Inaugural Newcastle Knights hooker Tony Townsend remembered as the ultimate clubman

Townsend, who was diagnosed almost a decade ago with leukemia, was one of Newcastle's 1988 "pioneers" and left an indelible stamp on the club's history.

The former St George dummy-half played 25 games for the Knights across their first three seasons, and was instrumental in some of their most famous victories.

He scored Newcastle's first try in their iconic 24-12 Challenge Cup pre-season triumph against Manly in 1988, then produced another crucial four-pointer in a 20-16 victory against Balmain a few weeks later - the Knights' first competition win on home soil.

"He was one of those pioneers who were the foundation stones of the club," Once a Knights Old Boys chairman Steve Crowe said.

"Allan McMahon, the inaugural coach, used to have a saying: 'Be the player everyone wants to play with.'

"And when he articulated what that meant, all those attributes were mirrored by the character of Tony Townsend.

"No shortcuts, resilient beyond belief, tough, modest, looked after his mates.

"His place in the club's history is assured.

"He was involved from day one, and he was definitely one of the blokes who laid the foundation stones on which the club was built."

Another of Newcastle's 1988 originals, Tony Butterfield, described Townsend as "nature's gentleman".

"He was a dear friend, very committed to his family, his career and his football," Butterfield said.

"To hear of his passing, our hearts go out to his family and friends. He was a great guy, a very loyal guy, but also someone who liked to have a joke and a laugh with the boys."

Butterfield said that back in the days of contested scrums, Townsend had the fastest strike of any hooker with whom he played.

Former Knights assistant coach Allan Bell recalled how he and the late McMahon signed Townsend, who had previously played 16 first-grade games for St George.

"He walked into the office and introduced himself and said he wanted to play for the Knights," Bell said.

"We knew that he'd played a bit of first grade for St George and were wondering if we could afford him.

"But he said he didn't want a sign-on fee, just incentives and match payments, so Allan couldn't get the contract in front of him quick enough. He was right in our price bracket.

"He was terrific for us. He wasn't a big bloke, but he could just go all day."

As well as his footballing feats, Townsend also excelled in his career as a policeman, progressing to the rank of Hunter District Chief Inspector.

Funeral details were still to be confirmed.

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