Nicho Hynes decision will forever cloud Brad Fittler’s reign

There’s an emperor’s buffet of nominations, but one notorious call will cloud the tenure of Brad Fittler long after he’s gone as NSW Blues coach.

Blues coach Brad Fittler looks on ahead of game one of the 2023 State of Origin series between the Queensland Maroons and New South Wales Blues at Adelaide Oval on May 31, 2023 in Adelaide, Australia. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)

COMMENT

There’s an emperor’s buffet of nominations, but one notorious call will cloud the tenure of Brad Fittler long after he’s gone and I’m not talking about the Miami Vice suits of 2018.

The cold snub of Nico Hynes is one of the coach’s most polarising displays of alternative facts, a decision that not only breached fairness but also numerous facets of societal etiquette.

Watch every game of every round of the 2023 NRL Telstra Premiership Season LIVE on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >

This not only ran a lawnmower over the heart of one of the game’s sweetest blokes, it also up-ended the virtues of runs on the board and everything we thought we knew about an orderly queue.

Hynes has spent a lengthy apprenticeship around the Blues set-up, with his elevation to bench utility for Game I seemingly affirming his position as the next halfback off the rank.

However, Fittler has now ignored his own pecking order to leapfrog Hynes with Mitchell Moses, with the Eel his preferred halfback to lead the Blues to a tasteful death in a must-win Game II.

Nicho Hynes was dropped for Game II. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

After banging down the door with one busy 80-minute performance against the Bulldogs, it was a rapid elevation back to the interstate arena for Moses that leaves him one game away from joining other Blues scapegoats including Mitchell Pearce, Brett Kimmorley, and of course, Hynes himself.

Nevertheless, Fittler’s call to cut the Shark was self-described as one of the most arduous of his career, stressing to the playmaker that his good work had not gone unnoticed, even though it had.

It leaves Hynes the latest victim of Fittler’s murky chain of command, a fluid structure that can expunge a player’s entire body of work for one poor game against the Storm and/or failing to pinch-hit in a position totally foreign to his skillset.

However, the axing came as no surprise to anyone who’d experienced a NSW team reveal in the last five years.

NSW Blues coach Brad Fittler picked Mitchell Moses for Game II. Picture: Ben Clark

Ever the hopeful fisherman, Fittler has spent years blindly trawling for team chemistry, albeit usually producing a mix of briney hopefuls and starfish.

This strategy has also included all-out bench misappropriation, with a series of mystifying rotations often rendering his #14 as useful as a sports exhaust on a hatchback - a move which resulted in 12 futile minutes for Hynes in Game I.

But of greatest concern is the rumours of Hynes being cut based on his mental state after Adelaide.

According to “mail”, prominent voice Phil Gould claimed on Channel Nine’s 100% Footy that the 26-year-old wasn’t fit for the halfback role after appearing “fragile” following the loss.

With Hynes’ bombshell shafting coming less than 24 hours later, many concluded his 18 months of white hot form had been flushed away in one segment of amateur psychoanalysis at 10:45pm on a Monday night.

Nevertheless, with Moses also set up to fail with a brief 10 days to build combinations - with three of these new teammates unavailable until Sunday - maybe Nico hasn’t been treated unfairly after all.

Originally published as Nicho Hynes decision will forever cloud Brad Fittler’s reign