Cronulla’s title tilt has been dealt a potentially serious blow with five-eighth Braydon Trindall suffering a dislocated shoulder as they surrendered a spot in the top four.

The Sharks had high hopes of getting their run to the finals back on track after defeat to the last-placed Dragons six days ago.

Instead, they lost their best player in the opening stages and failed to overcome his absence, falling 24-20 to Canberra on a chilly afternoon at Ocean Protect Stadium.

Cronulla had every opportunity to complete a come-from-behind victory but wasted several chances to snatch the game as full-time loomed.

Their second consecutive loss and first in seven at home leaves them in fifth spot, two points behind the Dolphins with three matches remaining.

They have a very winnable schedule, taking on the Gold Coast, Parramatta and Melbourne, but may have to cope without Trindall.

Already missing outgoing centre Jesse Ramien for the rest of the year after he underwent pectoral surgery, the 27-year-old would leave a huge gulf in the Sharks line-up.

Cronulla coach Craig Fitzgibbon said he had his fingers crossed about his No.6 but wasn’t sure yet the extent of the injury.

“It’s not ideal, obviously … he’s pretty important to us,” he said. “[The shoulder] went out and went in straight away like immediately. Usually when they get stuck out for like a long period of time it’s worse.

“No one has any idea at this stage, but it definitely went out straight back in so that’s a good sign for us there.”

Trindall knew he was in trouble the second he grounded his own kick to post the first try of the game after just six minutes.

Moments later he was being escorted from the field with a trainer supporting his right arm.

The shoulder was promptly popped back into place in the Sharks dressing-room and while Trindall re-appeared and took a seat on the Cronulla bench he didn’t return to the game.

The Sharks will get NSW front-rower Addin Fonua-Blake back from suspension next week but face a major test if they are without Trindall for a stretch of time.

His influence at the Sharks has never been greater. Far from just taking pressure off halfback Nicho Hynes, he has been Cronulla’s most important attacking asset this season.

He leads the competition in try assists with 32 – six clear of Nathan Cleary – and set one up for himself on Saturday.

It was little surprise then that the hosts struggled to recalibrate, with Hynes forced to assume greater responsibility as the lone playmaker.

The Sharks were not clinical enough when it mattered, but Fitzgibbon was pleased with how Hynes handled the unexpected assignment.

“I thought he stepped up,” he said. “Everything we nearly created came off him. It wasn’t through a lack of stepping up and creating opportunities. To be fair to Nicho, I thought he actually did create plenty and the other guys didn’t capitalise on that.

“He’s probably feeling it for not steering a team [to victory] but it’s not cause for concern what I saw today.”

Fitzgibbon was less happy with the refereeing but refused to blame it for the result.

The bigger contributing factors were the Sharks’ profligacy and desperate defence from the Raiders, playing like anything but a team that has done its dash this season.

Canberra lost a player of their own after only two minutes when lock Morgan Smithies was ruled out with concussion.

But Ricky Stuart’s side gave another glimpse of what could have been this season with a tough performance on the road.

“They showed how much they care about the club,” Stuart said.

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Chris Barrett is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. He is a former South-East Asia correspondent for the Herald and The Age.Connect via X or email.