Veteran half's big play keeps haters quiet

Chad Townsend is one of the few NRL players still on X and is an easy target for the many haters on the social media site.  There are regular calls for the veteran Cowboys halfback to retire - or be dropped - by the keyboard warriors. But Townsend, one of the game's true nice guys, showed in Saturday night's thriller against the Knights exactly why he is among the first Cowboys picked every week. His legs may not be as quick as they were when he debuted over a decade ago, but he showed against Newcastle he is still "quick between the ears" as the great Jack Gibson used to say of gifted playmakers. The Cowboys looked down and out with three minutes to play when Townsend put in an inch-perfect grubber kick for Jeremiah Nanai to score to make the score 20-all. Val Holmes missed the conversion and sent the game to golden point, where again it was that man Chad who came up with the big play. He landed the field goal to give the Cowboys a gutsy – if somewhat undeserved – win before an ecstatic Townsville crowd.