Nicho Hynes’ training load will need to be modified if he is picked for State of Origin, Cronulla coach Craig Fitzgibbon said after his halfback reported calf tightness the day before the NSW team announcement for game one.
Going into the game as the favourite to snare the Blues’ No.7 jersey, Hynes wobbled to his feet just before halftime in Cronulla’s 42-0 loss to Penrith on Saturday night, having copped a knee to the head from Isaah Yeo.
Hynes passed his head injury assessment but remained off the field, as the calf that has troubled him in recent weeks stiffened up during his spell on the sidelines.
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“I’m not certain of the extent, (substituting Hynes out) was more to do with cooling down and tightening up than anything” Fitzgibbon said.
But the Sharks coach said even if Hynes had finished the game, he would have been likely to enter Blues camp under an injury cloud.
“Even if he’d got through, he still would have needed to be modified for (Origin camp),” Fitzgibbon said of the player’s lingering calf trouble.
“He’s done well to get through last week and then was getting through tonight.
“It’s still there, I don’t know the severity of it but it’s not like it’s completely gone.”
Hynes missed the Round 10 defeat of Melbourne with a similar issue, but returned to star in the win over the Sydney Roosters a week later — albeit with some discomfort.
With Nathan Cleary, Mitch Moses and Adam Reynolds all injured, the in-form Hynes appeared assured of starting at halfback for the Blues in Origin I at Accor Stadium in Sydney on June 5.
Even prior to his injury scare, Hynes endured a tough night on Saturday, kicking the ball out twice on the full as the Sharks struggled for any kind of attacking momentum.
If Hynes is unavailable, coach Michael Maguire could look to seven-time Blues five-eighth Jarome Luai, who has been playing halfback for Penrith in recent weeks and starred in the huge win against Cronulla.
Luai has saved his best performance in recent memory for the eve of NSW’s team announcement with Maguire watching from the stands.
Dropped after Origin II last year, Luai pulled all the levers as the Penrith machine clicked ominously back into gear after last week’s shock loss to the Warriors.
“If, as we all think or hope, (Luai) goes into Origin, he’s certainly going in feeling pretty good in his form,” Panthers coach Ivan Cleary said.
“I thought his kicking tonight was probably the best he’s ever done across the game.
“He’s definitely more than ready, which he would have been anyway, but it’s nice to be able to go in with good form.”
Luai orchestrated the first three tries in the kind of suffocating performance that has become the three-time reigning premiers’ trademark.
Replacing Cleary at the Panthers, Luai’s game management was so confident the seven-time Blues five-eighth may have put his hand up for the No.7 jersey that Hynes may need to vacate through injury.
Luai targeted Sione Katoa with his kicking game all night, and after only four minutes the Sharks winger spilled a torpedo in the red zone.
James Fisher-Harris cruised over at close range in the set that followed.
Luai had the Panthers’ second all on his own, stepping inside Tom Hazelton and Will Kennedy for a slick individual try to help the Panthers to a 12-0 lead after nine minutes.
At 18-0, the game was fast slipping out of the Sharks’ reach after Luai threw a flat pass off a scrum for Paul Alamoti’s try, having extracted another error out of Katoa with his boot.
Beyond Hynes and Luai, Canterbury’s Matt Burton could also be switched from five-eighth while Chad Townsend, Isaiya Katoa and Luke Keary are more left-field options.
Hynes’ Sharks teammates Cam McInnes and Jesse Ramien came into the Round 12 clash hoping to put the finishing touches on their own Origin cases.
But a maiden Blues jersey was the last thing on McInnes’ mind when the final whistle sounded on Saturday’s 42-0 thrashing.
“I’m just thinking about tonight and how disappointing that was. My head is so far from (Origin) right now,” he said.
– with 7NEWS