Cronulla halfback Chad Townsend has turned his NRL finals humiliation into happiness, steering the Sharks into the grand final two weeks after being hooked by coach Shane Flanagan.Townsend had nowhere to hide as he was dragged during the second half in the Sharks gutsy qualifying final defeat of Canberra at GIO Stadium.Flanagan and his side rallied around the Sharks junior during the week off and he repaid their faith by starring in the 32-20 win over North Queensland at Allianz Stadium on Friday night.Townsend scored a crucial first-half try, almost scored another and put Luke Lewis over in the 52nd minute to seal passage through to the decided for the Sharks.The 25-year-old has been a key part of Cronullas success this year.However, he was anything but in the final against Canberra, struggling in defence and failing to provide direction in attack.But that is all a sidenote in the Sharks charge to just their fourth decider after 1973, 1978 and the 1997 Super League grand final.There has been no second guessing for Chad Townsend tonight. His passing has been crisp and decisive, Peter Sterling said on the Nine Network.He has been wonderful and that carried on the season he had put together.Townsends kicking game was also crucial for the Sharks as it put repeated pressure on Cowboys fullback Lachlan Coote.The Yarrawarrah Tigers junior was key in gaining revenge for the Sharks after their 39-0 thumping to North Queensland in the 2015 finals series, winning his head-to-head battle with Cowboys superstar Johnathan Thurston.He can earn the ultimate redemption next week if he can help Cronulla to their maiden title in the decider at ANZ Stadium. Mets Jerseys 2019 . The Olympic champion curler and TSN curling analyst immediately went online to look at the Halls long list of honoured members. Thats when the enormity of the honour sunk in. Mets Jerseys 2020 .com) - The Pittsburgh Penguins placed forward James Neal on injured reserve Tuesday. https://www.cheapmetsjerseys.us/ . Booth picked up 65 caps after making her national team debut in 2002 at the age of 17. She most recently played for Sky Blue FC of the National Womens Soccer League. "It just felt like it was my time to move on," she said in a phone interview from her hometown of Burlington, Ont. Fake Mets Jerseys . But now that hes in the NHL, the Calgary Flames centre showed big improvement in that department by scoring the winner in the eighth round of a 5-4 shootout victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. New York Mets Shirts . 10 Texas A&Ms offence dominated as usual against SMU. TORONTO -- On Tuesday, Aaron Ekblad went home to Florida.After becoming a surprise scratch in Monday nights loss to Team Russia, the most important defenseman on Team North America in the World Cup of Hockey watched his teammates lose from a press box suite while wearing a suit and tie.He and North America management were following league protocol after Ekblad experienced concussion-like symptoms following a big hit from Finlands Leo Komarov in Ekblads first game of the tournament.But in terms of making the tough call between playing through pain in a best-on-best tournament and preserving yourself for the long grind of a regular season, there is no real protocol.There are judgment calls, conversations and, right now, lots of NHL general managers just hoping it ends.If youre a fan of the game, you love to watch the excitement, and its a beautiful game to watch, said one Western Conference general manager. But when you look at whats the benefit to the [NHL] team? Its zero.For a team like Ekblads Panthers, its now gone into the negative. The Dallas Stars can feel their pain. Stars captain Jamie Benn of Team Canada pulled out of the tournament to heal from surgery, and theyve now suffered two injuries in Canadas Tyler Seguin (foot) and the Czech Republics Radek Faksa (concussion symptoms).Ales Hemsky of the Czech Republic, one of the last healthy Stars left, had better watch out.How the communication between the club team and international team went down has varied depending on the situation. Stars GM Jim Nill got word after Canadas first exhibition game against the U.S. that Seguin was banged up.He sent Seguin a text, and the response from his star center assured him he was fine. After he played another exhibition game, the tone of the texts changed.Seguin was hurting.A conference call was set up with Nill, Seguin, doctors and Team Canada GM Doug Armstrong, and the group hashed out a solution. Maybe Seguin could power through the injury, but with center Ryan OReilly ready to step in, it wasnt necessary.The decision was made to send Seguin home. There might have been relief for the Stars that Benn and Seguin were out of harms way and should be ready to go to start the season, but they also felt for a guy who all summer had been looking forward to representing his country.I talked to Tyler the night before he went to the camp in Ottawa, how excited he was in playing for Canada, Stars coach Lindy Ruff said Tuesday. I dont think any of them think of injury before they go. They just think of playing.And when they get hurt, theyy think of playing through it.dddddddddddd Thats what makes these guys the best in the world.So its important that NHL clubs have a say in the decision, especially considering how hard it can be for the player to take a big-picture approach when opportunities like this dont present themselves very often.For a player such as Faksa, this is one of the first opportunities to play for his country on a big stage.Radek, hes a young guy representing his country. Hes 21. It tugs at them, Nill said. Its hard. Its tough. Its tough for them to go, Hey, I cant go anymore, to their teammates there and their country.Ultimately, the team has a say, and the Panthers certainly didnt hide their desire to bring Ekblad home, nor should they have. Hes their franchise defenseman. They have Stanley Cup hopes this season.Its not like Ekblad grew up dreaming of wearing the Team North America orange and black. So this was the no-brainer.It makes the North Americans job a little harder as they face Sweden on Wednesday needing a win to survive. The team is also without goalie Matt Murray, who is out with a hand injury. Ekblad was their big-minute defenseman, taking on the toughest competition for coach Todd McLellan.Fellow defenseman Ryan Murray left practice early in what McLellan called a maintenance day, saying he expects Murray to be available for the Sweden game. If not, that would leave North America with five defensemen, which would be an issue.Yeah, defenseman Jacob Trouba deadpanned. You usually want six.If they get to six, the young group remains confident they have a defense capable of advancing in this tournament. The coaches and general managers of the emerging NHL stars might not exactly be broken hearted if they dont.The World Cup has seen big names go down and its just getting out of group play. Multiple general managers said they were taken aback at just how intense and physical the opening exhibition game was between the United States and Canada. It was clear then the players cared about this tournament in a big way. When thats the case, injuries are going to follow. Its inevitable.Those watching from the outside, waiting for it to end just hope it doesnt strike their key players as the games get even more intense once the World Cup shifts to the semifinalsYou just look at the history of these tournaments, one team is going to get significantly hurt, said one GM. Youre holding your breath its not you. ' ' '