A milestone six years in the making for this quick-thinking, fast-talking No.6

Tricky by name, tricky by reputation.

That’s how teammates describe fast-talking, quick-thinking Cronulla playmaker Braydon “Tricky” Trindall, the player who, in his sixth NRL season, will hit the 100-game milestone when the Sharks host the Dolphins on Saturday.

“It just rolls off the tongue pretty well,” says Cronulla captain Blayke Brailey of Trindall’s nickname.

“That’s how he’s known in our sheds, in our club. He’s a ball of energy, and he’s always got tricks up his sleeves.”

He’s just as vibrant off the field as he is on it.

“You hear the music going, and he’s dancing in the middle of the sheds,” says Brailey. “… and he makes your day better coming in. He’s got stories and jokes, and he’s always making everyone laugh.”

Brailey, like many of Cronulla’s crop, came through the Newtown Jets-to-Sharks pipeline and has played alongside Trindall for almost a decade. Sione Katoa, Will Kennedy, Toby Rudolf, Siosifa Talakai, Teig Wilton are also among that group.

Compared to his contemporaries, Trindall is a late bloomer. Brailey played his 100th game in mid-2023. Rudolf, Kennedy, and Katoa reached the milestone in 2024. And while part of that had to do with Trindall being stuck behind playmakers Matt Moylan and Shaun Johnson, before Nicho Hynes then joined the club in 2022, Trindall is the first to say he had some growing up to do.

“Just a lot more mature as a person and as a footy player,” Trindall says of the 2026 version of himself, compared to the one who debuted in 2020.

“Still growing as I go, but just a bit more mature.”

After debuting against the Broncos in round 12 of the 2020 season, Trindall spent a large part of the next three years bouncing between the NRL and NSW Cup.

When he did play for Cronulla, he was mainly coming off the bench in a utility role. And, when Trindall was finally given a chance to consistently play alongside Hynes in the halves in 2024, he was caught driving to training under the influence of alcohol and with an illicit substance in his system.

He missed five games, pleaded guilty in court, was fined $1100, and had his licence suspended.

It was a wake-up call for the now-26-year-old, who came back more disciplined and played his part in lifting Cronulla to the finals before losing 26-6 to eventual premiers Penrith.

He re-committed to the club at the end of 2024 for a further three years.

“I didn’t want to go anywhere else,” Trindall said at the time. “The club has put a lot of trust in me over the years, so I’m just looking forward to repaying them and repaying the fans.”

He repaid them with a stellar 2025 season that saw him grow into one of the most creative players in the competition, and, despite wearing the No.6, has also become the dominant playmaker for Cronulla.

Trindall returned to that form this season with one of the best round one individual performances when he scored two tries and had three try assists in Cronulla’s 50-10 demolition of the Titans.

It has taken time, but Trindall says patience is the reason for him entering the best years of his career.

“I think, just taking a step back and having some more control, and letting the game play out and picking your moments within games,” Trindall says of finding maturity on the field.

“When you’re young, and you don’t have that much experience, you just want to go, go, go, and I think it doesn’t work out as much as you want it to when you’re trying to do that. So, I think, just taking a step back and letting the game roll-out, and picking your moments.”

These days, Trindall is the fittest he has been, and believes his best football is ahead of him. Which, he hopes bodes well for potential representative opportunities.

“Queensland,” he says of his representative goals. “You don’t get looked at if your team’s not performing, and as an individual, you’ve got to perform yourself.”

Brailey, who has been taken into Blues camp before and is also chasing an Origin jersey, said he could see a place for Trindall in the Maroons squad.

“He’s a Queenslander, so I don’t like him too much,” jokes Brailey. “But yeah, I could definitely see him in that arena.

“I think his maturity and his game has come on leaps and bounds. He’s definitely up to that level, and could definitely handle that level. So, hopefully, he keeps playing the way he is, and he does get a crack because I think he’d be really good on that stage.

“The way his leadership has come [along] off the field as well has been amazing too, so it’s a credit to how hard he’s worked with the coaches and worked on himself, and obviously, it shows on the field. He’s delivering some really outstanding performances.”