Cronulla Sharks halfback Nicho Hynes will miss Friday night’s clash with the Manly Sea Eagles after suffering a calf injury at training, a blow that ends his perfect run of availability this season. Hynes will go for scans to determine how long he is likely to be sidelined.
The injury comes after Hynes played all 10 games for the Sharks this year and every one of the club’s 27 matches last season, a run that had made him something of an ironman in recent times. His absence adds to a busy selection picture for Cronulla, with the club set to name its Origin trio of Blayke Brailey, Addin Fonua-Blake and Briton Nikora later on Wednesday.
Those three will then be monitored after Wednesday night’s match to see whether they can back up 48 hours later for the Sea Eagles game at Shark Park. The Sharks are hosting Manly in a contest that carries the Steve Rogers Memorial Trophy, a prize the two clubs have played for since 2006.
Hynes’ setback also leaves Cronulla without Sione Katoa, who remains unavailable with an ankle injury. Katoa is expected to be fit for next week’s local derby against the St George Illawarra Dragons, but for now the Sharks are forced to reshape their side for a match that arrives at an awkward point in the week.
That is the problem for Cronulla. The injury to Hynes is one issue, but the need to assess whether Brailey, Fonua-Blake and Nikora can recover in time for a second game inside 48 hours gives the club little room to breathe before a Friday night meeting with Manly that already has a trophy attached to it.
