TOWNSEND IMPLORES SUPPORTERS BRING NOISE TO UNSETTLE EELS
CHAD Townsend has packed more into the past two weeks than most have this year, and he is about to top it off with a historic match against Parramatta.
Win this match and the Cowboys book a ticket to their first grand final since 2017, a year on from finishing second last.
Lose it and their season is over. Townsend said the arrival of warmer days this week would be an advantage to his team.
“We live and breathe it,” he said.
“We train in it every day, we’re preparing in it, and I think the conditions definitely suit us.
“It’ll be an adjustment for them to come up and play in these conditions – the ball’s a lot slipperier and it does take a lot more out of you, so it definitely plays into our hands.”
Townsend’s fortnight started with the birth of his fourth child in Sydney, and is about to wrap up with the Cowboys’ first preliminary final in Townsville.
The extra week off allowed the cool-headed halfback to extend his stay in Sydney to be around family before flying north to resume training with the team.
He said that support from passionate fans and members from across the North
Queensland region had been amazing, helping Queensland Country Bank Stadium achieve fortress status.
“We’ve had a number of sellouts, they really get behind us and it does make a huge difference,” Townsend said.
“We want them to come and be as loud as possible this week and really get behind us, and I think it has been a bit of a fortress for us.
“If you drive around town, the town is absolutely buzzing ... and this weekend’s game is going to be a sellout.
“It’s going to be unbelievable, and I’m really looking forward to that opportunity to play in front of those guys.”
The Cowboys halfback said his kicking game would be vital against an Eels team led around the park by Mitchell Moses.
“It is something I pride myself on and something I take really seriously, something I love to do,” Townsend said.
“I’ve tried to take ownership of it this year, execute the kicking game and put ourselves in positions where we can control the field position and put some pressure back on the opposition, it’s such an extremely important part of the game these days.
“A lot of the responsibility rests on my shoulders and I love it, and I’ll be very prepared for that this weekend.”