NRL 2021: Chad Townsend talks injury, why he attempted a field goal and Cronulla Sharks rematch
As he awaits word on his availability to face his former club next weekend, Chad Townsend opens up on his Warriors return and what happened in those final 10 minutes on Friday night.
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Chad Townsend says ‘he had a fair bit going on in my head’ after admitting he thought the Warriors led by six when he attempting a game-changing field goal.
Townsend also spoke of the agony playing with a busted AC joint and how he is racing the clock to be fit to face his former side Cronulla.
Scans on Saturday night revealed he had suffered grade three damage to his shoulder which can sideline players for up to a month.
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His return as a Warrior was marred by a painful shoulder injury he sustained the first time he kicked the ball following kick pressure from St George Illawarra’s Tariq Sims.
“I landed straight on my AC joint,” Townsend said.
“I felt it straight away and it was disjointed. I didn’t want to give too much away with how much it was hurting. I tried to get back into the defensive line as if nothing happened but I couldn’t tackle with my right shoulder.”
Townsend nursed his shoulder in a sling on Saturday. He needed pain-killing injections to play on at half-time.
He remains hopeful of playing through the pain.
“It was hurting when I was passing,” Townsend said.
“I was trying to hang on. I didn’t sit with the team at half-time. They were umming and ahhing if I was to play on. It’s really swollen.
“It will be just a matter of seeing how much pain I can tolerate with it. My head was a bit off – I was worried about it. I knew we didn’t have many on the bench. I knew if I could hide myself on the field I could get away with it.”
The turning point in the match came when Townsend attempted a field goal with the Warriors leading by eight with less than 10 minutes remaining. The Dragons eventually scored twice in the final five minutes to send the game into golden point before St George Illawarra won in golden point.
“I had a fair bit going on in my head,” Townsend said.
“I had a look back at the scoreboard. I misread the score, I thought we were up by six. I was in a great spot to take the field goal, after I kicked it Wayde Egan told me we were up by eight. I put my hand up – I got that wrong.”
Townsend is now battling to be fit to take on the Sharks – just two weeks after leaving the club to join the Warriors. Cronulla are hosting the Warriors next Sunday.
“I would love to play,” Townsend said. “It would be a big game for myself for where we are as a club. We need wins to keep in contact with the eight. Sharks are in that fifth to eight position as well. I wouldn’t say I was disappointed (about moving on). It wasn’t how I saw it happening but I’m a realist this is professional sport.
“People have asked me was I sad that I couldn’t get a send-off. To be honest those things aren’t important. My career and football comes first.”
Family tragedy rocks Nathan Brown
- Dean Ritchie and Adam Lucius
New Zealand Warriors coach Nathan Brown is mourning the death of his brother, Denny.
Brown’s wife, Tanya, drove to Central Coast Stadium after the Warriors-St George Illawarra Dragons game on Friday night to tell her husband the tragic news.
Known as the ‘life of the party’, Denny, 42, died in the Sydney suburb of Redfern.
The Sunday Telegraph spoke to a shattered Brown on Saturday, who revealed he had spent the morning grieving with family relatives, including his father, John.
Brown, who is staying at Terrigal with his side through Covid, did not wish to publicly comment on his half brother’s death.
Friends say Denny endured his struggles through life but had retained a strong bond with Brown.
Denny, for a short period, lived in a house owned by former Dragons star and ex world boxing champion, Anthony Mundine.
“I tried to help him out and put him on the right track,” Mundine said. “We became quite close.
“It’s just sad, bro. A piece of my heart left on Saturday. He succumbed to drugs over the years. He had his ups and downs, he had his battles, as we all do in life.
“I don’t know what to say – he just died too young. I still can’t believe he’s not here. ‘Nath’ always called him and checked up on him to see how he was doing.
“He was living in one of my places, one of my houses. I was trying to do as much as I could, to try and mentally stimulate his mind and get him to hang around the right people; trying to have him hang around the right crowd.
“But he swayed and went here and there. Unfortunately that’s what he did over the last few months.
“I have known Denny since he was 13 when ‘Browny’ first came down to St George. I think I was playing SG Ball and ‘Browny’ was in the Jersey Flegg side. It’s just so sad.”
