Since he was a young Leeton-Whitton Crow and rising schoolboy star, it's been a constant cycle through his 10 years in the AFL: work hard, seize opportunity, overcome threat, persist, stay determined, work hard, repeat...

But after a career that was - by his own admission - a little unorthodox for a decade at the top, Townsend hopes the highs he's lived, the bumps ridden, and the successes achieved, offer inspiration to anyone chasing a dream.

"I've never been the most talented player on any list. I've always had to work for my spot. I've always been maybe the last one picked, the first one out so I've had that mantra - to show a bit of resilience, work hard and you never know what's going to happen," Townsend tells The Daily Advertiser at the end of a reflective week.

That was never more evident than 2017, when Townsend couldn't break into Richmond's senior team.

But, you guessed it... he worked hard, persisted, won the VFL league medal and got an opportunity in round 22 of the AFL as a pressure forward.

Tigers coach Damien Hardwick joked that if he kicked six he couldn't be dropped. Townsend did. And five the next week. Then there were timeless moments that'll never be forgotten by the Richmond faithful in a long-awaited Tigers grand final win.

"In that year, I never thought I would have been playing in the AFL side really. We were going so well and had no injuries. I was obviously playing well in the twos but I didn't get that opportunity til late," he says.

"I suppose if I didn't have that mindset - to keep showing up and working hard - then I probably wouldn't have ever got that AFL chance.

"So yeah, if I could pass on some sort of wisdom, that's what I'd be telling someone."

Townsend's top-flight career began with opportunity and the bright lights of attention, making his debut as one of just 22 players in new club Greater Western Sydney's first ever AFL game in 2012.

"I went up to Sydney in 2010 to finish school and do the year in the NEAFL before we came into the VFL and then playing that first ever AFL game for an AFL club - there's not too many who can obviously say that," Townsend says, comparing the Giants to long histories of tradition at Richmond and his 2020 club Essendon.

"Like all those boys who were there together, there's a few of us who are very tight and close mates.

"From all packing up shop and moving to Sydney, we didn't know anyone... and when we went out to schools we'd tell them we were from GWS Giants and they didn't know what code we were from or anything."

Under Kevin Sheedy, the players knew they had to win hearts and minds in rugby league territory. And Townsend won over the coach along the way.

"Sheeds has been around for a long time. He had a bit of an old school approach to footy and coaching and maybe that's why he took a liking to me a bit," Townsend says of the legendary coach.

He then played under Hardwick who is creating his own legacy after overcoming a tough early period as coach to build the Tigers into a powerhouse.

"I was there at Richmond the first year (2016) when we weren't that good and to see him and the whole club turn it around - he saw the importance in giving back to his players and making sure he got to know everyone on the list as a bit more than an AFL player. So we got to know each other more and that came from him," he says.

"(On field), he obviously has the game plan ... but he brought the mantra of going back to when we were kids, why we did that, and just said go out and do what you can do. Not a hard-and-fast, this is how you have to play."

Tigers star Dustin Martin certainly thrived on being allowed to play his own game.

"He'd probably be the best player I've ever played with," Townsend says.

"In that year, 2017, and even 2018 he was just the best player in the league by a country mile with the things he could do... but I saw him off the field too, the extra training he did and stuff like that. He was just an absolute superstar."

In his early years at GWS, Townsend said Callan Ward left a huge impression.

"He was captain then and the way he went about it - he was hard and tough and uncompromising footy. But he got the balance right being captain, especially at a club in very early days, so I loved playing with him."

Townsend climbed off the canvas as often as he hit the heights. There were 28 games in four years at the Giants, 20 in four seasons at Richmond, a dozen at Essendon in 2020 and only two last year with Gold Coast.

Following the 2017 grand final, he admitted that as late as round 21 he'd been looking for carpentry jobs in Melbourne for the following year.

Four years on, that is what's coming next.

But now it's with excitement and in the comfort of knowing that Townsend got pretty much everything he could out of his career.

"I made the call a couple of weeks ago to retire and I'm fine with it now still. All the text messages and phone calls I've received in the last 24 hours or so has been nice," he says.

"What I'm going to do is start my carpentry work.

"I've been keen on that for a while. I was doing some stuff while I was at Richmond but the last two years because of COVID I haven't been able to do much.

"So I'm looking forward to starting that next phase. I'm going to play footy for the Southport Sharks on the Gold Coast so I'm going to hang up here for at least another year.

"Obviously playing 10 years in the AFL is something I'll be very proud of... being at four clubs and being able to meet so many people and make so many friendships and stuff like that, I'll be forever grateful.

"I only played 62 games of AFL so it doesn't really sound or look like a typical 10-year career. But I was fortunate enough to win that AFL premiership in 2017.

"I'll always be tied to Richmond because of that and I'm looking forward to catching up with those guys every however many years."

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