A struggling NRL team has unveiled a groundbreaking Australian jersey for their season’s final game, but its design and ‘gimmicky’ nature haven’t pleased many fans.

The North Queensland Cowboys will debut a Northern Lights jersey that glows in the dark for their final home game of the season.

Unveiled as part of the club’s 30th anniversary, it’s the first jersey of its kind in major Australasian sport.

Fluorescent ink means the jersey glows under blue UV light, with retail versions also featuring glow-in-the-dark silicone badges.

The jersey will make its on-field debut in Round 26 against the Brisbane Broncos on August 30.

However, frustrated supporters, still upset after the team was eliminated from the NRL finals following their defeat to the Cronulla Sharks last weekend, remain unimpressed.

‘Really don’t like this one. Why glow in the dark too, like that’s just a gimmick you’re never really gonna see used,’ one posted to a fan group.

Others said the jersey looks more like a Parramatta strip than a Cowboys one. 

‘OMG this is a gee up. Hindy will have a field day when we play Parra,’ one posted.

Another commented: ‘We are the blue and grey not blue and yellow’.

‘Yeah, actually that would be a killer design for the Eels,’ joked another.

The Cowboys have won just seven matches this season and have crashed to 13th on the NRL ladder, adding to the angst over the new jersey. 

‘What’s the point of having a glow jersey if players won’t light it up?’ an unhappy Cowboys fan asked. 

‘Another jersey the players don’t respect the one they have,’ accused another.

‘It’s not the jersey that needs updating. It’s the bloody defence,’ fumed  yet another. 

The Cowboys’ disappointing performance this season has put coach Todd Payten under scrutiny, with former team star Josh Hannay rumored as a potential replacement should a change be needed.

Prop Coen Hess went into bat for his under-siege coach this week. 

‘There’s always pressure. It’s the NRL,’ Hess said.

The responsibility, however, lies with the players. Todd and the coaching staff put in considerable effort throughout the week. He’s not the one missing tackles or allowing tries.

‘The responsibility is on the players. We take out onto the field, they give us a good enough game plan and the onus is on us to go out there and execute it. 

‘From my point of view I don’t think it’s very warranted, the pressure on Toddy or the coaching staff. We’ve got to have a good hard look in the mirror ourselves and play up to the standards they set for us, and that we know we’re capable of.’

His thoughts were echoed by second-rower Kai O’Donnell. 

‘We’ve been lapsing in concentration, I think pretty much the whole season we haven’t put an 80-minute performance together,’ O’Donnell said.

‘It’s hard to put a finger on it, but I think it just comes down to concentration. We’ve got to concentrate for the whole 80 minutes, not just periods of a game, because that’s where it falls apart.

‘It’s all on us, us 17 players, to do that and no one else can do it for us. There’s no coaches or anyone else that can do it, it’s just on us.

‘It’s hard for me to speak on behalf of everyone, but I think it’s just individually prepping. I feel like we get enough good prep during the week, and a good game plan to go out and implement into the game.

‘It’s just doing that. We talk about it but now it’s just about putting those actions in and maintaining it for the whole 80 minutes.’