Why Cronulla should challenge Hynes' suspension

Nicholas Quinlan • September 8th, 2025 1:25 pm

Greg Alexander believes that the Sharks should challenge the judiciary decision to suspend Cronulla’s Nicho Hynes to have him available for their first finals match.

Hynes has been handed a Grade Two Dangerous Contact charge following a hip drop tackle on Canterbury’s Marcel Montoya during their 24-6 win against the Bulldogs on Saturday night.

With it being his first offence, it would mean he misses two matches with an early plea, reducing that to just one.

That would mean that if they accept the early plea, the 2022 Dally M Medallist will miss the do-or-die clash with the Sydney Roosters but would be available should the Sharks progress.

But Alexander thinks that they have a good chance of appealing the decision and having the grading reduced to a Grade One, which would only be a fine.

This is on the basis that the tackle that Hynes laid, in Alexander’s opinion, doesn’t meet the typical definition of a hip drop tackle.

“Well, it’s not what we brought the rule in for,” Alexander explained on SEN 1170's Breakfast.

“If you had a look at the early days of why we brought this rule in and what was happening, and I don’t want to go down that road, who it was manufactured (for).

“(But) they would stand behind the player, and if they couldn’t get him to ground, they would launch themselves up in the air and land on the back of the legs of the player.

“Now, what Nicho Hynes did, and we’ve seen plenty of tackles like that with hip drop charges, where you go. ‘I don’t know, did the player just (have) momentum take them to the ground?’.

“It was Nicho’s knee that landed on Marcel Montoya right down the bottom. He didn’t launch himself around; he swung himself around, but he was dragged down by momentum.

“Montoya steps back on the inside and towards Nicho to beat Katoa. And then all of a sudden, he is in a situation where he (Hynes) finds himself on Montoya very quickly.

“I would be going to the judiciary; I’d be challenging the grading.

“Let’s go, guilty (and a) Grade One, I think he gets off.

“Because I don’t think he deserves to be suspended. I don’t think it warrants a suspension, that tackle.”

The Sharks have not decided whether they will challenge the judiciary’s grading or take the early plea.

A decision is expected to be made soon.