Sharks playmaker Braydon Trindall has vowed to "repay" club chiefs after they agreed to a three-year contract extension with the five-eighth despite the fact he had committed serious driving offences.
Trindall's 2024 NRL season was marred by an incident in which he failed alcohol and illicit drug tests while driving with an expired license, resulting in him facing Sutherland Local Court and missing five matches.
But on November 1, Trindall's first day as a free agent, the Sharks announced he had re-signed with the club until the end of 2028.
"It's a really exciting thing to have [the contract extension], and to get that deal done after the year I had last year … [I had] a few ups and downs," Trindall told 9News Sydney.
"But I never really wanted to leave the Sharks and they've put their trust in me, so hopefully I can repay them with some good footy."
Braydon Trindall of the Sharks celebrates with teammates after scoring a try. Getty
Neither Trindall nor halves partner Nicho Hynes will line up for Cronulla in the club's first pre-season game on Friday night, in which the Sharks will face the Warriors at Shark Park, after coach Craig Fitzgibbon opted to give game time to the less-experienced Daniel Atkinson and Niwhai Puru.
But Trindall will be crucial to the Sharks as they aim to follow their 2024 preliminary final berth with a shot in the big dance.
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Trindall admitted he was worried about his NRL future in the wake of his driving offences.
"Yeah, 100 per cent," said the 25-year-old.
"After all that went on it was pretty hard to picture myself playing footy again."
The Sharks will take on the Raiders in Canberra in their second pre-season clash, before opening their premiership campaign in a match against the Panthers in Las Vegas on March 2 (AEDT).
