The Fox League PodcastNicho Hynes reflects on his rollercoaster 2024 season and the lessons he learnt. The Sharks superstar also opens up on his mindset ahead of this season, declaring he’s never been more ready to play footy.
We go, Hi, its thanks for being here with us. The season creeping up very quickly and you get to kick it off in Las Vegas. How are you feeling about twenty twenty five overall?
Yeah, it's come pretty quick. Yes, it's really exciting, and I know everyone probably sits here and says the same thing at this time. The everyone's training hard and we're working really hard for each other and looking good. But yeah, I feel like this preseason has been a really good one for us. It's been short, but it's been intense, and we've got some new additions like Adfinil Blake, who's training the house down. So yeah, it's very exciting that we've got a new player of his stature and his ability. So I think it's going to add another dimension into our group this year. And what way to start over in Vegas against the reigning premiers.
We'll get into the new edition soon. But how just spend the off season? What did you do?
I added my best mate.
It's wedding over in Bali, so I was his best man, which was one of the best ads of my life. Like, weddings are awesome, but being in the bridal players is like my first prople.
Of time doing it and.
Just seeing the emotions of the day, the nervousness of him when he was like strolling up and down waiting for us to walk out to go and start the proceeding of the wedding, and yeah, it was just like it was just a really nice feeling and just watching him grow from a young man to a young boy to a man and just being every step of the way, and it was a really cool thing that I was.
Good to be a part of.
It's always those like big moments in life. It puts probably your career and stuff into perspective. Hey, like you get that off season and you get to experience I think it's so much bigger than footy.
Yeah it is.
It probably come at like the perfect time for me. You know, there was a lot said about me in the media in the back end of the year. It was just a perfect time to go switch off and be around all the best people I know, all my best mates I grew up with from your minor and we were all in the same place at the same time for the first time in forever, and I just felt like a little kid again, just running around looking everywhere I looked with someone I grew up with, and not even the boys, you know, some of the girls we grew up with from high school as well, seeing them and how happy to all their partners and we're all just such a tight knit group. And I just sort of forgot who I was in that moment, and I'm just the Niko Hines that they grew up with. That they don't give a shit about me running out into a stadium full of eighty thousand people and playing a game of footy. You know, they just love me for me and put things into perspective big time that you know, there's a lot of things that are.
Bigger than a game of rugby league and.
Been there on the special day for your best mate's that's much more important than losing a game of footy.
And yeah, so I put a.
Lot of things in the light for me and moving forward, you know, taking on this year, there's a few things that I want to put in place and so that you know, I'm not really just narrowed in on just forty twenty four to seven. That's how I've always lived my life, you know. I want to spend time with loved lines and be happy off field, and that's going.
To transition on the field, So what a better balance? Better balance?
Yeah, yeah, work life balance. Everyone experiences that.
Experiences it.
You know, whether you're a teacher, do what you do, brick layer, tradees, whatever it is.
You know you need to get everything.
Right off the work paddic first or the work job site, whatever it is, so you can be at your best every day. And now it's something that I'll I'll be doing this year for sure.
You touched on Adam fanil Blake. What was your first impression when he turned up for day one and pre season?
Wow, you're big. Well, I'm new Adam.
For a little while, we played a bit of school boy foot together and then I did my first preseason mainly with him in the day, So I just hadn't spoke or been in close proximity with him for a long time other than on the foota field, and it was just nice to see him walk through our gates. And he's a big boy, he's athletic, and I just feel like he's got an aura about him that you know, someone that you.
Want to play with.
And I'm just really glad that he's chose the Sharks, And yeah, our combinations gone pretty well at the moment, and I'm just really looking forward to building a connection with him and then building a connection on the field as well.
You talk about his aura and his presence from the outside looking in, he ticks all the boxes of being like that leading enforcer, you know, that leader of the pack. Do you reckon he can fill that role? Well?
Yeah, for sure.
You know, we've got a really good four pack as it is, and it's just going to benefit all the players around him.
I reckon this year and our team.
And you know, if he can lead in the direction we want to go and the boys can jump on the back of that, then I can't see why the big boys in the middle they can have a successful year. And you know, I think the way her players can help out, some of the players play their better footy as well.
In the middle. So yeah, it's exciting times.
Obviously it's all talk at the moment, so we need to go action it, And yeah, I look forward to hopefully over the first few weeks we were building the combinations nicely in the middle there and us spine playsing to off the back of that.
There's another new recruit. Doesn't get the headlines, but Joheppapuru, Nephi's twin first of all. But I remember at the Raiders he was one of, if not the fittest player down in Canberra. Have you had much to do with him yet, Yeah.
