‘Not worth risking it’: Hynes expects to overcome injury for round one, backs Trindall to realise his potential

Nicho Hynes missed Cronulla’s win over Canterbury on Friday night, with the Sharks star now racing the clock to be fit for the round one trip to New Zealand.

Sharks halfback Nicho Hynes is confident that he can overcome a “little tweak of the quad” to be fine for his side’s trip to New Zealand to take on the Warriors on March 8.

The 2022 Dally M winner missed Cronulla’s pre-season challenge win over the Bulldogs on Friday night after he suffered a similar injury to the one that saw miss a game against Newcastle in round 26 last year.

Nicho Hynes says the injury didn’t occur during the All Stars game. Picture: Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images

“It was just a little tweak of the quad,” he said, with Hynes missing the start of the 2023 season due to a calf complaint.

“It’s just not worth risking it at the moment so hopefully I’ll be good to go by round one. I did a little bit of a trot yesterday (Thursday) so I’ll get another session in tomorrow morning and see how I go.

“It was after (the All Stars). It was during the week. It was unfortunate because I was feeling good, but it happened late in the week so it’s not worth risking it right now.

“I thought it might have been a cork from the All Stars game so I tried to run it off, but then I was like ‘I don’t know if that’s feeling all right’. It’s not too bad.”

With Hynes out, Braydon Trindall steered the Sharks to an unconvincing 12-6 win over the Bulldogs in a game that featured way too many errors.

It shapes as an important year for Trindall who claimed the Preston Campbell Medal for his efforts in the All Stars game and now gets his chance to make the No.6 jersey his own after floating in and out of the team.

Braydon Trindall was man of the match in the All Stars game. Picture: Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images

“Ever since day one of pre-season, he’s come back with the right attitude and he’s way more professional. I think he knows that it’s his time to shine, and I hope he can do that,” Hynes said.

“During All Stars week he was cool, calm and collected, and it didn’t even bother him that Cody (Walker) pulled out and he had to come in. He was ready to go and I felt like we combined really well.

“The team looked like they were in sync with what we were doing, and it felt like that. To go off that game, it’s pretty good signs for ‘Tricky’ this year.”

Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon spoke last week about the faith the club has in Trindall and why they were willing to let veteran Matt Moylan go to the Super League.

Trindall locked down the starting spot in round 21 last year and didn’t let go after Moylan was dropped due to some defensive issues, and it’s now time for the 24-year-old to deliver on his talent after a disrupted start to his career.

Trindall finally gets a proper chance in the halves. Picture: Mark Nolan/Getty Images

“I think that builds resilience and hunger, and I think that if he was as committed as he was a couple of years ago as he is now, maybe he could have got his shot back then,” Hynes said.

“That’s no disrespect at all – I think that he knows he’s come in this year and he knows that if he knuckles down then he’s got this spot for a long time.

“I think that helps the fact that it’s clear in your mind that you can rock up every day knowing that you’re going to improve on all your little skills and improve on what the team needs instead of having to fight for the position.

“He’s not complacent, but he knows it’s locked down so he can be himself and show his true colours.”

Meanwhile, Hynes is thrilled that prop Braden Hamlin-Uele has decided to stay in the Shire for a further two seasons despite being heavily linked with a big-money move to the Warriors.

Braden Hamlin-Uele was tipped to join the Warriors. Picture: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

“It was a process for him and it would have been uncomfortable,” he said.

“It’s never a comfortable feeling going through that process where you feel like you might have to leave and then feeling like you’re probably going to leave.

“I guess we came in with the right offer and I’m so glad it happened because I can just imagine him and Addin Fonua-Blake together, and that’s pretty exciting.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the club for re-signing him and for him staying because it’s obviously a big offer to go back to New Zealand. It just proves what we’re building here as a club.”