He was courted by a number of the Sharks’ NRL rivals – most notably the Broncos – before talks with Fitzgibbon convinced him a move to the Shire was best for his career.
Bellamy and Melbourne general manager Frank Ponissi both gave Hynes their blessing when he said he wanted to work under Fitzgibbon.
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Fitzgibbon hasn’t decided on whether Hynes will wear the No.6 or No.7 in the Sharks’ opening round clash against the Raiders. The Central Coast junior also starred at fullback for the Storm in the absence of Ryan Papenhuyzen (concussion) last season.
“I grew up playing in the halves my whole life,” Hynes said. “It’s not new to me at all. People might think that, but I only played fullback when I was at the Storm. It was pretty exciting [Fitzgibbon] wanted me to play in the halves.
“He’s obviously come from a good system at the Roosters, similar to what we had at the Storm. He wanted to create a culture here, and the winning culture he wanted to bring is something I felt like I wanted to be a part of.
“If I was going to go somewhere, I wanted to go to a place which was going to make me as good as what I was [at Melbourne] and I feel like [Cronulla is] going to be a club similar to what I was at.”
Hynes admitted he considered resting from Melbourne’s final-round win over the Sharks in 2021, which ended Cronulla’s six-year run of featuring in the play-offs. But he opted to play and insisted the result would be motivation for both him and new teammates.
“It’s going to make them hungrier for more and makes me hungrier to get them there,” Hynes said. “It’s exciting times here at this club.”
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‘It’s crap to be honest’: Hynes savages Storm departure theory
Source: Philippines Alive
