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Sport Nation
"It gave me everything": Chad Townsend announces NRL retirement
Sam Kosack • July 29th, 2025 2:51 pm
Chad Townsend has announced the 2025 season will be his last in the NRL.
The 34-year-old confirmed via Instagram he would retire at the end of the current season after a decorated NRL career.
He played 268 first grade matches across the Roosters, Cowboys, Warriors, and Sharks over a 16-year career.
Townsend was halfback in the Sharks' inaugural premiership in 2016 where they defeated the Melbourne Storm by two points.
"It's hard to put into words what this game means to me," Townsend wrote on Instagram.
"I'd like to thank my junior club, the Yarrawarrah Tigers for giving me an opportunity to fall in love with his game. The memories and friendships I created at my junior club still live with me today and I am very grateful for that.
"To the teams I played for... I am forever grateful for the opportunity you gave me to fulfil my dreams of playing in the NRL.
"When I think about the young kid who was footy obsessed from Yarrawarrah, who just wanted to play footy with his mates, who stood on the family hill waving his flag, who had dreams of making it to the NRL and who had to earn everything he got, my heart and soul are filled with love and gratitude.
"The game owed me nothing, but it gave me everything."
