‘If we earn it, we have the right to play here’: Sharks deserve home final, says Hynes

Sharks Stadium is the NRL’s most maligned venue, but Cronulla playmaker Nicho Hynes has rejected suggestions it’s not worthy of hosting finals matches.

With one regular season game to play, against Canterbury at Accor Stadium on Saturday, the Sharks are fifth on the ladder and will finish either fourth, fifth or sixth depending on results this weekend.

That will entitle them to a home game at some point in the finals, despite the many logistical problems surrounding a stadium that resembles a relic from a bygone era in comparison to state-of-the-art amenities at Moore Park and Parramatta.

For starters, the ground originally known as Endeavour Field is operating at reduced capacity of about 15,000, which will affect the availability of tickets for fans and, consequently, the NRL’s gate takings.

Then there are numerous issues at the Woolooware facility, including a leaking roof on the main stand, water that pools in stairwells when it rains, Portaloos on the hill, temporary fencing and a snakes’ nest of extension leads to provide power for vendors.

Cronulla CEO Dino Mezzatesta has said the stadium needed a $180 million overhaul but he has said it is fit to host finals.

And as far as Hynes is concerned, it’s a case of home sweet home.

“We love playing here, and if we earn a home final, then we deserve to play here,” Hynes said. “Every other team gets to play at their home stadium if they earn it. If we earn it, we have the right to play here, and obviously we want to play here.”

Cronulla’s attachment to Shark Park should be no surprise given their record of eight wins from 10 games at home this season. Sunday’s 40-16 dissection of Newcastle was their sixth victory in a row in their own backyard.

Even though it can’t accommodate the numbers of the bigger arenas, fans are close to the action and Hynes said that generated a great atmosphere for players.

“We love packing it out here and especially daytime footy, our fans turn up and we really enjoy it, so hopefully they can turn up for us over the next couple of weeks too,” he said.

As well as home ground advantage, the Sharks can earn a potential second chance in week one of the finals if they qualify for the top four, which will entail beating the Bulldogs and relying on Melbourne to beat fourth-placed Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium on Thursday night.

“We’ve set out from the pre-season to get into the top four, and we’ve got one more chance to try and get that, so we’ll be going in guns blazing this week,” Hynes said.

Cronulla have featured in the play-offs every season since Hynes joined the club from Melbourne in 2022, progressing to a preliminary final last season. The former Dally M medallist had no doubt those experiences would be beneficial this time around.

“I feel like we’ve learnt from each final series, ’22 and ‘23 and obviously ’24,” he said. “We ended up going to a prelim last year, and unfortunately we lost to the Panthers. No one’s beaten the Panthers in a prelim in the last five years.

“So yeah, it’s going to be a challenge, but we’ll just take what we’ve learnt over the last couple of years and play the game style we’re playing and not go out of our system.

“I think that in the Panthers game last year, we went a bit out of our system and played into their hands. So we need to just keep doing what we know, and worry about us.”

Cronulla are on the seventh line of betting with the bookmakers, paying $19 to win the title, and Hynes was happy to keep flying under the radar.

“For sure,” he said. “We’re always the underdogs here. No one gives us anything, everyone counts us out, so we’re looking forward to the challenge and going to the semi-finals underdogs like we always do.”

The big difference in Cronulla’s squad this year is prime mover Addin Fonua-Blake, whom Hynes said had been “huge” since arriving from the Warriors at the end of last season.

“He’s made a massive difference all year with us,” Hynes said. “Hopefully he can continue to have that form over the next couple of weeks, but everyone needs to pick up and play to a high standard as well as him.”

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