‘Killing them’: Nicho Hynes’ insane return sparks Sharks bloodbath

Reigning Dally M Medallist Nicho Hynes has not skipped a beat but heaped a mountain of pressure on the Sharks’ under-fire rivals.

The Dragons were blown away by Nicho Hynes. Photo: Getty Images

Watch out NRL — Nicho Hynes is back!

The Sharks had won one from three to start the year but looked like absolute world beaters in its 40-8 win over local rivals the St George Illawarra Dragons.

It was an utter bloodbath in the second half after the Sharks scored 34 unanswered points to blow the Dragons away.

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Hynes, who is returning from a calf injury, looked like he hadn’t missed a set, playing 73 minutes before being put in cotton wool.

But the reigning Dally M Medallist was straight back to his best, laying on three try assists, five line break assists, four tackle breaks, four offloads and 123 run metres in a tremendous performance.

Hynes told Sunday Night with Matty Johns: “I was blowing, my lungs aren’t game fit at the moment. But it feels really good to be back. I’m not a very good spectator.”

The commentators were raving about Hynes’ performance all match.

At 26-8, Hynes supported Briton Nikora on a break and offloaded late for Jesse Ramien to score.

“Cronulla, the Sharks, do they make a Jaws 4 because this could be it here,” Voss said.

“They are killing the Dragons here. This is an amazing attacking performance from Cronulla in the second half.”

Good to have Hynes back in the NRL. Photo by Jeremy Ng/Getty Images

And Hynes sealed it with another try assist with a brilliant cut out ball to put Sione Katoa in.

“They might name the medal after him, that’s how well he’s going,” Andrew Voss screamed.

“This is an astonishing return.”

Michael Ennis added: “It’s been five stars tonight.”

Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon also heaped praise on his playmaker.

“I thought it was a strong performance considering the lack of training time,” Fitzgibbon said.

“I thought he seamlessly fitted back in and gave a boost.

“But I have to say his teammates stepped up and he was the beneficiary of a better team performance.”

He may have only played one game for the season so far, former NRL star turned media personality Beau Ryan already called for his Blues debut.

“Freddy has to pick Nicho Hynes as NSW five eighth. The guy can’t do anymore,” he tweeted.

CODE Sports’ Lachlan McKirdy wrote: “Nicho Hynes masterclass. Feel like we’ll be saying that a lot this year.”

It also piled on the pressure on the Dragons and coach Anthony Griffin, who was told he had to reapply for his job as the club put out feelers to replace him.

But Griffin might not even want to reapply for his job after the Dragons dished out their worst performance of the year, prompting one hopeful fan to do the phantom siren with 15 minutes to go in a bid to stop the fight.

Nicho Hynes tore the Dragons apart. Photo by Jeremy Ng/Getty Images

There was quiet optimism amongst the Red V faithful after a big win over the Titans and then a strong 70 minutes before the Broncos kicked clear in Round 3.

But the fans weren’t happy on Sunday night with many leaving midway through the second half while others stayed to boo the players who looked like the team many people thought would take out the wooden spoon.

This was the perfect opportunity for the players to dig deep to show their support for Griffin, but instead the pressure will mount on a man who may not even want the top job in 2024.

“It was disappointing,” Griffin said after his side conceded 40 points for the second week in a row.

“The second half, they were just way too good. We weren’t good enough.”

With Martin Gabor, NCA NewsWire