Against the competition leaders, the Warriors sorely missed the direction and attacking ability of halfback Shaun Johnson, who withdrew from the match with a groin strain.
Townsend stepped up to lead the side around the park but his kicking game was patchy, with four first half efforts alone going dead.
"I found myself doing a bit more kicking which was different but it was something I enjoyed and there were times when I probably could have been better as well," he said.
Thomas Leuluai was brought off the bench to fill No7, but in just his second match back from a long-term groin injury, McFadden was reluctant to burden him with kicking duties.
"He [Leuluai] was fine tonight. We obviously gave that responsibility to Chad because Thomas hasn't had a lot of practice there.
"He's [Townsend] been playing pretty good football and he knew it was his responsibility tonight to steer the team around but just couldn't quite get there.
"I don't think it had anything to do with on his own. Our last plays probably weren't as good as they've been tonight, most definitely, but we can fix that."
Johnson and back-rower Feleti Mateo, who also sat out Sunday's match with a calf strain, are both expected to face Canberra, while McFadden brushed off concerns over the Warriors' poor record in the Australian capital, where they have not had a win since 2001.
"I think we're a bit more resilient to that sort of talk now," he said.
"We know what we have to work on to play well so we'll get that right this week."
