North Queensland coach Todd Payten says Luke Brooks will not be joining the club, and has backed co-captain Chad Townsend to see out his current contract.
Payten was emphatic ahead of Friday night's home NRL game with Penrith when asked about reports linking Brooks to the Cowboys.
The off-contract Wests Tigers playmaker has decided to test the open market and will find a new home next year.
Payten, who won the 2005 premiership with the Tigers, said that home would not be at the Cowboys.
Townsend, 32, is contracted until the end of next year and last week shot down speculation that he was seeking an early release.
"Plenty of rumours come across my desk, and I approached Chad a number of weeks ago about whether he was homesick," Payten said.
"(Townsend) told me then that he was really settled and I gave him my backing as coach of this club that he was not going anywhere.
"I will say this about Luke Brooks. I have a high opinion of him as a player, and I think the way he has handled himself over the past years with the media scrutiny on top of him shows great mental fortitude.
"His best footy is in front of him, and wherever he ends up the club is going to be in good shape. It is just not going to be here."
Payten said he was disappointed for his assistant coach Dean Young, who missed out on the head coaching role at St George Illawarra to Shane Flanagan.
"I am grateful he is still able to stay, and we are working out an extension for him and that will be done in the next few weeks," he said.
Both the Cowboys and Panthers have five State of Origin players unavailable for Friday night, and Payten spoke glowingly of the strength and depth of the opposition.
"Penrith are a winning club," he said.
"They've won the last two NRL premierships and pretty much won every competition (in lower grades) last year, so they know how to win.
"Their systems are set in place and the players that come in do the job."
The Cowboys will give a club debut to former Gold Coast forward Sam McIntyre, who made a mid-season switch.
Payten backed him to do the job off the bench.
"For Sam it is pretty basic. We just need him to run hard and make his tackles," he said.
The Cowboys received a boost with the inclusion of co-captain and star forward Jason Taumalolo for the Panthers clash.
Taumalolo had been unavailable since round seven because of a knee injury.
