NZ Warriors coach Nathan Brown has come to the defence of halfback Chad Townsend, following his costly missed field goal in the 19-18 defeat to St George Illawarra Dragons in Gosford on Friday.
With the Kiwi side up 18-10 in the 73rd minute, Townsend attempted a field goal - but missed and handed possession back to the Dragons.
The attempted field goal was all the more perplexing considering that the Warriors were already ahead by eight points - with a successful kick not doing anything to change the Dragons' equation of needing to score twice for victory.
Instead, Townsend's error gifted the Dragons possession, before Jack Bird and Cody Ramsey both scored in the last six minutes to level the game at 18-all.
And even though Corey Norman missed the conversion that would have seen the Dragons win in normal time, the St George five-eighth managed a field goal of his own to give his side a Golden Point win.
But speaking post-match, Brown stuck up for Townsend's error, explaining that the returning halfback - making his first Warriors appearance since 2015 - didn't know what the score was ahead of his attempted kick.
"It would have probably been a better option to try and get the ball back, but he thought we were up by six," Brown said.
"He's not the first player who's done that before.
"Chad's a good experienced player and we saw in the first 70 minutes why we brought him here."
Townsend's woes were compounded by a shoulder injury, with the halfback playing through the pain as part of three separate concerns for the Warriors.
Halfback Townsend, along with forwards Tohu Harris and Eliesa Katoa are all in doubt for the Warriors' next game, against Cronulla Sharks on July 11.
Join Newshub for live updates of the Warriors v Sharks clash from 6pm, July 11.
