The Sharks are “running out of options” for $1 million playmaker Nicho Hynes and a switch to lock may be the only move to save him as an elite player amid a confidence slump.
That’s the verdict of the NRL 360 panel, with the spotlight firmly on the former Dally M Medallist after a Cronulla run of three losses in four games.
“We all know how good Nicho can be, we’ve seen it. We just haven’t seen enough of it,” former Dally M Five-Eighth of the Year Braith Anasta said.
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“At times this year he’s shown glimpses of it, even in periods of games. But the problem with Nicho is when the game’s on the line.
“You need your million-dollar players, you need your big guns to stand up, and I feel like he’s lacked confidence now for quite a while. And when you lack confidence, you play with hesitation, and hesitation in the halves is the biggest killer.
“He just seems to hesitate, he seems unsure about himself. He’s not that player that says, ‘Just give me the ball, I’m going to win our team the game’ – and he needs to be.”
While Hynes was a fullback earlier in his career with Melbourne Storm, NRL legend Gorden Tallis said that was no longer a viable switch for the 29-year-old.
“Nicho doesn’t have the speed to go to fullback, he doesn’t score those tries,” Tallis said.
“If I was going to move him, dare I say it, I’d have to move him to lock.”
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Veteran reporter Phil Rothfield said Cronulla would be best served reverting to a halves pairing of Braydon Trindall and Daniel Atkinson, which was successful at times last season.
“Trindall, when he has more control over the side from halfback, that’s what earned him a $700,000 contract. Atkinson was going so good, St George (Illawarra) signed him,” Rothfield said.
“I want to see that halves combination again but Nicho has to be in the side somewhere.
“I’m not sure if he’s a fullback, he could be lock forward. They’re running out of options for a million-dollar player.”
