Fitzgibbon and McInnes throw support behind Hynes amid difficult month of form

Cronulla Sharks star Nicho Hynes is enduring one of the toughest months of his professional career as he continues to struggle to find form post-Origin.

After being dropped from the NSW Blues squad, Hynes has had a string of disappointing showings and has been outperformed by his replacement at the Origin level, Mitchell Moses.

Hynes’ poor form was highlighted in his side’s 14-15 loss to the Bulldogs, where the halfback missed a potentially game-winning field goal attempt from right in front of the posts.

The 28-year-old’s drop in form has been a topic of discussion in recent weeks but Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon backed his star to find his way through it.

“You’ve got to ice your moments,” Fitzgibbon said.

“That’s part of the job and responsibility as a playmaker and that one will sting, but he’s got to dust himself off pretty quick and look forward to the next moment.

“It’s going to shape him, he’s got to go through it, it’s part of it - the responsibility - and he’s accepting that far better (these days).

“He’s been stung before and carried his divots a little bit, but I feel like the last couple of weeks - he acknowledges them.

“It’ll sting, of course it’s going to sting. But I feel like he’s ready to keep going after the moments, he didn’t shy away from it, he put himself in position, but yeah he’s got to ice it.”

Meanwhile, Cameron McInnes, who was also dropped from the Blues Game I squad, revealed his message of support to Hynes post-game.

“I just said he’s our guy, he’s our man, we’re all behind him, we’ll do great things with him leading us and nothing has changed. That’s what I said to him,” McInnes said.

Hynes will get his chance at redemption next Friday night as the Sharks host the Gold Coast Titans.