{"id":61016,"date":"2021-04-21T09:37:04","date_gmt":"2021-04-21T09:37:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=61016"},"modified":"2021-04-21T14:58:15","modified_gmt":"2021-04-21T14:58:15","slug":"why-great-believes-townsend-will-fire-up-north","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=61016","title":{"rendered":"Why great believes Townsend will fire up North"},"content":{"rendered":"

Rugby league great Sam Thaiday has hailed veteran halfback Chad Townsend as a tremendous signing by the North Queensland Cowboys<\/a>, but who partners him in the halves from season 2022 remains to be seen.<\/p>\n

While young Cowboys playmaker Scott Drinkwater has impressed in the No.7 jersey this season, North Queensland have been in talks with both South Sydney Rabbitohs star Adam Reynolds<\/a> and highly touted Brisbane Broncos youngster Tom Dearden<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Townsend today signed with the third NRL club of his career, penning a deal worth $2.4 million over three years according to Nine rugby league reporter Danny Weidler.<\/p>\n

Thaiday said Townsend's ability as a game-managing halfback was set to add brilliant value to the Cowboys.<\/p>\n

"I think he brings a level of control," Thaiday said on this week's edition of Wide World of Sports' QLDER<\/em>.<\/p>\n

"He's played some big-game footy and change is always good as well. It'll be a great change for Chad Townsend but also a great change for the Cowboys.<\/p>\n

"Having him controlling everything and Drinkwater having reign would help him out."<\/p>\n

\"QLDER:<\/p>\n

Townsend has played 141 games with Cronulla across two stints, as well as 41 matches with the New Zealand Warriors.<\/p>\n

The New South Welshman partnered James Maloney in the halves as the Sharks secured their first-ever premiership in the top grade in 2016.<\/p>\n

Maroons State of Origin legend Wally Lewis said Dearden, whose Brisbane contract expires at the end of this year, would make for an ideal fit at North Queensland.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

"I'm a huge fan of Tom (Dearden). He's a young man that never gives up, produces his best and he's still learning his game. He freely admits that," Lewis said.<\/p>\n

"It will be pretty important as to who plays where. I can only see Tom playing No.7, which obviously is an indication of how the halves pairing will have to adapt to each other's game.<\/p>\n

"It's quite remarkable how often you can learn plenty about your halves partner throughout your training sessions you'll take part in throughout the build-up. They'll have a couple of months to get used to each other and I'm sure the coach will have in his mind what he expects week in, week out, every time they take to the field.<\/p>\n

"I can't speak highly enough of Tommy Dearden. He's a young kid that's very determined and has a great will to succeed, and I think anyone that's playing outside of him will feel pretty comfortable with his service."<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

But amid North Queensland's discussions with Dearden's manager, Sam Ayoub, Cowboys legend Johnathan Thurston has been busy behind the scenes trying to lure Reynolds to Townsville.<\/p>\n

Reynolds' Rabbitohs contract runs out after this season and the 2014 premiership-winner wants a new three-year deal, but the club is yet to budge. South Sydney offered him a two-year deal and he rejected it.<\/p>\n

Thaiday applauded Thurston, a close mate and former Maroons and Kangaroos teammate, for his attempts to entice Reynolds to the Cowboys.<\/p>\n

"It's very smart on the Cowboys' behalf and JT as well – putting himself out there, trying to get him (Reynolds) up there. He's probably doing selfie videos around Townsville, (showing him) some of the cool things you do up there," Thaiday laughed.<\/p>\n

"It's a beautiful spot, a beautiful place to raise your family. I'm sure JT has put all of these things into a text message.<\/p>\n

"I say 'Play on, JT'. Well done. Very creative. It's thinking out of the box and we'll see how this unfolds."<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/strong><\/em> clicking here<\/strong><\/em><\/a>!<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rugby league great Sam Thaiday has hailed veteran halfback Chad Townsend as a tremendous signing by the North Queensland Cowboys, but who partners him in […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61016"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=61016"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61016\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61018,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/61016\/revisions\/61018"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=61016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=61016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=61016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}