Forget his big-name counterparts, Chad Townsend stands as the man with ice in his veins and the surest boot heading into the NRL's preliminary finals.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
And after the tense nature of premiership race so far in September, there's every chance he'll need it.
Underrated by just about everyone outside Cronulla, Townsend's field goal last week against Penrith was his fourth from five attempts this year.
It puts him at the top of the pile of those still left standing, and only behind Shaun Johnson and James Maloney - both four from four - for accuracy among those who have attempted three or more field goals this season.
That's crucial, considering field goals have been a focal point of this year's finals series.
They've been kicked in five of six games, while three finals games have already been decided by one point or less for just the third time in the NRL-era.
And with this weekend's finals to be battled out by the top four teams on the ladder who could only be separated by for-and-against after 25 rounds, Townsend is ready to pull out a clutch play again against Melbourne on Friday night.
"In the big moments it's important we execute not just individually but as a team in order to put ourselves in a position to win," Townsend said.
"You can see there's not much in it and you need to get the little things right at the back of games, because it's a really small margin whether you're on the winning side or the losing side."
South Sydney's Adam Reynolds is the next best of the finalists with his three one-pointers last week against St George Illawarra taking him to five for the season from eight attempts.
Surprisingly Cooper Cronk, Reynolds' counterpart at the Sydney Roosters on Saturday night, has nailed just one - against Cronulla a fortnight ago - from three attempts.
Cameron Munster has two from four for Melbourne, and Storm captain Cameron Smith has also booted one from two attempts.
NRL PRELIMINARY FINALISTS 2018 FIELD GOAL RECORDS:
* Chad Townsend (Sharks): 80% (4/5)
* Adam Reynolds (Rabbitohs): 62% (5/8)
* Cameron Munster (Storm): 50% (2/4)
* Cameron Smith (Storm): 50% (1/2)
* Cooper Cronk (Roosters): 33% (1/3)
* Matt Moylan (Sharks): 0% (0/2)
* Brodie Croft (Storm) 0% (0/1)
*Source: Fox Sports Stats
Australian Associated Press
