Hynes will stay No.7 heading into fourth Cronulla campaign

Cronulla coach Craig Fitzgibbon has emphatically declared he’s keeping superstar halfback Nicho Hynes in the number seven jumper to start the season, despite rumours he would become the Sharks five-eighth.

Hynes has had his position as the Sharks halfback questioned often during his three years in Cronulla, most recently during the 2024 NRL finals when Matty Johns suggested he play fullback.

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The biggest reason for the push has been the Sharks’ struggles to win titles.

Fitzgibbon doesn’t see it as a playmaker problem though — and Hynes will stay at halfback, he says.

“In Nicho’s time in the halves for the Sharks, we’ve made the semis each year, we’ve had a couple of top-four finishes, made a prelim, he’s won a Dally M Medal, and represented his state and country,” Fitzgibbon said.

“In a sample size of three years as a half for the Sharks, Nicho has delivered pretty well.

“For us, when Nicho was injured, ‘Tricky’ [Trindall] wore the No.7, Daniel Atkinson wore the six, and when Hynes came back and wore the seven, their roles didn’t change. A lot of people believe there is something in the number. For us, Nicho just needs to perform his role with the way we play… changing the number won’t change the role.

“What we haven’t had is a great deal of time with Tricky and Nicho as our halves.

“Last year was disrupted,” the Sharks boss continued. “Tricky had his time out when Nicho was playing, then Tricky played while Nicho was out. They haven’t had a great deal of time as a combination.”

And so, Sharks fans can expect to see Hynes and Trindall run out together in round one when the 2025 season gets underway — and can expect that big white “7” on Hynes’ back when it does. Whether that means he really plays the marshalling halfback role though remains to be seen. This The Sporting Base writer suspects we’ll have to watch trials for that one.

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Heading into 2026, the halves options will drop somewhat too: Atkinson is heading to Sharks arch-rivals the St George Illawarra Dragons where he’ll very likely become the club’s dominant playmaker.

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