville hero will draw in a solid crowd of locals to tune in to see how he performs in his debut on Saturday.
