Braydon Trindall celebrates birthday with maiden NRL try

What’s better than scoring your first NRL try? Scoring your first NRL try on your birthday.

That was how former Wee Waa boy Braydon Trindall celebrated turning 22 on Sunday when he crossed for a 33rd-minute four-pointer in Cronulla Sharks’ eight-point win against the New Zealand Warriors in round 17 of the 2021 campaign.

Trindall was named to come off the bench in the number 14 jersey but started the game at five-eighth and played all 80 minutes in his side’s 20-12 win at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium in Sydney.

His maiden NRL try, which he scored after assisting teammate Connor Tracey for the Sharks’ first of the game in the 22nd minute, gave his side a lead it would never relinquish.

He claimed it after running onto a short ball from Sharks hooker Blayke Brailey close to the line before bumping off Warriors duo Eliesa Katoa and Kodi Nikorima with ease and spinning over to plant the ball down.

Trindall finished with 12 of his team’s 20 points after also kicking three conversions and a penalty goal.

Trindall’s Sharks are currently ranked eighth on the NRL ladder following seven wins and nine losses in 2021.

They can remain in the top eight and possibly climb to seventh if they can defeat the 11th-placed Canberra Raiders on Saturday at 3pm. Trindall has been named to start at five-eighth in the number six jersey.

That match was scheduled to be played at Canberra’s GIO Stadium, however, a new venue was selected this week after both sides were among the 12 teams which have recently been relocated to Queensland.

The Australian Rugby League Commission has decided to relocate all NSW and ACT-based teams to South-East Queensland for one month to minimise risk of the season being impacted by Sydney’s COVID-19 outbreak.

After lengthy ARL Commission meetings on Sunday, it was announced that the eight Sydney-based teams will join the Dragons, Knights, Raiders and Central Coast-based New Zealand Warriors in shifting to dedicated hubs by yesterday.

Clubs will return to Sydney as soon as the commission believes risk to the competition in NSW has subsided. It is possible the relocations could be longer than one month.

The order of games across the four weeks from rounds 18-21 will not change, nor will the dates and times of when matches are played.

What will change is the venues for some matches.

The NSW-based teams will play their home games at Gold Coast’s Cbus Super Stadium, Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium or Sunshine Coast Stadium.

Venue changes will be publicised on the NRL’s website at the ‘draw’ tab, with round 18 already updated.

Games that were to be hosted by Brisbane, North Queensland, Gold Coast or Melbourne will remain as is, because all Queensland-based clubs, along with the Melbourne Storm will continue to be based and play home games out of their current home cities.