Cronulla halfback Chad Townsend is ready for a blitzkrieg from Canberra Raiders forward Josh Papalii when the Sharks and Raiders clash tonight at GIO Stadium.

The hulking Papalii will be sent at the little playmaker all night but Townsend says ‘bring it on’.

“I’m ready for the challenge and I’m ready to take Josh Papalii on. Papalii’s a barnstorming runner and it’s a clash I’m looking forward to,” he said.

“But it’s also important for me to be a voice in attack and make sure the boys know what we’re doing and where we’re going.

“For patches against Melbourne we played good footy but we just couldn’t execute that last pass.”