In the macho world of rugby league, Nicho Hynes is standing out for his acts of compassion, but he says there are many more like him in the NRL who go unnoticed.
There’s been a shift in professional sport in recent years towards a mindset which is diametrically opposed to the perception of a physically brutal pastime like rugby league – to be nice.
Whether it’s the Australian men’s cricket team trying to repair its image by cutting back on the sledging or the rise of the Ted Lasso style coach who puts a player’s wellbeing ahead of a win at all costs mentality, there has been a definite shift towards embracing the power of empathy.
Hynes is the NRL’s poster child for this new-age mantra after earning plaudits for his off-field work and nice-guy persona.
Nicho Hynes with the children of Paul Green, Jed and Emerson after receiving the Paul Green Medal. (Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
The rise in awareness about the importance of mental health is at the heart of this movement and Hynes, who has openly talked about his previous issues in this realm, received widespread praise last week with his act of kindness after winning the inaugural Paul Green Medal for player of the match in Cronulla’s win over North Queensland.
CLICK HERE for a seven-day free trial for your favourite sport on KAYO
As Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon said in the on-field ceremony, it was fitting that Hynes, who came from nowhere to claim the Dally M Medal last year, won the award.
Green was named the competition’s best-and-fairest award in 1995 as a relative unknown in just his second season in the top grade while also wearing the black, white and blue No.7 jersey.
The rugby league community was shocked and saddened last year when Green, who coached the Cowboys to their maiden premiership in 2015, died after the 49-year-old had waged a hidden battle with his mental health.
Hynes urged everyone to check in with their loved ones “because you never know what’s going on” in his acceptance speech and then donated his medal and game-worn jersey to Green’s children, Emerson and Jed in a heart-warming moment in the sheds.
“Of all the medals I’ve received, I feel like I was really proud of it,” he told The Roar.
“When it went around my neck and looking around at the crowd and their friends and family, especially his kids, how emotional and how happy they were to see me receive it, that was a really proud moment of mine. I was just really grateful to share that experience with his family because they’ve gone through such a tough time.
“When I went and sat down in the dressing room and the kids were sitting behind me in my locker, I just thought that would be a really nice thing to do.
“And they can remember that for the rest of their lives and they can have something else with their dad’s name on the medal hanging in their house on the wall, they can see that evey day and be so proud of what he did in the game and for the Sharks and the Cowboys. It was a no-brainer.”
Hynes was quick to point out he’s by far from the only NRL player to do such good deeds.
Rabbitohs star Latrell Mitchell is a perfect example – he and teammate Cody Walker on their day off on Thursday visited an Indigenous community that had been devastated by floods last year.
On Friday, he was at it again, mixing with hundreds of local schoolchildren from the Hymba Yumba Independent School which was founded to educate future generations on Indigenous culture.
“I just try and do my part within the community,” Mitchell modestly told reporters at Ballymore Stadium when asked about his propensity to do more than his fair share.
The students swamped him, interrupting Jason Demetriou’s press conference, prompting a wow from the South Sydney coach as he watched in awe the effect his “rock star” had on the youngsters.
“I haven’t seen anything like that. He gives a lot of his time and commitment to standing proud as an Indigenous man and they love him for it.”
Hynes said his Indigenous All-Stars teammate was another role model that provided inspiration to many.
“He’s done that forever, Latrell. He’s such a good role model, especially all the Aboriginal kids out there in their communities,” Hynes said. “He doesn’t get the wraps he deserves the majority of the time.
“There are so many players out there who do such good things that the media don’t find out about and they don’t go looking for the media to find out about it.
“There’s definitely so many great humans in our beautiful game that do so many good things for people. Hopefully they start getting more recognition from it because they deserve it.”
Growing up on the Central Coast, Hynes remembers lining up for hours outside the stadium in Gosford to get autographs from players when NRL games would come to town sporadically in the years after the shortlived Northern Eagles outfit.
Hynes is showing last year’s breakout first season with the Sharks which led to the Dally M Medal as the game’s best player was no fluke.
Despite missing the first three rounds with a calf strain, he’s rocketed up the leaderboard to third spot to be a strong chance of back-to-back medals.
Cronulla recognised the talent they had on their hands by recently sealing a multimillion-dollar deal for Hynes to remain at the club until the end of 2029, not bad for a player who struggled to find a permanent starting spot at the Storm for the first three years of his career.
The 26-year-old playmaker is also right in the frame to make his Origin debut with NSW after being a reserve squad member three times over the past two years.
Nicho Hynes was 18th man for the Blues in 2022. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
There is a strong push for Hynes to unseat Penrith’s Jarome Luai as five-eighth but Blues coach Brad Fittler indicated during the week that his mind was far from made up with three matches left before he selects his team for the May 31 series opener in Adelaide.
Hynes is not surprised – he takes nothing for granted but would love the opportunity to combine with star halfback Nathan Cleary at representative level.
“Everyone’s talking about it but all I can control is playing well for the Sharks and if I keep playing the footy I know I can then put my name into calculations. But I can’t control who he’s going to pick,” he said.
“I don’t feel like five-eighth’s any different to halfback. I’d still play my natural game but if the Blues go with those two and I get a bench spot or I don’t get picked at all I’ll just be doing my best next game at the Sharks to try and make the team for the second one.”
Since he’s been back from his calf strain, the Sharks have won four of their past five starts, including the last three on the trot.
They are in second spot on the ladder heading into Saturday’s Magic Round duel with the Dolphins but could have a better record and a five-game winning streak on the go if not for a 32-30 loss to the Warriors in which they coughed up a 20-point lead.
“After that Warriors game we had a good hard look at ourselves in the bye round and we need to continue building our game, especially our defence,” he said.
(Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
Cronulla finished second last year but bombed out in the finals with successive defeats. Hynes believes the roster stability they’ve carried into this year will prevent that from happening again if they make the 2023 playoffs.
“We’ve been together for another season now so the longer we stay together, the combinations we build, the connections we’ve have, they start building more and so does our confidence,” he said.
“I think the longer we stay together, the harder we work, the more games we get under our belt together, the more we’ll improve.”
Every game of Magic Round LIVE in HD, with no ad-breaks during play on Fox League, available on Foxtel and Kayo.
"Apologise for my appearance as well, boys - I usually look better than this!"
Nicho Hynes has not quite made an undeniable case to be Nathan Cleary’s halves partner for NSW but he should be the first five-eighth…
The Sharks halfback backed it up with a try from a few seconds later, through some more tired Canberra defenders.
The Sharks were scoring plenty of points, but equally impressive was their defence - stopping this near certainty!
After the Raiders hooker bombed a near-certain try, Sione Katoa scored at the other end of the field in a 12-point turnaround.
There is only one way for Cronulla to shake off their reputation for being flat-track bullies. They are off to an impressive start in…
