Questions have been raised regarding Nicho Hynes’ place in the Sharks starting side, and it’s been revealed Cronulla powerbrokers could be set to have a tough conversation with the superstar playmaker.
Following the Sharks’ loss to the Storm in the first week of finals, rugby league great Greg Alexander proposed Craig Fitzgibbon should “shake up” his spine.
Daniel Atkinson has been a revelation for Cronulla this season, deputising for Hynes and Braydon Trindall throughout the season and winning 10 of 13 games he’s featured in.
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Alexander revealed he’d drop the $7 million dollar star, saying: “I know it’s a massive call … I probably would (drop Hynes). Yeah I would. I’d go with Trindall and Atkinson”.
Veteran rugby league reporter Phil Rothfield explained that Craig Fitzgibbon isn’t considering a spine reshuffle ahead of his side’s sudden death clash with the Cowboys.
However, if the marquee playmaker’s performance isn’t up to scratch, Cronulla bosses could sit down to assess his future at the club.
“The Sharks have got a problem and I understand there is debate about where he should play… there’s absolutely no chance they will drop him,” Rothfield said on NRL360 on Monday night.
“They are going to stick with him… Craig Fitzgibbon is a very loyal man, and while Nicho hasn’t played anywhere near (good enough) to justify his $1 million-per-year pay packet, they are going to stick solid.
“Personally I wouldn’t drop him, but what I will say is this, Nicho is under contract for the next six years at a $1 million a year.
“I think if he doesn’t play well this week, and I’m not suggesting they are going to cut him or anything, but they will have some sort of chat with him around his future and his pay packet.
“I said they are going to sit down and have a chat to him and maybe suggest if he’s not happy, if you don’t think you can contribute, you can look elsewhere.”
Hynes hasn’t been up to his usual lofty standards since returning from a leg injury that kept him sidelined for two months.
For rugby league legend Gorden Tallis, the Sharks need a reset to inspire a victory against North Queensland after a poor performance in the first week of finals.
He pointed to the approach Wayne Bennett took ahead of his side’s crucial clash with their cross-town rivals the Broncos, making wholesale changes to spark a change.
“You can be loyal or you can be stupid, I think they were a better side when Atkinson was there. They were, they were winning,” Tallis said.
“Look at someone like Wayne Bennett right, look at the Dolphins against the Broncos. What did he do? Take the money away and you’ve got to ask what’s best for the team.”
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However, for The Australian’s Brent Read, Hynes is a player you simply can’t drop, especially ahead of a crucial finals clash.
The Sharks are yet to win a finals game under Craig Fitzgibbon, having finished in the top four every year under the former Roosters enforcer.
“You cannot drop Nicho now, it’s too late in the season to do it and he’s still your best hope of going deep in the finals,” Read said.
“What’s best for the team is Nicho Hynes played No.6…. I think you’ve got to spend the off-season rebuilding his confidence.
“Why did he get the million dollars? There’s a good player in there somewhere and at the moment he’s down on confidence, but you can rebuild his confidence.”
Alexander’s major argument for dropping Hynes was that “he’s not playing with confidence” and that he lacked “sharpness”.
League great Braith Anasta knows what it likes to have doubts about your ability to deliver on the field and echoed Alexander’s claims that Hynes was struggling to perform.
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“I think the reality is, and I feel for Nicho because I have been there, I have lived it. You go through points of your career where you really struggle,” Anasta said.
“You can see it in his eyes, you can see it in his body language, everyone you talk to, the experts in the game have the same opinion.
“He looks defeated, in trouble. He looks like he is struggling with life, with his game… I know it sounds bad, but it’s the reality of it now.”
Regardless of form, Rothfield made it clear that Fitzgibbon will not drop Hynes under any circumstances in 2024.
So now it’s time for the marquee man to repay the coach’s faith in him according to Anasta.
“I like the loyalty, I like the fact Fitzy is backing him…. if Fitzy is going to back him, Nicho needs to repay him with results, it’s a big game on the weekend,” he said.
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