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Nicho Hynes’ chances of snaring the NSW No.7 jersey took a hit with the halfback putting in one of his worst performances in a long time in Cronulla’s loss to the Storm at AAMI Park on Sunday.
Hynes is the frontrunner to replace Nathan Cleary for Origin II but he fluffed his lines in his Blues audition in front of NSW coach Brad Fittler watching on from the Nine commentary box as Melbourne converted a 34-6 half-time lead into a 54-10 massacre.
He has left the door open for Eels playmaker Mitchell Moses to steal the spot with a strong showing in Monday’s clash with Canterbury with Cleary missing the rest of the series due to a torn hamstring.
Hynes came up with a couple of crucial errors by making poor pass in the first half to continue his modest record against the top teams since becoming Cronulla’s first-choice halfback at the start of last season.
Maroons candidate Christian Welch, a likely candidate to replace injured duo Jai Arrow and Tom Gilbert in the pack, could be rubbed out of Origin II after he was sin-binned in the 75th minute for a hip-drop tackle on opposing prop Royce Hunt.
Nicho Hynes. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
Cronulla are undoubtedly a good side and Hynes is a quality player who was a worthy winner of last year’s Dally M Medal but when confronted with the top-notch opponents, their record is waning.
Against top-eight opposition, the Sharks have lost all six games this season, after taking out just four of 11 last season despite finishing second on the ladder, following on from 2-9 and 3-9 records in their previous two campaigns.
Hynes was 3-6 in games he started last year against the seven other teams that made the playoffs, including Cronulla’s back-to-back playoff defeats.
And this season his record against teams that are currently in the top eight is a win over Manly but losses to the Warriors, Broncos and now his former club Melbourne.
Hynes was the bench utility on debut for NSW in game one at Adelaide and missed a crucial tackle while playing out of position at right centre in the Maroons’ late surge to glory.
“He was probably not at his best,” Cronulla coach Craig Fitzgibbon said. “Didn’t have much support there today. You need to be part of a strong team line-up to play well.
“The life of an elite player is you turn up and get your job done. Playing good footy usually takes care of those (selection) decisions. That’s just life and pressure in professional sport.
“He’s got a strong body of work behind him.”
Craig Bellamy, who brought Hynes into first grade before his successful switch to the Sharks last year, said “that wasn’t all Nicho’s fault” when asked if the halfback should have any concerns about his record against finals contenders.
“With Nathan out, I’d be picking him every day of the week,” the former NSW coach said. “I think he’s done enough over the past 18 months to prove he’s an Origin player.”
Fittler will wait until the Eels take on the Bulldogs on Monday afternoon before finalising his squad with Moses and Reagan Campbell-Gillard hoping to impress the selectors.
Moses played one Origin, with Jack Wighton as his halves partner, filling in for Cleary in the 2021 dead rubber which Queensland won 20-18 to avoid a clean sweep.
Welch was worried after Hunt hobbled off following his controversial tackle and sought out his rival after the match.
“My first concern is the player, I hope he’s alright. You don’t go out there to injure someone like that,” he said. “I’ve gone and apologised. I haven’t really watched it, to be honest. It was just a bit of an ugly tackle, I don’t know.
“I wasn’t in the team for game one so I don’t know if I’d be picked.”
Bellamy said he thinks Welch should be the next in line to replace Arrow.
Fitzgibbon said he was not sure about the extent of damage done to Hunt’s ankle.
He said his team “never really got into the contest” and is concerned about a mid-season lull on the back of a lacklustre 20-12 home loss the previous week to Brisbane.
“Discipline cost us and field position, and the fundamental errors again,” he said, a week after a heavy defeat to Brisbane. “I’ve seen a few of these games popping up lately and it’s disappointing to be on the end of them.”
He said their attitude was not up to scratch and this is now an opportunity to do something about it.
Veteran five-eighth Matt Moylan was a defensive liability on the edge of the ruck and with players like Braydon Trindall and Connor Tracey unable to get regular game time, his spot should be under scrutiny.
When asked about his team’s poor record against the leading sides, Fitzgibbon conceded it was a problem they need to overcome.
Bellamy didn’t hold back when he described his team’s effort as “putrid” last weekend in the media conference following their loss to North Queensland.
That was the polite, public version – you can only imagine how enraged he was within the four walls of the dressing room.
The Storm were a different team this time around, regaining the intent in every facet of their play that has been a hallmark of Bellamy’s era of success over two decades.
Storm prop Tui Kamikamica opened the scoring in the third minute when a Harry Grant grubber ricocheted off the upright into his lap but his putdown was dubious enough for Fittler on commentary to claim he’d dropped it.
Sharks forward Teig Wilton cancelled that out a few minutes when he benefited from a Ronaldo Mulitalo leap to claim a bomb.
But after a couple of handling errors and a poor pass from Hynes, the home side was in again when winger Will Warbrick was on the end of an overlap.
The Sharks again coughed up the pill and kicked early in their tackle count, leading to Kamikamica returning the favour to Grant by offloading close to the line for a rare try assist and a 16-6 lead.
Grant burrowed over to get his second before Xavier Coates touched down twice in a three-minute blitz before half-time – first when he flew high in AFL heartland and then when he leapt a long way from terra firma again to latch onto a Cameron Munster flick pass to virtually seal the win inside 40 minutes.
And they managed their 28-point first-half demolition despite second-rower Eliesa Katoa only lasting 10 minutes before copping a head knock – he was cleared after a concussion check but ruled out for the rest of the match due to a cut above his eye.
The carnage slowed in the second half but after Max King and Reimis Smith crossed out wide, the Storm held a 48-6 buffer heading into the final 15 minutes.
Jahrome Hughes brought up the half-century with nine minutes to spare before Mulitalo crossed for a late try which provided little consolation.
The final margin was a record for the Storm in clashes with Cronulla but it could have been worse if they kept going at full throttle to finish the match but they eased back with centres Marion Seve (head knock) and Reimis Smith (hamstring) forced off in the closing stages.