Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon backs Nicho Hynes ahead of sudden death NRL final against Manly

Confirmation bias, and the reality of being a “price-tag player” in the NRL.

That’s how Cronulla coach Craig Fitzgibbon explains heavy criticism of halfback Nicho Hynes, again under pressure as the Sharks prepare for their semi-final against North Queensland.

Last Saturday’s 37-10 qualifying final loss to Melbourne marked the latest occasion Hynes struggled to lift his side in a big game.

But Fitzgibbon has taken little notice of the call from Penrith great Greg Alexander to start Daniel Atkinson in the halves ahead of Hynes as the Sharks’ premiership hopes go on the line this Friday.

“I’ve heard it, but I won’t be picking (the team) based on what anyone else says,” Fitzgibbon said.

“We’ve been working really hard at blocking that (criticism) and not looking at it. It has less of an effect if you’re not constantly searching and looking at it.”

Alexander’s comments have prompted only the latest round of headlines for Hynes, who has lost all four of his finals games in three years at the Sharks - themselves winless in finals since 2018.

Hynes endured a tough starting debut for NSW in the State of Origin series opener before his recent ankle injury, and an unhappy first Origin game from the bench last year as well.

The halfback came under the microscope following both appearances, despite his Blues being reduced to 12 men early in the most recent of those games.

But Fitzgibbon has heard this story before, with Ash Taylor, Anthony Milford and Luke Brooks among previous playmakers to struggle under scrutiny prompted by their seven-figure salaries.

“It’s happened to a lot of high-profile players - or I should say price-tag players - in the past, and halves in particular,” Fitzgibbon said.

“With that (price tag) comes responsibility and scrutiny.

“I think it’s confirmation bias - you see a couple of things that he hasn’t done, then it’s out there, it’s spoken about, but to prove yourself right, you constantly go to the things that he’s not doing well, and it just becomes like momentum.

“We all do it. Once you have a set of beliefs, we look for evidence to back that up and you just keep talking about it. But he does plenty of good stuff too, so focus on the good stuff and hopefully he gives us more of that.”

Fitzgibbon’s advice to Hynes is simple: You have the power to silence the criticism, all you need to do is your job.

“For the situation we’re in, Nicho and everyone else, the only was out for us is through it, so let’s bunker down and get after it,” he said.

“He’s got to do his own job, not everyone else’s, and go out there and run our team in conjunction with ‘Tricky’ (five-eighth Braydon Trindall).”

Sharks centre Jesse Ramien is a chance to return from his ankle injury to face the Cowboys, pending Thursday’s final training session.

Enjoying a career-best season, Ramien was a late scratching against the Storm and would give Hynes an attacking weapon on the right edge if he were to recover in time.

“Jesse said he was right the week before too. He’s a pretty tough kid, he’s fearless in that regard,” Fitzgibbon said.

“After yesterday I’d say he was probably even more confident, but we’ve got to see how he pulled up.”