Braydon Trindall can feel the end of era coming as in-form Cronulla brace for a torrid test of their NRL title credentials in a season-shaping month of crunch matches.
After a hot-and-cold start to 2026, the Sharks have strung together three straight wins for the first time, finally muscling up in "D" as Trindall nominates defence as the must-improve area for the league's perennial under-achievers.
After bowing out in the preliminary finals the past two years, the Sharks head to Auckland to tackle the second-placed Warriors on Friday night knowing conceding less points against the competition heavyweights is key to taking the next step towards another elusive grand final.
Eighteen of the last 20 NRL champions have been among the top-three defensive performers during the regular season.
The Sharks are sixth for defence this season, exactly where they sit on the ladder entering round 15 after leaking an average of 24.5 points a game thus far.
"It just all comes down to defence. You can look at the table, the teams that are defending the best are up the top of the table," Trindall told AAP.
"A few blowouts have affected our stat with that, so we're just looking to put consistent performances in with our defence, so that's something we'll look forward to this week.
"The Warriors have some massive guys through their middle and have some on the edges too, so it's another massive week for us to try to keep them from scoring tries."
After deploying the most stable roster in the NRL during his first five seasons at Cronulla, coach Craig Fitzgibbon is facing a massive overhaul to his squad in 2027.
Sione Katoa, Jesse Ramien, Siosifa Talakai and Cameron McInnes are already among the mainstays to announce their exits, with several others also coming off contract.
Trindall knows the looming mass exodus is the elephant in the Cronulla dressing room and is urging his teammates not to waste the window of opportunity.
"I think everyone's kind of conscious about it. We've had a few little conversations, but we haven't gone into depth," the playmaker said.
"We've got to try to make it not mean nothing. Over the last couple of years we've been building towards something and we've got to knuckle down and try to go all the way.
"I feel like we have had the squad to over the last couple of years, and each year we've got a step closer so we've got to put ourselves in the best position to have that opportunity again this year."
Trindall has identified the next four games, all away to the Warriors, Sydney Roosters, Brisbane and Dolphins either side of a round-17 bye, as crucial for the Sharks, who are just two points from third spot but only two above 10th.
"From fourth to sixth or eighth or whatever it is, they're all on tight points so this little window over the next few weeks is massive to set us up for the back end of the year to have that opportunity to go all the way," Trindall said.
"So we've got to go over there and stick it to them."
Australian Associated Press
