Cronulla coach Craig Fitzgibbon wants star halfback Nicho Hynes to get back to basics as NSW selection pressure grows

With his NSW spot under pressure, Nicho Hynes returns to action for Cronulla with a key message from his coach to put the noise to one side.

Nicho Hynes is under pressure to keep his Origin spot. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Cronulla coach Craig Fitzgibbon wants star playmaker Nicho Hynes to just “be Nicho” in the face of scrutiny over his performance for NSW in the opening State of Origin match when he makes his return for the Sharks on Thursday night.

Amid speculation the halfback could lose his No.7 jersey to Parramatta’s Mitchell Moses for game two against Queensland at the MCG, Fitzgibbon said the pressures to perform were “part of Origin” and Hynes had shown no signs of the outside noise getting to him.

Hynes hasn’t played since the opening match loss, skipping his team’s win over the Broncos last week, but has “fully trained” and Fitzgibbon said his halfback was over the calf complaint that limited his training going into game one of the Origin series.

Nicho Hynes is in the firing line after a poor showing in the series opener.

Does he retain his spot for Game II? #NRL#stateoforigin2024pic.twitter.com/OZtfOkijkD

— SEN League (@SENLeague) June 6, 2024

But with the spotlight now on Hynes to continue to impress Blues coach Michael Maguire before he names his squad for game two, Fitzgibbon said the message to his star was a simple on.

“I want to see him perform for the Sharks, get back to the footy he was playing,” Fitzgibbon said ahead of his team’s clash with the Dolphins at Shark Park.

“Not overdo things, keep it simple, control the game and be Nicho, be Nicho for the Sharks and not worry about anything else.

“That’s the challenge for those Origin players, you do have to block out what’s going on in the background and still perform for your team, so that’s the challenge that faces him at the moment.”

Fitzgibbon played 11 Origin games for the Blues himself, albeit before the age of social media, and conceded the scrutiny on the players involved had intensified.

Nicho Hynes could score a hattrick in an origin decider, find the cure to cancer and donate his life savings to charity and blokes would still hate him

— Finn (@sharkmakeihappy) June 5, 2024

But he said none of those players involved shied away from the extra criticism that can follow a loss, adamant it was good for them to experience.

“I just think it’s part of Origin. If it’s not that, it would be something else. There’s always a narrative, but it’s intense for the whole period,” he said.

“The narrative will swing and move in relation to who wins and who doesn’t win and whose under the pressure and it’s always selection pressure, always. It’s so public, it’s so opinionated, everyone wants to see certain players.

“If you want to walk and play in those environments it’s all part of it. It’s good for them, I think. To go through it, it’s only going to make you stronger. I think Nicho has done a good job of it so far.”

A win would lift Cronulla to the top of the NRL ladder before leaders Melbourne Storm play on Saturday.

Originally published as Cronulla coach Craig Fitzgibbon wants star halfback Nicho Hynes to get back to basics as NSW selection pressure grows