The forgotten story from Wests Tigers’ golden-point thriller last Sunday was the three missed field goal attempts from Cronulla’s $1 million man Nicho Hynes.
Hynes was just inches away from being the hero when his first shot travelled nearly 50m and slammed into the left upright.
A second attempt in the 80th minutes was charged down by Tigers prop Terrell May, then a third attempt, in the second minute of extra time, was again blocked, this time by fullback Jahream Bula.
Hynes has had 16 drop goal attempts during his time at the Sharks, and he has missed 10 of them.
Rather than blame Hynes, however, his Cronulla teammates could have done more to help him seal the win on Sunday.
That is the opinion of James Maloney, who kicked a remarkable 25 drop goals in the NRL for the Sharks, the New Zealand Warriors, Sydney Roosters and Penrith Panthers, and 33 field goals in total during his 319-game top-flight career.
Maloney suggested five things that will help Cronulla should things go down to the wire again, which could be as early as Friday night when they kick-start Magic Round against Parramatta.
Nicho Hynes fires his long-range effort into an upright against the Tigers on Sunday.Credit: NRL Photos
Don’t get too close to the opposition try line
Maloney said the Sharks were next to no chance with their last attempt at Leichhardt Oval, having played the ball almost on the Tigers’ try line.
“What it means is you give up that 10m buffer, and as you play the ball, you will see the Tigers players rush up with the ball,” Maloney said.
Cronulla did likewise in a game against the Bulldogs last year, and Reed Mahoney’s pressure forced Hynes to miss.
Where are the decoys?
Tigers hero Adam Doueihi said his side knew Hynes would be the go-to man for a field goal, and most of their talk in the dying stages was about pressuring him.
Bula told this masthead: “He was always standing deep, so he was the one we had to lock in on.”
Hynes did pass to Braydon Trindall in the 87th minute to kick, and Cronulla arguably should have received possession back when Tallyn Da Silva brushed the ball as he raced through to try to block the kick.
Maloney said the Sharks needed to have another player standing behind Hynes to keep the opposition in two minds.
“They need some sort of deception,” he said. “It’s as clear as day what they’re doing – you need to give sides something to defend, rather than a one-out play.”
By standing so far behind the play-the-ball, Hynes also invited rivals to run straight at him, Maloney said, which makes it easier to block the kick. Standing much wider would make it more difficult for defenders to target him.
Fast play-the-balls, and watch for the fullback
A fast play-the-ball is arguably the most important aspect for a successful field goal. Also important is knowing exactly where the fullback is, because they are often the fittest and most likely to charge the ball down.
Maloney said it was important for Hynes, hooker Blayke Brailey and Trindall to know exactly where the fullback was before attempting the one point.
Bula was involved in two of the charge downs on Sunday, while Roosters skipper James Tedesco helped stop one of two Hynes’ failed kicks in a 2023 elimination final.
The crackdown on blockers has made it even easier for fullbacks and the fittest players to get to kickers.
“But you need to somehow make the fullback hesitate,” Maloney said. “If you can get the fullback to hesitate for half a metre, and leave him in two minds about whether the kick will happen, it can make a big difference.”
No such thing as too early
Cronulla could have kicked a field goal on more than one occasion on Sunday, especially with the wind at their backs, and plenty of good go-forward. There is no such thing as kicking a drop goal too early in a game, says Maloney.
“The opposition are under all the pressure then [if the kick is successful], and if you’re up by one [point] with five or 10 minutes to go, all you have to do is get to the end of your sets, kick to their corner, and force them to go 100m,” he said.
“If you’re fair dinkum, stopping teams going 100m five or six times isn’t a big ask.”
NRL is Live and Free on Channel 9 & 9Now
Michael Chammas and Andrew “Joey” Johns dissect the upcoming NRL round, plus the latest footy news, results and analysis. Sign up for the Sin Bin newsletter.
