MACKAY, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 02: Michael Morgan of the Cowboys passes the ball during the NRL Trial match between the Melbourne Storm and the North Queensland Cowboys on March 02, 2019 in Mackay, Australia. (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)

North Queensland have appointed Michael Morgan as their captain for the 2019 NRL season.

Morgan will be supported by Jordan McLean, who has been named as the club's vice-captain at their 2019 season launch.

Cowboys head coach Paul Green decided the club would move away from Matt Scott as captain, as the club looks towards the future.

“The logical choice would have been to keep Matt Scott on as skipper given he was co-captain for so long, but after the retirement of Johnathan we viewed this decision as an opportunity to build for the future,” Green said.

“Morgo showed us in 2017 he had the attributes to lead this club and the benefit of naming him captain now is the fact we still have players of Matt and Gavin Cooper’s experience at the club to support both Michael and Jordan. The timing ensures we’re not throwing Morgo in the deep end.

“Macca’s appointment is also a look to the future. He has shown strong leadership qualities since the day he arrived at the club and again we thought this was the right time to hand him extra responsibility before some of our more experienced players move on in the next few years.”