New Zealand Warriors officials say Denny’s death has “rocked” Brown.
Warriors recruitment manager Peter O’Sullivan has been attempting to comfort his good mate, Brown.
“Denny was always the life of the party and it’s devastating news for the family,” O’Sullivan said.
“Everyone at the Warriors, the owners, CEO, staff and players are devastated and feeling for his dad John, Nathan, Tanya and all his family.”
Brown has two full brothers - Daniel and Jason – while Joel is another half-brother.
GREAT ESCAPE FOR DRAGONS IN GOLDEN HEIST
Put it down as one of the brain explosions of the season.
With his new side up by eight points with six minutes remaining against a down and almost out St George Illawarra, Warriors halfback Chad Townsend inexplicably attempted a field goal.
It never looked like hitting the mark and instead went dead, gifting the desperate Dragons a seven tackle set.
They used the unexpected momentum breaker to score two quick tries, forcing the game into golden point where Corey Norman stepped up to nail his own one-pointer to seal a thrilling 19-18 win at an empty Central Coast Stadium.
An embarrassed Townsend later admitted he thought his side was only up by six and wanted the extra one-point buffer.
It brought back memories of Terry Lamb and Greg Inglis kicking field goals for Canterbury and South Sydney respectively in the mistaken belief their sides were deadlocked when in fact they trailed by two.
“It would have been a better option trying to get the ball back but he thought we were up by six,” Warriors coach Nathan Brown explained.
“He’s not the first player that’s done that. Unfortunately he didn’t quite recognise the score.
“There were many factors in the last 10 minutes where we let ourselves down.”
Dragons coach Anthony Griffin couldn’t quite believe what he was seeing when Townsend set himself for the shot.
“I was (scratching my head) but I’m glad he did (attempt it),” he said.
“I didn’t understand why he took it but he obviously thought they were in front by six.”
Griffin admitted it was a lucky break but praised his side for hanging in there when they went behind by 12 early in the second half.
He said: “The last 15 minutes was fantastic and that’s all I’m worried about at the moment.
“The fact they didn’t give up and kept coming was a good sign.
“We could have given that game away and thought it wasn’t our night.”
The Dragons took full advantage of Townsend’s blunder, travelling up the other end and scoring through Jack Bird to reduce the gap to just four.
Cody Ramsay then crossed in the corner as the full-time siren sounded to level it at 18-all.
Norman’s sideline conversion struck the left upright, forcing the game into golden point.
He made up for that miss by striking the winning field goal with less than two minutes left in golden point.
This game had it all – and not all of it good.
There was poor defence, a multitude of horrible mistakes and some option-taking that belonged in park football.
Both sides did their best to lose it but in the end the Dragons held it together long enough to come away with the scrappiest of two points.
It was a game the Warriors appeared to have under control for most of the second half until they completely unravelled.
The loss – their first in six starts against the Dragons – is likely to have major ramifications on their top eight hopes.
TOWNSEND BEATEN BLACK AND BLUE
If you can’t beat him, take him out.
After Townsend put them to the sword twice this year in Cronulla colours, the Dragons were taking no chances the third time round.
Tariq Sims ensured Townsend’s return to the Warriors after a six-year absence would not be a happy one, leaving the No. 7 largely incapacitated via a brutal tackle in the opening minutes.
Sims bore down on Townsend as he launched a downfield kick, crunching the former Shark and burying him into the turf, leaving him writhing in pain with a tender right shoulder.
Replays suggested Townsend may have been airborne when Sims collected him, but no action was taken by match officials.
Townsend had the shoulder re-strapped at the break and bravely saw out the game, but was clearly favouring his right arm.
He did his best to tackle with one good arm and doing little in general play.
The premiership-winning half was a thorn in the Dragons’ side in the first half of the season, leading Cronulla to wins in round one and 11 before his mid-season shift to the Warriors.
The shoulder injury may prevent Townsend from turning out against his former club next round.
Dragons forward Jack de Belin found himself on report twice – one for a cannonball tackle and the other for a lifting tackle.
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