‘Not good enough’: Brutal Nicho Hynes admission as Sharks rue ‘crucial errors’

The Sharks fell short again on Friday night, leading million-dollar man Nicho Hynes to make a brutal declaration.

Sharks playmaker Nicho Hynes says he and his side simply are “not good enough” to contend for a premiership as it stands after Cronulla were beaten 22-14 by the Storm in the preliminary final on Friday night.

Cronulla have struggled in recent years to win big games, with the blame often pinned firmly on their million-dollar man, Hynes.

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And once again, history repeated itself, with the Sharks falling painfully short of a grand final berth, as Hynes and his side were left to rue “crucial errors”.

Post-match, Hynes cast a sad figure as he spoke to Channel 9.

“They are a quality opposition and we made it hard for ourselves at times,” he said.

“Sometimes you are just not good enough, and it is not your night.

Nicho Hynes says the Sharks weren’t good enough. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

“We were leading the second half 2-0 at some stage, and then I dropped that ball, made a bit of a crucial error and then (gave away) a penalty and then Briton’s offload.

“We just compounded errors, and that cost us in the end.”

Speaking after the game, Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon said Melbourne were just better and they need to improve if they are to compete for a premiership.

“Melbourne were better tonight,” Fitzgibbon said.

Fitzgibbon refused to speculate what changes may be needed but said it was clear that they still had some work to go, but declared “we aren’t going away any time soon”, as he goes back to the drawing board.

Hynes says they simply weren’t good enough. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

Melbourne Storm’s shot at redemption

Meanwhile, Melbourne will now ready themselves for grand final redemption next week as they get their chance to atone for last year’s grand final heartbreak against four-time defending champions Penrith.

Barring any reports, it should be a close to full-strength Storm side in the grand final – minus the suspended Nelson Asofa-Solomona – with Ryan Papenhuyzen superb in his return from concussion and Shawn Blore taking no backward steps in his return from a fractured larynx.

But it was Jahrome Hughes who stole the show on Friday night, with the Storm halfback outstanding in his return from a broken wrist.

The Melbourne half suffered a fracture in his left wrist against Brisbane on September 4 and had surgery to insert a plate and screws to stabilise his radius (forearm) fracture.

The specialist who performed the surgery on Hughes was quoted as saying the “normal healing period” is about 12 weeks.

Incredibly, he took to the field just 22 days later, sporting a large arm guard, and finished the game with a try, a linebreak, seven tackle breaks and 82 run metres.

The Storm will face the winner of Sunday’s preliminary final between the Broncos and Panthers next Sunday in the grand final.

It will be the 11th grand final featuring the Storm in their 23 years under the guidance of master coach Craig Bellamy.

– with NewsWire

Originally published as ‘Not good enough’: Brutal Nicho Hynes admission as Sharks rue ‘crucial errors’