'More than a highlight reel': How Hynes built game for finals success as record nears

Cronulla halfback Nicho Hynes is confident he is in better form than his 2022 Dally M season as he closes in on another slice of NRL history. 

The playmaker needs just three goals to match Hazem El Masri's record of 35 consecutive successful shots at goal, with Hynes eclipsing Luke Covell's club record in Sunday's win over the Rabbitohs and drawing level with Nathan Cleary's streak of 32 from 2017-18.

While he enjoys personal milestones, the 30-yeard-old is most desperate for team success as the Sharks chase their first premiership since 2016.

The playmaker arrived at the club at the start of 2022 on a lucrative deal with high expectations of his ability to deliver Cronulla a title. 

Hynes produced a sublime season to win the game's greatest individual honour but the award came with a finals flameout that has dogged the halfback ever since.

The Sharks have reached the past two preliminary finals but Hynes continues to be among the most scrutinised playmakers in the game as fans and analysts dissect every performance and every aspect of his partnership with Sharks five-eighth Braydon Trindall. 

It's pressure Hynes has long learned to live with and he's quietly evolved his game over the past couple of seasons. The halfback has led Cronulla into the top four and is confident he's in career-best form leading into the finals.

"There's more to the game than highlight reels," Hynes said. "In 2022 I had a lot of highlight reels. I had come to the club and had some big moments and everyone looked at me as I need to set up three tries or score a couple to play the Dally M style of football I was playing. 

"I've grown, I know I'm probably playing better than the Dally M year but only people look at me back then was for the try assists and the highlight reels. I'm more than a highlight reel and all I want to do is do the hard things. 

"Make my tackles, run the ball and kick when I have to, just build my game off that, staying patient and being an all-round footy player. Maybe I didn't have that mindset back in 2022 and I do now. 

"I can trust and believe in Tricky that he's going to get us around the park as well as I can and even better sometimes. I'll just play off the back of that and play my natural game."

Hynes and Trindall starred on Sunday afternoon as the Sharks toppled South Sydney to claim their fifth-straight win and maintain their place in the top four. 

The pair are now in their fifth season playing together and have formed a lethal attacking partnership.

With Hynes steering the ship and carrying the organisational responsibilities, Trindall is able to chime in with big plays in key moments.

The five-eighth broke the club record for try assists in a season on Sunday and currently leads the league with 29 for the year. Panthers halfback Nathan Cleary sits second with 23, while Hynes is fourth with 20, just one behind his total tally of 21 from the 2022 season.

Together, Hynes and Trindall have the Sharks on track to score the club's most points in a season but the halfback said the success is built on the unheralded aspects of their game.

"He's doing a really good job there in that try assist space but he's building his game off other things," Hynes said. "All those stats and things that everyone talks about, we don't really care about. 

"We care about building a game on our effort areas and hard work and [try assists] come when our big boys do what they're doing and our players are getting out of our end. We're just the guys to polish them off and Tricky's polishing them off  even better at the moment. 

"He's playing some really good footy and I'm proud that he's worked extremely hard to get into this position."