How Townsend's experience can benefit Cowboys

Chad Townsend is hoping the impact of his fresh start in North Queensland will extend beyond the field next as the Cowboys recruit has also offered guidance to the club's younger playmakers.

Townsend, who made his first media appearance for the Cowboys on Monday, also revealed that the shoulder injury which ruined his brief return to the Warriors late last year was still troubling him but insisted he was on track for round one.

The 30-year-old said that while club captaincy is not on his mind for now, the chance to use his leadership skills to help out the young halves like Tom Dearden was hugely appealing.

"I feel there's a lot of great youth in our squad and that's something I'm really excited about working with," Townsend said at his first media call in Cowboys colours.

"I know I can help [captain] Jason [Taumalolo] and while I've never been captain of a team I always see myself as a kind of leader in the position I play.

"Tommy [Dearden] is a great young kid with a great work ethic. I feel like I can help him and a lot of our other players in the fact that I've been through a lot of the challenges these guys will face over the next three, four, however many years, in terms of trying to establish themselves in the NRL and become consistent players.

"There's a lot of curve balls throughout a season, throughout a career; there's a lot of downs, a lot of ups, there's adversity, challenges, injuries, form, suspension, things off the field.

"I really enjoy that side of the game and helping out where I can. I've been through most of those challenges and I'm still going."

Those challenges never stop coming; Townsend admitted his eventual departure from the Sharks wasn't how he'd imagined his time in the Shire ending, while his short-lived return to the Warriors was even further from how he pictured it.

"It was definitely a disrupted season for myself," he said.

"I made the decision quite early in the year to sign elsewhere, I had an option in my favour to stay at the Sharks and I decided to turn it down. Obviously the decision to leave the Sharks was a tough one.

"I didn't expect my time to end there like it did but it was a decision I had to make and wanted to make, I don't have any regrets about the decision.

"Going to the Warriors was another challenge for me, then in the very first minute, my first touch of the game I wrecked my shoulder and that hampered me for the rest of the year.

"I'm still getting over it now to be honest. I went through a bit of adversity but I wouldn't change a thing... mentally I know I can keep pushing on and I'm looking forward to whatever comes my way."

The shoulder was now more just about rebuilding strength, he added.

"I couldn't lift a weight in my right shoulder for a long time," he said. "I did very minimal contact in the break as well, for me it was a lot of strength and rehab so my biggest gains at the moment is strength in the gym.

"Rehab-wise I've done a lot of my exercises but it's more so lifting heavy weights, back to where I was pre-shoulder."

One other benefit to signing with the Cowboys was the chance to re-join forces with fellow 2016 premiership-winner Val Holmes.

"I've spent probably the last three or four weeks straight with Val and Drinky [Scott Drinkwater] doing a lot of training, a lot of chat about footy and how we want to play," Townsend said.

"I've played a lot of football with Val, I know his strengths and weaknesses and I feel like I can bring the best out of Val.

"I know he's a bit more quiet and likes to speak with his actions but I know his strengths and look forward to bringing them out with him."