Despite calls for Daniel Atkinson to replace Hynes at halfback, coach Craig Fitzgibbon named his star in the No.7 jersey. And Hynes opted to face the media on Wednesday ahead of the must-win clash against the Cowboys at Allianz Stadium this Friday.

And Hynes admitted he isn’t paying attention to the outside noise having stayed way from social media. He also acknowledged the tag floating around suggesting he is failing under pressure.

“If people want to try to tear me down there’s something going on in their lives that they might need to deal with,” he said. “I’ve got a good life and I am going to continue to be happy every single day and try to do my best every single day at training to be a good football player.

“I’ve just got to block it all out. It’s going to come, it’s going to keep coming for the rest of my career.” Hynes’ response suggests the 2022 Dally M winner is ready to shut down his critics.

Although former Roosters five-eighth Braith Anasta isn’t so sure. Anasta felt the interview had some inconsistencies and felt the Sharks halfback is struggling for confidence.

Nicho Hynes (pictured) has struggled for confidence since being dropped from the Blues.

He also called out the Sharks for allowing him to front the media, instead of blocking out the criticism. “He said he’s off social media and he’s not listening to the noise — but he referenced the noise on two or three occasions,” Anasta said on NRL 360.

“At one point he said ‘I’ve got a good life, people who are criticising me must have issues in their own’. I thought ‘hang on, you’re actually talking to the noise and listening (to it).’ You can’t control that. The only thing you can control are the controllables: turn your phone off, don’t watch NRL 360, put the papers away, make sure your preparation is good, make sure your meals are good, make sure your training sessions are good, get on the field and execute the game plan.

“They’re all the things that only he can control that are going to get the right result. I feel like he is impacted by the outside noise and he showed us that in that interview. I wouldn’t have even put him up (for media) today. If I’m the Sharks, don’t put him up, stay quiet, focus on training, focus on your preparation.”

Hynes has struggled for form in the back-half of the season after being dropped from the Blues’ State of Origin squad. He then injured his leg in training, which resulted in a number of weeks out, before returning with two games left in the regular season. The Sharks have gone 2-2 since his return.

And Hynes has admitted he is still looking for his best form. “It’s a tag that will forever be there for the rest of the career,” Hynes said when asked about the criticism

“From 2022, I was still fresh and had only played halfback for 20 games I think it was. In that Cowboys game I felt like I played a pretty good game but we didn’t get the result. The Roosters game last year was similar – we only lost by a field goal as well.

“The game on the weekend was one where I probably needed to be better and I’ll own that performance. As a team as a whole we need to be better. I think they had 73 per cent possession and completed 44/46 (sets) and we had 12 errors. I think that we need to be better in all areas to win this game of football, and I still need to own performances and I need to own my performance to get us in a position to win the game.”

The Sharks will host the Cowboys on Friday night with the winner set to face reigning champions the Panthers. The Manly Sea Eagles will take on the Roosters in the other elimination final.