In his first match, played against the Brisbane Broncos, he managed to convert two tries scored by fellow players Jon Mannah and Colin Best in the 40th and 80th minutes respectively.

[3] As a result of the injury of Albert Kelly early in the season and the subsequent poor performance of Cronulla's other half options, Townsend was given the opportunity to play in the NRL, after his good form in the Toyota Cup competition.

[5] On 6 October 2013 Townsend was part of the Cronulla Sharks side which defeated Windsor Wolves 38–6 in the NSW Cup Grand Final.

[9] In 2017 Townsend was part of the Cronulla side which qualified for the finals but were eliminated in week one losing to North Queensland 15–14 in a shock defeat.

New Zealand would go on to lose the game 19–18,[17] and to make matters worse Townsend picked up a shoulder injury, putting him out of play for an estimated 6–8 weeks.

[20] In round 1 of the 2023 NRL season, Townsend kicked a field goal with five minutes remaining to seal a 19–18 victory over Canberra.

[22] In round 2 of the 2024 NRL season, Townsend kicked the winning field goal for North Queensland in their 21-20 golden point extra-time victory over Newcastle.