North Queensland Cowboys off-season recruit Reed Mahoney has opened up on his move to Townsville, claiming he is an 80-minute player.

The dummy half left the Bulldogs after being granted a release at the end of 2025 following a mixed season.

Despite owning the starting dummy half role early in the campaign, the Queenslander and former Parramatta Eel was shuffled back to the bench during the second half of the campaign.

It came following the signing of Lachlan Galvin at Belmore, with the Bulldogs eventually being bundled out of the finals in straight sets.

With it clear the Bulldogs see Bailey Hayward as their long-term number nine, Mahoney was shuffled back to the bench and then out of the system, but in his first Townsville-based media appearance, said he works hard during the pre-season and wants to play the full 80 minutes each week.

"I'm an 80-minute player every week. As I said, I work extremely hard during the off-season to get peak fitness. There were some changes at the back-end of last year that were out of my control," Mahoney said during the press conference.

"That was the coaches decision. I had to run with it and it was about the team at the time, but if there is anything I can take out of that, it's motivation for the years to come."

80-minute dummy halves are becoming rarer in the modern game, but Mahoney is one who has handled it well over the years, and said he was adapting well to his time in Townsville.

"Loving it. It's my second week at training, I've been up here for about a month now. I had a couple of weeks to settle into the hot weather, and really enjoying it so far. It's good to be back in training," Mahoney said.

"I think only Queenslander's know what it feels like. It's nice to be back in Queensland and I'm really looking forward to what's ahead.

"It has been great. I think the boys had three weeks on me, so just from looking outside in they are all fit and all here to work really hard, so it's a great place to start."

The dummy half admitted there were plenty of options on the table when it came to negotiating his departure from the Bulldogs, but he wound up picking the Cowboys because of the playing group and quality of coaching.

"There was many options. I sort of just picked based on the group of players that were here, the type of coaches that were here, and they said to me straight away that there was plenty left in me to learn and grow and that's what I was looking for. I think a change is always nice too," Mahoney said.

"As I said, there are some great players here that I'm really excited to play with, and some great young players too."

The Cowboys kick-off their 2026 season, with Mahoney likely in the number nine jumper where he will replace Reece Robson, in Las Vegas against the Newcastle Knights.