Halfback Chad Townsend will tonight become the eighth player to have two separate NRL stints with the Vodafone Warriors.
Townsend, who has signed with the club for the rest of the season, became Vodafone Warrior #186 when he made his club debut in 2014, the first of 41 appearances before he returned to the Cronulla Sutherland Sharks in 2016.
Tonight he plays his 188th career match.
Next year Shaun Johnson (#168) – 162 appearances from 2011-2018 – will become the ninth player to have two careers with the Vodafone Warriors after signing a two-year deal for 2022 and 2023.
The first player to have two separate terms with the club was Nigel Vagana who played just one game in 1996, spent the 1997 Super League season with Warrington in England and then returned to Auckland three seasons with the Vodafone Warriors.
Prop Leeson Ah Mau (#147) is in the third season of his second career with the club. He played twice in 2009 and spent nine seasons in Australia with North Queensland and St George Illawarra before returning in 2019.
Some players like Peta Hiku, Ligi Sao and James Gavet played at NYC under-20 level for the Vodafone Junior Warriors, made their NRL debuts in Australia and then came home to play at first-grade level.
TWO CAREERS AT VODAFONE WARRIORS
#24 Stacey Jones: 1995-2005 (238 appearances), 2009 (23 appearances)
#26 Richie Blackmore: 1995-1996 (27 appearances), 2001 (8 appearances)
#32 Nigel Vagana: 1996 (1 appearance), 1998-2000 (70 appearances)
#42 Logan Swann: 1997-2003 (146 appearances), 2007-2008 (49 appearances)
#105 Thomas Leuluai: 2003-2004 (21 appearances), 2013-2016 (64 appearances)
#147 Leeson Ah Mau: 2009 (2 appearances), 2019-2021 (40 appearances)
#168 Shaun Johnson: 2011-2018 (162 appearances), 2022-2023
#186 Chad Townsend: 2014-2015 (41 appearances), 2021
#191 Agnatius Paasi: 2014 (1 appearance), 2018-2020 (52 appearances)
