Cronulla Sharks forward suffers sickening injury after horror head clash

A Cronulla Sharks star was left bloodied in ugly scenes following a brutal incident that unfolded on Saturday night.

2 min read

June 7, 2025 - 7:57PM

Briton Nikora suffers gash to lip after head clash

NRL

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Cronulla were blown off the park on Saturday night as the New Zealand Warriors ran riot at Sharks Stadium.

If the 40-10 scoreline wasn’t bad enough, the Sharks had some injury to add to the one-sided beat down.

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In the first half second rower Briton Nikora attempted to lay a tackle on Jackson Ford but it all went horribly wrong.

Nikora’s head slammed into Ford’s head with the Sharks player coming off second best.

The 27-year-old was slow to get back to his feet as cameras zoomed in to show a nasty cut that looked more like one you’d see inside the UFC Octagon.

Watch the moment Nikora is split open in the video player above

Briton Nikora’s lip was split open following the brutal head clash. (Photo by Jason McCawley/Getty Images)

The incident came shortly after the Warriors had taken a 10-0 lead inside the opening 20 minutes before the Sharks responded.

Mawene Hiroti crossed first before KL Iro etched his name into the NRL record books with a try in the 33rd minute.

He becomes the first player in the NRL era (since 1998) to score a try in their first nine games of the season.

“He’s had a season hasn’t he,” Greg Alexander said.

“KL Iro, he has been a revelation on this left hand side of the field hasn’t he,” Warren Smith added.

KL Iro scores his ninth try in as many games

Sadly that’s as good as it got for the Sharks who were completely blown away in the second half with the Warriors running in 28 unanswered points.

The Warriors were in complete control of the contest, scoring five tries to leave Cronulla fans in disbelief.

Cronulla’s second half display left league legend Alexander stunned, failing to record a single point.

“I can’t believe what has happened in the second half … but boy, everything has gone wrong,” Greg Alexander said.

For the Warriors it was their fifth win in a row in Australia and moves them level with the Bulldogs at the top of the table just a few months after there were fears they’d get the spoon following a heavy loss in Las Vegas.