Warriors stunned at the death as Braydon Trindall boots incredible drop goal for Sharks win

Saturday, 13 June 2026

At Go Media Stadium, Auckland: Warriors 8 (Te Maire Martin 29’ try; Adam Pompey 2 goals) Sharks 10 (Jesse Ramien 25’ try; Braydon Trindall 2 goals, drop goal). HT: 6-8.

Braydon Trindall’s incredible two-point drop goal with seconds left stunned the Warriors in an agonising 10-8 defeat to the Cronulla Sharks on Saturday night.

Adam Pompey could have forced golden-point extra-time with a difficult shot at goal on the hooter in a dramatic finale.

However, he drifted his kick from the left wide after the Warriors got a penalty following the restart for a late tackle from their last attack.

An attritional contest was level in the final minutes with the packed house of 24,938 living every tackle, loose ball or half-break that could end the stalemate at Go Media Stadium.

Jackson Ford charged down William Kennedy’s first drop goal attempt, then Kennedy denied Te Maire Martin with an unbelievable play in stopping his attempt and reclaiming the ball in one motion.

Moment later, Trindall booted his wondrous effort from more than 40 metres out to silence the Auckland faithful.

There is still plenty of time for Andrew Webster’s men to build on their strong start to the campaign with more than two months to go before the playoffs.

The Warriors were playing their first match at their regular home in almost two months and were lacklustre for long spells. They will stay second on the ladder after suffering their second loss of the season to the Sharks, who gained their fourth victory in a row.

While defences were on top, Chanel Harris-Tavita and Martin had an indifferent night as a halves pairing. Questions will remain about their combination while Luke Metcalf sits in the reserves.

Still, they persevered and when Cronulla’s Jayden Berrell hit Martin late, Pompey squared the score at 8-8 for the final quarter with an angled penalty from the right, although he couldn’t replicate his heroics again from the opposite flank.

Sharks five-eighth Trindall was their chief orchestrator with the dangerous Kennedy skipping around at fullback.

Warriors counterpart Taine Tuaupiki spent most of his night defending. Cronulla were excellent in preventing the set plays to unleash to the likes of Dallin Watene-Zelezniak on the right wing. Centre Ali Leiataua squandered one such moment to set him free.

Alofiana Khan-Pereira disappeared at half-time with a dead leg and Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad was out of position on the left wing. The Warriors were never comfortable or efficient with their attack.

The NRL does take a backseat through State of Origin. New South Wales and Queensland dominate the discourse. Domestic matches in between the state battles feel flat even in Auckland.

Mt Smart was subdued and the Warriors weren’t inspiring from kick-off on returning from a bye.

The unstoppable Panthers had ended their six-match winning streak two rounds ago, but the Kiwi club remained an impressive second. That position looks less safe with a host of teams hovering below, including the Sharks.

They moved within two points of the Warriors in rising from eighth to fifth on a congested ladder.

Both teams were missing an array of stars to Origin or injury. The Warriors had no Mitch Barnett, Kurt Capewell, Leka Halasima or James Fisher-Harris in their pack.

The onus was on Tanner Stowers-Smith to smash into carries, something he did with gusto, and fellow prop Demitric Vaimauga made an impact off the bench.

Stand-in captain Wayde Egan was trying to inspire from dummy half, but line breaks were scarce.

The Sharks were also lacking key forwards such as Addin Fonua-Blake and Briton Nikora and injured halfback Nicho Hynes.

Trindall is a classy operator offsetting Hynes’ absence and forced four dropouts on the Warriors in a drab first half.

The opening points came from one as Harris-Tavita was timed out, gifting Trindall a penalty goal from in front.

Another knock-on from Martin led to returning centre Jesse Ramien getting the first try.

The Warriors didn’t enter Cronulla’s half until the ninth minute and were fortunate Ronaldo Mulitalo’s intercept was pulled back.

Martin’s wriggling, individual try gave the frustrated home crowd something to cheer before the break, as well as their defensive determination.

The Sharks should have been further ahead on territory alone, but they weren’t. They were guilty of handing the Warriors easy metres because of high tackles.

The hosts grew in belief as the second half wore on and were only beaten by Trindall’s sensational boot.

What’s next

The Warriors will play their first match in Christchurch’s new One New Zealand Stadium against the North Queensland Cowboys next Sunday. The Sharks are away to the Sydney Roosters later that night.