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Sharks star shrugs off personal barbs in NRL title race
Melissa Woods, AAP • September 25th, 2025 7:55 am
Nicho Hynes says he can't give a toss about the 'external' criticism heading his way | Photo: Dan Himbrechts/AAP
Accused by some of being too nice and not nice enough by others, polarising Cronulla star Nicho Hynes "doesn't give a rats" about criticism that comes his way anymore.
Arriving in Melbourne as the Sharks look to upset the Storm in Friday night's preliminary final at AAMI Park, Hynes is again in the headlines - this time for his "salty" attitude.
The veteran halfback, who played three seasons with Melbourne before shifting to Cronulla in 2022, has dismissed the personal criticism as "noise".
"I just worry about what my teammates and coaches need from me and external noise is external noise - I don't see it, I don't hear it," Hynes said.
Hynes says he will continue to stand up for his Sharks family | Photo: Dan Himbrechts/AAP
"I couldn't give a rats about what people say about me ... there's nothing left they can say more about me because it's already been said."
He says he will always defend his Sharks "family", which was why he has become more outspoken of late after previously being a media darling for his openness around his mental health and as an Indigenous advocate.
"If someone disses your family I think anyone would go out of their way to say something and speak up about it," said the 29-year-old Wiradjuri man.
"I take things personally when people try and diss my family.
"Maybe I've just had enough of it over the last few years with people disrespecting the Sharks. I'll fight for the Sharks until I stop wearing these jerseys."
The 2022 Dally M Medallist was irked by a perceived lack of respect shown towards his team, who had won just one of six finals games across the last three seasons prior to this year.
In 2025, they finished fifth but eliminated the Sydney Roosters and minor premiers Canberra en route to the preliminary final.
They have also won nine of their last 10 matches, dropping only one game since their last trip to Melbourne where they were thumped 30-6 by the Storm.
Cronulla are one of the competition's form teams losing just once in their last 10 matches | Photo: Dean Lewins/AAP
He admitted they had used criticism of the team as motivation for their early finals campaign and are now happy to let their results speak for themselves.
"I'm not in it to prove it to anyone, I'm just in it to prove ourselves - we deserve to be here and we wouldn't be here if we didn't," Hynes said.
"The respect, that's all other people's opinions and obviously we've probably used that a little bit in that first final with motivation, but at the moment I just want to get the job done for the team.
"If you get the job done that's how you earn respect."
Hynes's opposite Jahrome Hughes will enter the match with just one game under his belt in the past two months - the Kiwi Test No.7 breaking his arm in a round-27 return from a shoulder dislocation.
Still good friends with many of the Storm players, Hynes described Hughes as a "tough little bugger".
Having being in the Storm system, he knows how they would approach an injured player if the tables were turned.
"I know exactly what they would be doing and I'd be making 50 tackles," Hynes said.
"Every halfback is a target, I'm a target, I'm making 30-plus tackles a game at the moment and we're not going to shy away from him.
"We've got to worry about a lot of players on the field and target a lot of players, not just Jahrome Hughes."
Tune into Sport Nation for SEN's live commentary of the Cronulla Sharks vs Melbourne Storm NRL Preliminary Final - coverage starts 8pm NZ time, kick-off 9.50pm - available on the SN app and all NZ frequencies.
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