While he had dropped in for a brief cameo appearance at training and for the player induction day last week, today (Monday) was the first official day at Sharks training for Nicho Hynes.
The Melbourne Storm recruit began with an early morning photo shoot in Sharks kit, headed into a team meeting to discuss the week ahead, before hitting the training paddock at the Academy Fields at Cronulla High School.
Hynes joined his teammates as they went through some speed and agility, defensive drills, followed by ball work and skills in a sharp 90-minute session.
He then grabbed a kicking tee and put in a little practice alongside the Sharks other goal kicking options for 2022, in a solid morning hit out.
From there it was a press conference where Hynes discussed his move to the Shire and his expectations for the year ahead.
Looking forward to being one of the Sharks main go-to guys next season and set to be joined by Storm teammate Dale Finucane in the coming weeks, Hynes was ready to embrace the challenge and to become a team leader in 2022.
“Hopefully Dale and I can bring some leadership qualities to help make this into a winning team,” Hynes said. “Look at the roster, it’s young and exciting, I believe they should have been in the eight this year and we’re going to work as hard as we can this pre-season, going into next year, then hopefully we get to that Finals footy.
“Fitzy (Craig Fitzgibbon) is bringing some good structures and systems to build a really good culture.
“It’s exciting and I think the town of Cronulla should be excited as well. I think the town should get around us this pre-season and look forward to playing back at PointsBet next year,” he added.
Hynes also tackled the topic of where he expects to play in 2022, his early arrival, with his pre-season start coming a week earlier than scheduled, as well as his move to Cronulla where he is likely to get plenty more opportunity to indulge in his other passion of surfing than he did in Melbourne.
“I’m settling in, it’s been nice. I’m across the road from beach, so it’s good I can go for a dip or for a surf in the morning,” Hynes expressed.
“I thought it’s a new club, so I wanted to get around the boys and make an impact straight away. I wanted to make sure I hit the ground running,” he said.
As for his role in the team, which is expected to be in the halves, that move coming with the pressure of begin one of the key playmakers, is something Hynes was ready to accept.
“It’s going to be a big challenge, there’s going to be a lot of pressure, but I’m ready to do a lot of work to make sure it’s a successful time. Fitzy has brought me here as a half, I’ve played there growing up, so it’s definitely not unfamiliar. It’s about doing whatever suits the team,” Hynes said.
The Sharks NRL squad, along with their Development list and the players on training contracts, are now well into the pre-season, with Finucane, due to the Storm’s later finish to the 2021 season and the extended break afforded to senior players, set to report to Sharks training during the second week of December.
