Trindall left a teammate’s house party at midnight. Ten hours later he was charged by police

Braydon Trindall celebrated the Sharks’ win over the Cowboys on Sunday night by attending a gathering with some teammates at the apartment of forward Toby Rudolf.

It was a night of celebration after Cronulla’s emphatic victory in what was front-rower Braden Hamlin-Uele’s 100th NRL game and rookie Sam Stonestreet’s first.

Braydon Trindall in action for Cronulla on Sunday night, just hours before he was charged by police.Credit: Getty

As a senior player, Rudolf, who is on a self-imposed alcohol ban for the rest of the season, realised it was time to call it a night and asked his teammates to leave at around midnight.

Trindall left the apartment and continued to celebrate with friends. He has assured Sharks officials there were no players with him after leaving Rudolf’s place.

At 9.45am on Monday on his way to Cronulla training to attend a mandatory recovery session, Trindall was stopped by police and recorded a mid-range alcohol reading of 0.125 as well as a positive test for an illicit substance.

Trindall has now been stood down for this weekend’s game against Canberra on Sunday. His place will be taken by Daniel Atkinson.

Braydon Trindall scores a try for Cronulla.Credit: Getty

He has been charged with mid-range drink-driving while holding an expired licence, and is awaiting further test results on an alleged potential positive cocaine reading.

Trindall is awaiting the results from an oral fluid test for a more accurate result. He will appear before Sutherland local court on May 17.

“The 24-year-old was driving on Captain Cook Drive, Caringbah about 9.45am on Monday [22 April 2024] when he was stopped by officers attached to the Traffic and Highway Patrol Command for the purposes of a random breath test,” a police statement said.

“The man produced an expired licence and allegedly returned a positive result to a breath test. He was arrested for the purposes of a breath analysis and was taken to Miranda Police Station, where he allegedly returned a breath analysis reading of 0.124.

Braydon Trindall (left) celebrates his try for the Sharks against the Broncos.Credit: Getty

“He also allegedly returned a positive result to an illicit substance. Proceedings were also commenced for driving with middle range prescribed concentration of alcohol and drive with illicit drug present in oral fluid.”

The Sharks notified the NRL Integrity Unit immediately.

“The NRL integrity unit was informed of an incident involving Cronulla Sharks player Braydon Trindall and is liaising with the club,” the NRL said.

When this masthead contacted the Sharks after hearing of Trindall’s alleged offences, the club was already aware and were planning to release a statement on Tuesday afternoon.

“Sharks NRL squad member Braydon Trindall failed initial roadside alcohol and illicit drug tests early on Monday morning,” the Sharks statement said.

“The club has since followed the appropriate protocols within the player’s contract and CBA and continues to work with the NRL integrity unit, with the club, player and his management agreeing it is in Braydon’s best interest to not participate in games or to train for the short term, and more importantly to attend to his welfare and health issues.

“Trindall reported the result of the roadside tests immediately to Sharks management, who in turn informed the NRL integrity unit. The matter has been referred for a court appearance in May where Trindall will face the allegations and charges levelled against him, noting that a secondary sample of the illicit drug test is yet to be confirmed.”

In 2020, former Wests Tigers five-eighth Josh Reynolds returned a false positive after a roadside drugs test showed he had cocaine and methamphetamine in his system.

The results later cleared Reynolds of the substances in his system with police confirming the initial result was a false positive.

Under World Anti-Doping Agency rules, cocaine is considered a performance-enhancing drug but only between midnight and midnight on the day of a competition event, and for Australian athletes only if they are tested by Sports Integrity Australia.

Trindall made his NRL debut for the Sharks in 2020 and has played 57 games in the top grade since.

He was this year handed the No.6 jersey after veteran Matt Moylan departed the club for the Super League at the end of last season.

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