‘Nowhere to be seen’: NRL world says same thing about Nicho Hynes

The criticism that Nicho Hynes is not a big game player won’t be going anywhere after a horror performance against the Storm.

The criticism that Nicho Hynes is not a big game player will continue to linger after a quiet performance in Saturday’s qualifying final against the Storm.

In a game where the Sharks needed their biggest name to stand up, Hynes largely went missing as the Storm claimed a commanding 37-10 win to book a place in the preliminary finals.

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While the scoreline was expected against the runaway minor premiers in Melbourne, the Sharks were hopeful the real Nicho Hynes would stand up.

But a first-half blunder put Hynes’ performance in perspective when he shanked a kick for touch, going from the Sharks’ 30m line to the Storm’s 40m — and nowhere near touch.

It put the Storm in good field position and ultimately led to a penalty goal when Cameron Munster was taken out without the ball.

“It’s a horror, it’s a shank … Nicho Hynes, what happened there?” Andrew Voss asked on Fox League.

Nine’s Brenton Speed called it “another monumental error”.

And from there, Hynes appeared to shrink further.

Challenged by NRL great Cooper Cronk at halftime to “lift”, Hynes played more as a runner.

He made 108m from 14 runs, made 21 tackles, two errors and kicked just five times as five-eighth Brayden Trindall took the kicking duties.

Hynes only put in one attacking kick for the match as Trindall kicked 12 times, as well as setting up a try on the stroke of halftime with a Benji Marshall-esque flick pass for Briton Nikora.

Nicho Hynes has been slammed. Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Hynes has had a tough season after he was selected for NSW in State of Origin Game 1 before he was dropped for Game 2 and went through a brutal period where he failed to close out two matches on the trot where he had the match on his boot.

At the time, fans were calling him “the least clutch player of all time”.

The opinion hasn’t changed after yet another quiet performance.

One fan posted: “Sharks lose another final and Hynes nowhere to be seen.”

Another suggested “Nicho Hynes has the Yips. He can’t seem to get past this.”

A third commented: “Another big game, yet another subpar performance from Nicho Hynes at halfback. It isn’t all on Nicho, sure, but the evidence is starting to add up around Nicho in a big game.”

A fourth wrote: “Nicho Hynes is a highly talented player but has done nothing at the top echelon except choke. Not good for him at all.”

A fifth assessed: “Hynes honestly needs to be studied. Could be the biggest choker in international sport.”

Another quipped: “Any info as to why Nicho Hynes didn’t play for the Sharks today? They really missed him I thought.”

Plenty of others suggested Hynes may be a better fullback than halfback, calling for a positional switch.

And others suggested it was the Sharks’ hulking forward pack that was outplayed by their Melbourne rivals.

Hynes did more defence than anything else. Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images

While the criticism is tough, it is also seemingly founded as he hasn’t won a final at the Sharks, who have won just one finals match in their last 10 since their breakthrough 2016 premiership.

However, coach Craig Fitzgibbon tried to take the pressure off Hynes leading into the match and claimed he’s a proven 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.”

Players are remembered for how they play on the biggest stage, however, and the 28-year-old will need to step up in next weekend’s sudden death semi-final against the winner of the Cowboys-Knights elimination final.