‘People want to bring you down’: Hynes blocking out the negative noise

Nicho Hynes has shrugged off claims he struggles to fire in big games after NRL pundit Greg Alexander called for the Sharks halfback to be dropped when Cronulla face North Queensland in Friday’s semifinal.

The Cronulla playmaker, who won the Dally M Medal just two years ago, has been handed the unwanted “tag” after failing to fire in the 2024 State of Origin series’ opener.

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Since then—and compounded by the Sharks’ straight-sets exits in the last two seasons—the narrative around Hynes has soured quickly, with many in the NRL world now ranking him as one of the worst players in must-win games. It’s a misnomer the 28-year-old concedes “will forever be there for the rest of the career,” but he doesn’t have to agree with it.

“From 2022, I was still fresh and had only played halfback for 20 games. In that Cowboys [qualifying final] I felt like I played a pretty good game but we didn’t get the result,” Hynes said.

“The Roosters game last year was similar, we only lost by a field goal as well.

“The game on the weekend was one where I probably needed to be better and I’ll own that performance.

“But as a team as a whole, we need to be better. I think [the Sharks’ first round opponents, premiers Melbourne] had 73 per cent possession and completed 44 of 46 [sets] and we had 12 errors.”

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Hynes added he hadn’t seen Alexander’s calls for him to be dropped yet; the Sharks star has been on a break from using any social media since he returned from his ankle injury in August. He won’t be looking for it or anything else like it either, he added, declaring him seeing those kinds of judgements “pointless.”

“[The scrutiny] comes with the job, it comes with the profile,” Hynes said.

“All I try and do is wake up every day happy and try and make a positive impact on people’s lives and play some good footy.

“And some people want to bring you down for it.

“That’s their problem. It is what it is… I can only control what I can control and be a positive person.”

Hynes, who is obviously expected to play, and the Sharks need to beat the North Queensland Cowboys on Friday evening to keep their 2024 hopes alive. The Panthers wait for the winner in a week.