The NSW Blues might have spent this year’s State of Origin series under a cloud that forced coach Brad Fittler cycle through 30 players in a bid to save his job.
But the coach’s surprise olive branch ahead of Wednesday night’s dead rubber in Sydney might just have put paid to speculation about his relationship with his charges and Nicho Hynes in particular.
Fittler invited axed and injured players to be involved in the Blues setup on game day, with Hynes the most notable dumped star to accept.
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The Dally M medallist played just 12 minutes in his Origin debut in the opener before being dropped for the second game despite first-choice halfback Nathan Cleary being ruled out with injury.
Both players stood alongside Junior Paulo, Tom Trbojevic, Apisai Koroisau and Hudson Young to support NSW for the final game.
“Just saw them all in the NSW dressing room together,” Phil Gould wrote on Twitter.
“They look pretty tight to me.”
Hynes previously accepted he would not return to the side for Origin III after his maiden appearance triggered a downward spiral that resulted in him withdrawing from friends, family and footy.
The 27-year-old was caught out playing in the unfamiliar position of centre as the Maroons ran in a long-range try.
That four-pointer led to another and in the space of three minutes Queensland snatched victory.
“I let the state down and the team down that day,” Hynes said of his defensive misread.
Fittler later spoke out against criticism towards him for his treatment of Hynes.
“It seems like a real easy target for a lot of media people to come into scrutiny and want to put pressure on that selection, and it feels like they want to drive a wedge between Nicho and myself,” he said.
“Nicho and myself are totally understanding of the situation at the moment, I respect what he’s doing for the Sharks and he’s doing an incredible job, so if he keeps going he’s going to force his way into the team somewhere.”
Hynes’ performance in the opener kicked off his first slump as a NRL player.
Cronulla lost their first game after Origin and in the week after were on the receiving end of the biggest defeat of Craig Fitzgibbon’s coaching tenure – a 54-10 defeat to Melbourne.
Hynes went missing in the game and lost his spot in the Blues side for Origin II a day later.
“I knew that was coming,” he said.
“Coming into the NRL, I’ve had such a smooth-sailing ride on the field. Off the field I’ve had my challenges but on the field I’ve just been on such a high for so long.
“It’s no secret what happened over those few weeks, the Origin and then the Melbourne game.
“Internally, I probably let it get to me a little bit by putting on a brave face around my family and my friends.
“They probably paid the price for that by me being a bit of a punish to be around.
“I probably went away from watching footy or coming in and doing extra video. There’s no way I should be getting away from that because this is what I love.”
In the two weeks after his Origin axing, however, Hynes was instrumental in big wins for the Sharks.
It was a team effort that sealed 48-10 and 52-16 routs of Canterbury and St George Illawarra, but when the game was there to be won Hynes was responsible for putting Cronulla on the front foot.
But he was unfazed about being on Fittler’s team sheet for Origin III.
“I don’t think I will get the call-up,” he said.
“I’ll just prove to everyone that, if I don’t get a shot this time in Game III, then I’ll be the right person next year.
“I’d honestly love to wear No.6 or No.7 in the Origin series and show what I can really do in the Origin arena.
“But my main focus is putting this team (Cronulla) into a position to try and win a competition.
“I just want to be the best version of myself, rocking up to training with a smile on my face, going home seeing my mum and my little puppy, my mates, and just being happy.
“At the end of my career hopefully I can look back at this time and go ‘you know what, that was the best thing for me and I’ve played 10 Origin games after that’.”
– with AAP
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