Cronulla coach Craig Fitzgibbon confident Nicho Hynes can dispel finals demons

Cronulla coach Craig Fitzgibbon is adamant his team’s finals hopes won’t rise or fall only on the performance of Nicho Hynes but declared “he’s won us plenty of games” as the Dally M winner faces another big-game challenge against Melbourne Storm.

The big-game credentials of the star halfback, crowned the NRL’s best player in 2022, have been continually questioned in the lead-up to Saturday’s AAMI Park showdown and intensified after a poor showing as NSW No.7 in the State of Origin opener this year.

Cronulla is also yet to win a final with Hynes at halfback, losing twice in 2022 as the Sharks made a straight-sets exit, then again in 2023, a four-point loss to the Roosters.

Hynes missed seven games in the back end of the NRL season with a fractured leg, watching on as his teammates worked to another top-four finish and set up another double chance at finals redemption.

The 28-year-old returned in round 26 and Fitzgibbon said while Hynes’s role would be crucial taking on his old team, it would take more than the No.7 to topple the minor premiers at home.

“To go in to a game pinning your hopes on one player, if that’s the narrative, that’s the narrative, but we need to play like a team,” Fitzgibbon said in Melbourne on Friday morning.

“We’re playing Melbourne Storm down here and if you don’t have a whole team performance it won’t matter how well Nicho plays. I think his team needs him to play well, and I’m pretty confident Nicho will play for the team and if the team is playing well, you’ll see the best of him.”

Fitzgibbon also dismissed any concerns over Hynes’s ability to fire in big games, saying he’s proven himself to be a matchwinner.

“He hasn’t had that many (big games),” Fitzgibbon said.

“He might not have (fired) yet, that’s not to say he can’t in the future. I think he’s won us plenty of games as well, they seem to be forgotten.

“We’ll find out but I know he’s ready.”

Hynes said he didn’t listen to the external criticism and entered the finals primed physically and mentally to deliver his best.

“My headspace is great,” he said this week.

“I’m feeling really good. There are always lessons you can learn from those things that happen in your career. No one can say they had a smooth-sailing career and I’ve always come out better for it.

“I can look back at those times, give advice to the younger kids that are coming through and I can lean on the things that are happening in my career. I feel like I’ve been the most set up I ever have been right now for a finals series and I’ll continue to learn and grow.”