I think it says a lot about people's expectations of Chad when they're claiming that was outstanding - for him it might have been, for most half decent 7's that was just a par performance. He played what in my mind was a decent game, still looks like a genius trying to kick the ball. I don't know what it is, he just doesn't look natural and has an 'anywhere will do' style. Even how he drops the ball to his foot is awkward, he doesn't place it, he just holds the ball out in front of him, let's go of it and swings the leg - pot luck what happens next.
Did tackle well, and nice to see him run straight on a couple of occasions, but that should be standard.
If a "half decent" half kicked well most games, they would actually be a good half.
People that think good game management is "just his job" but don't think it is good when he does it well must not actually watch many halfbacks (and even fewer 5/8s).
Very few can manage a game very well for most a game, and few get repeat sets and most their kicks right in a game (and a season). His defense as a half is well above most others, but that is gravy on top ("standard" halves defence is pretty poor, actually).
Frawley, Marshall-King, Brooks, Sezer, Croft, Jacks, Nikorima, Hunt, Moses.... all first grade (ish) halves this year not anywhere near as good at kicking or managing a game as Townsend. Would all the Townsend critics seriously trade him for any of those players? Are they not "half decent"? Is the standard for "half decent" halfback that you must be a 300 game veteran with several premierships and an elite player? Because that doesn't seem to be the standard for "half decent" in other positions.
Yes, Pearce, Johnson, Cleary, Taylor are probably similar to Townsend (and better in some areas, though some noticeably worse in others) and Reynolds, Thurston, Cronk and DCE are clearly better, but if Nikorima produced a kicking game like that Broncos fans would be in rapture. And he is "decent" enough to be halfback of a top 8 (currently, just...) side.
