Bold Hynes move floated in Sharks ‘shake-up’... as rival team ‘keeping an eye’ on superstar

The Cronulla Sharks have been urged to “shake up” their roster after another underwhelming finals campaign, with one bold positional switch floated for Nicho Hynes.

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The Sharks looked to be priming themselves for a deep September run late in the season before a shoulder injury to Braydon Trindall derailed all their momentum.

The result was an early exit, and this time around they didn’t even make it to the preliminary finals.

While Craig Fitzgibbon declared his team is still “not far away”, a host of changes to the roster next season already means this will be a different-looking Sharks outfit in 2027.

Cameron McInnes, Sione Katoa and Jesse Ramien are among the bigger names be on the move and while Cronulla’s spine is locked in for the time being, veteran rugby league reporter Dean Ritchie said Fitzgibbon should consider an even bigger roster “shake up” next year.

“I think they’re still a fair way off to be truthful,” Ritchie said.

“They finished the season with two wins from seven games. I sound like a broken record because I’ve said this before: the Sharks fall over every year. I know the Sharks hate being told that but it’s fact. It happened again this year.

“Fitzy has got to shake up that roster because at the moment that roster is not good enough. A few of the players are leaving, to be fair, but that five-year team that he has built isn’t good enough. We just have to brutally honest here.

“They need some speed in the forwards and maybe pick up an X-factor along the way. Someone who can actually produce something.”

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The question, of course, is who that person could be with Ritchie putting Matt Burton’s name forward as one option.

Burton’s future has been a constant talking point over the past year, with the premiership-winner moved from five-eighth to centre as part of the Bulldogs’ reshuffled spine.

In an interesting twist, NRL 360 host Braith Anasta said he keeps hearing rumours that the Perth Bears are “keeping an eye” on Hynes and may “throw their hat in the ring” should he become available.

That would have to be a result of Cronulla releasing Hynes though given he is contracted until 2029, and at this stage there are no indications the Sharks would entertain that possibility.

But questions continue to be asked of Cronulla’s first-choice halves pairing and, specifically, whether they are capable of going to another level in the pressure cooker that is finals football.

CODE Sports reporter Brent Read rightly pointed out that the Sharks were “flying” before Trindall got injured, but Anasta said that is part of the problem for Cronulla.

“It’s not the numbers though,” Anasta explained.

“This is the thing. Braydon Trindall is up there in the try assists. During the regular season, he was probably the five-eighth of the year. Nicho’s numbers are up there.

“It’s not the regular season. These two have the ability. They are the most creative halves as a pairing in the competition. But that’s not the answer because it’s not getting them the results when they need them and that’s the big dilemma for Craig Fitzigbbon.

“He’s got these two guys that are just spectacular players and during the regular season are saying they’ve got the right halves to win a comp but then here we are again. So, what do they do? It’s a tough decision to make.”

Of course, it is hard to judge them too much on this finals series alone given Hynes was knocked out of the game while Trindall was clearly hampered by his shoulder injury.

But there is enough prior evidence to go off that it should at least be a conversation according to Ritchie, who said moving Hynes to fullback is something “worth considering”.

Blayke Brailey left little doubt he is one of the premier hookers in the game this year, with Gorden Tallis going as far as to declare him “very close to Harry Grant”.

But fullback Will Kennedy, who only extended on a one-year deal until the end of next year, may be the most likely to move on next year if the Sharks come up short again.

“Will Kennedy has been great. He’s done a really good job for them but I think on the weekend we saw the limitations,” Read said.

“If they are going to shake up a position, I think that’s the position.”

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