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Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Chad Townsend | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | (1991-01-10)10 January 1991 (age 34) Caringbah,New South Wales, Australia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 181 cm (5 ft 11 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 87 kg (13 st 10 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Halfback, Five-eighth | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source:[1] As of 28 March 2025 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relatives | Scott Sorensen (brother-in-law) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chad Townsend (born 10 January 1991) is an Australian professionalrugby league footballer who plays as ahalfback for theSydney Roosters in theNational Rugby League (NRL).
He previously played for theNorth Queensland Cowboys, theNew Zealand Warriors and for theCronulla-Sutherland Sharks over two separate spells in the NRL. Townsend has also played at representative level forNSW City and the Prime Ministers 13. He was part of theCronulla team that won their maiden premiership title in the2016 season, the only local junior player in that team.
Townsend was born inCaringbah, Sydney.
Townsend played his rugby league for theYarrawarrah Tigers in the Cronulla-Sutherland local rugby league competition. During his junior football he was a part of 7 premiership teams.[2]
After being signed by theCronulla Sharks, Townsend made his debut in round 13 of the2011 NRL season. In his first match, played against the Brisbane Broncos, he managed to convert two tries scored by fellow playersJon Mannah andColin Best in the 40th and 80th minutes respectively.[3] As a result of the injury ofAlbert Kelly early in the season and the subsequent poor performance of Cronulla's other half options, Townsend was given the opportunity to play in the NRL, after his good form in theToyota Cup competition. He scored his first try in round 17 against the Rabbitohs. The Sharks won that game 26 – 4.[4] Townsend represented theJunior Kangaroos in 2011 and the NSW under 18s and NSW CHS.
On 22 September 2013, Townsend was named athalfback in the 2013New South Wales Cup Team of the Year.[5]
On 6 October 2013 Townsend was part of theCronulla Sharks side which defeatedWindsor Wolves 38–6 in theNSW Cup Grand Final.[6]
Townsend joined theNew Zealand Warriors for the2014 NRL season, where he partneredShaun Johnson in the halves.
TheNew Zealand Warriors missed the finals in both seasons that Townsend was at the club.[7]
It was announced in July 2015 that he would return to Cronulla in 2016 on a two-year contract.[8]
On 2 October 2016 Townsend was part of the Cronulla side which won their first ever premiership defeatingMelbourne 14–12 in the grand final.[9]
In 2017 Townsend was part of the Cronulla side which qualified for the finals but were eliminated in week one losing toNorth Queensland 15–14 in a shock defeat. In 2018, Townsend kicked the winning field goal for Cronulla in their week two elimination final againstPenrith. The following week, Cronulla fell short of a grand final appearance losing toMelbourne 22–6 in the preliminary final.[10][11][12] In 2019, Townsend was named Cronulla's player of the year. In 2020, Townsend was named in the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks team of the decade. In round 17 of the2020 NRL season, Townsend became the third player of the year to be sent off after he hit Newcastle playerKalyn Ponga with a shoulder charge.[13]
Townsend played 12 games for Cronulla in the2020 NRL season as the club finished 8th and qualified for the finals. He played in Cronulla's elimination final loss against Canberra.[14]
On 21 April 2021 Townsend signed a three-year deal with theNorth Queensland Cowboys starting in the 2022 season.[15]
On 23 June 2021 it was announced that Townsend would leave theCronulla-Sutherland Sharks to return to theNew Zealand Warriors for the remainder of the2021 NRL season, with the short-term deal not affecting his 2022 deal with theNorth Queensland Cowboys.[16]
In round 16 Townsend played his first game for theNew Zealand Warriors since his return to the club, playing at halfback against theSt. George Illawarra Dragons. New Zealand would go on to lose the game 19–18,[17] and to make matters worse Townsend picked up a shoulder injury, putting him out of play for an estimated 6–8 weeks.[18]
In round 1 of the2022 NRL season Townsend made his club debut for North Queensland in their 6–4 defeat againstCanterbury at theQueensland Country Bank Stadium.[19]Townsend played 26 matches for North Queensland in the2022 NRL season as the club finished third on the table and qualified for the finals. Townsend played in both finals matches including their preliminary final loss toParramatta.[20]In round 1 of the2023 NRL season, Townsend kicked a field goal with five minutes remaining to seal a 19–18 victory overCanberra.[21]Townsend played 24 games for North Queensland in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished 11th on the table.[22]In round 2 of the2024 NRL season, Townsend kicked the winning field goal for North Queensland in their 21-20 golden point extra-time victory over Newcastle.[23][24][25]
On 2 July 2024, it was confirmed that Townsend would leave the North Queensland Cowboys at the end of the2024 NRL season, to join theSydney Roosters for the2025 NRL season.[26]
| Season | Team | Games | Tries | Goals | FG | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 |  Cronulla-Sutherland | 11 | 2 | 19 | 46 | |
| 2012 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 20 | ||
| 2013 | 5 | 1 | 2 | |||
| 2014 |  New Zealand Warriors | 19 | 3 | 14 | 40 | |
| 2015 | 22 | 2 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 2016 | Cronulla-Sutherland | 27 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 41 |
| 2017 | 25 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 29 | |
| 2018 | 27 | 5 | 62 | 4 | 148 | |
| 2019 | 12 | 6 | 7 | 3 | 41 | |
| 2020 | 11 | 4 | 12 | |||
| 2021 | Cronulla-Sutherland | 11 | 31 | 1 | 63 | |
| New Zealand Warriors | 5 | 3 | 6 | |||
| 2022 |  North Queensland | 26 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 17 |
| 2023 | 24 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 25 | |
| 2024 | 20 | 3 | 3 | 15 | ||
| 2025 |  Sydney Roosters | 4 | ||||
| Totals | 266 | 40 | 167 | 20 | 514 |
*denotes season competing
source:[27]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)