Cronulla Sharks half-back Nicho Hynes has one goal in mind, and it doesn’t involve listening to former players share their opinions on him, or reading the comments on social media.
“I just want to prove to my teammates and this club that we can win a finals game,” the 28-year-old said at Shark Park on Tuesday.
His club’s recent record is enough to give fans heartburn. Since their premiership in 2016, the Sharks have won just one of nine finals matches. In three seasons under coach Craig Fitzgibbon and with Hynes as half-back, Cronulla have lost their past four, and a loss against the Cowboys on Friday in Sydney would mean two straight-sets exits in three years.
Hynes knows the fate of the team doesn’t rest solely on him, but he is also aware of the importance of his contribution. “I need to nail my opportunities in big games, and I need to put us in position – and I will continue to look to do that – but I need my teammates, and my teammates need me,” he said.
“I want to continue to put myself in those positions, but like, [do I have] anything to prove? All I want to do is prove to my family, my friends and my team that I belong in this arena.”
The 2022 Dally M medal winner has faced a torrent of criticism following the 37-10 loss against the Storm on Saturday. With the teams locked in an arm wrestle in the first half, Hynes failed to find touch from a penalty, letting Melbourne off the hook. And he failed to stamp his influence in a contest that saw the hosts overrun the visitors in the second half.
Hynes has heard the steady stream of condemnation, but has got to a point where he ignores it. “We’ve got this tag at the Cronulla Sharks at the moment about ‘we can’t win a finals game’,” he said.
“It could be this weekend that we win this game, and that tag is not there anymore. The only time I’m ever really talking about or hearing about it, is when I’m talking to you guys [reporters] or someone’s texting me about it.”
To avoid the barrage, the playmaker has largely stayed off social media this year. “I’ve got to really focus on what this team needs from me, and my team needs me present,” he said.
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Hynes’ reputation has not been helped by his record in State of Origin, where he has been dropped twice by the Blues in the past two years. Criticism directed towards him reached a crescendo this week when broadcaster and former Blues half-back Greg Alexander called for Hynes to be axed by Fitzgibbon.
Sharks forward Toby Rudolf said he has been impressed by how Hynes has handled himself through it all. “He does more work than anyone on his mental aspect, and he’s so tough mentally to get up every week,” Rudolf said. “No matter what’s written about him or no matter how much he’s at the forefront of the media, he comes in every day, and it doesn’t faze him at all.”
“It just seems that one person gets singled out all the time. It doesn’t reflect anything on us and how we feel about him. We love him, and look, we just want to play for him and everyone in our team, in our club.”
Hynes knows the reality that, even if his team can beat the Cowboys and reach the preliminary final, the abuse won’t cease. “I’ve just got to block it all out. It’s going to come, it’s going to keep coming for the rest of my career, it’s going to keep coming during the week. And, yeah, look, it’s just… it is what it is.”