He's he come in really fit. Actually, I heard about how fit he was, and he leads a lot of the fitness drills with the forwards and majority of the backs too.
So I played All Stars with.
Him last year and you know, he came in pretty quiet, but by the end of that, you know he is very, very proud man of who he was and who he is. So yeah, it's a really good addition. He one of the best Last Cup players last year.
I believe.
And he debut against Usfurd Cambra last round in twenty twenty three, and I thought he had.
A really really good game and he's got.
Really good skill, good leg speed, is really fit. So you know, if we're looking for a small forward on the bench and he can play nine to two, so I dare say we're playing a little bit of food for us this year.
If he's caught upon, for sure.
I'm sure you've packed it up and put his bed twenty twenty four and focus on twenty twenty five. But now that you've had enough time to rest and reset, how do you reflect on the year that was?
Yeah, Look, we started the year really well last year. I think we won eleven out of the twelve start the year or maybe ten out of twelve.
We're on a really good run there. And then the origin pirid happened.
Obviously, thinks didn't go the way I would have liked in that period, and then I think the shark's footy in my footy.
You know, it was a bit I wasn't hold, but I just didn't go the way we'd like.
Or planned and that was hard to deal with. And then and then I got injured and I was out for eight weeks and come back and played.
It's a decent pooty for the finals run.
So yeah, like as a whole, I wouldn't call it successful because I guess I think one team that's successful at the end of the year.
But we treaded in the right directions again.
You know, we went our first semi final for a while, We got to a prelium for the first time UNDERFITZI. You know, we made top four for two out of three years. That fits in a couple of us have been there, so yeah, we're treading the right direction as a team and individually. You know, I've learned how a lot of lessons last year that I'm really glad it's happened, because sometimes that you need to learn those lessons and all the great to go through those lessons. So yeah, I'll be looking forward to putting them into place this year and all the lessons I've learned and playing a lot better footy from those lessons.
It's a great attitude to have, you know, to look back on a not so great season and take the lessons out of it. So what are some of those lessons that you'll be able to implement or I guess lean on coming into this year.
I think one staying away from people's opinions and social media and just really focusing on my life and controlling what I can control. I can't control what people are going to say, I can't control the experts on TV talking about certain things, and then.
Just probably in play stuff. Yeah, I think that's that's that's mainly.
It'd really like, yeah, just not worrying about then they say is out there, and yeah, just really controlling what I can control and then probably middle parts of the year. I think we maybe we got that wrong a couple of years in a row. So I reckon just when we get to that middle part of the year again, really knuckling down and focusing on that part so it can set us.
Up for the back end of the year.
Beating the Cowboys in week two of the finals and making it to the pre lim How sweet was that victory?
Yeah, it was good and it was nice. Again, a lot of talk about the Shark's not being able to win a final, and as much as you don't focus on that during the time in that week, is obviously it's there and we don't We didn't mention it, We didn't want to talk about it. But obviously every player would have had people around them talking to them about it, whether it's family, friends, looking on social media.
Everyone sees it, everyone hears it.
So it is a bit of an elephant in the room, you know, And so it is a real thing.
As much as you try and say it's not, it was a real thing.
And I'm just really glad that we got it done and we went out and smashed in that first half.
A little bit scary in the second half.
But we still got the job done, and yeah, it was it was just a nice feeling of dressing room. It was a nice feeling after that storm game where we didn't go play our best and hopefully we can just keep building on that and get another semi final or maybe a couple this year and for premiership.
But you must have felt vindicated to like, yeah, we can win finals, we can get to a prelim. We are there.
Yeah, that's right, and we always we always knew we belong there.
Yeah, Like for.
The last few years we come at the end of the regular season was second, I think six, and then fourth. So it's like the last three years we've been the top eight. Last two out of three years we've been top four. We just maybe couldn't get over the line. Like twenty twenty two we lost by fur bid in those finals, but twenty twenty three we lost by a field goal, and then two two lost by field goal as well, and so we slowly tread in the right directions. And last year we know we've got a lesson in Melbourne and we won a game in the final series.
So.
I feel like we do belong there.
It's just about each year we're building and building and building, and hopefully this year is another year like that and you can keep going, maybe one or two extra fur and.
Then you've got your heart's breaken by the Panthers. What a way to come be brought back down to earth.
Yeah, And you know.
What, if you're going to go out, you want to go out by the premiers.
I guess, And.
That's that's probably a once in a lifetime team, you know. Like I know, a lot of teams back in other eras have done what they've done, you know, but I feel like right now it's the toughest it's ever been in this game, and what they've been able to achieve over the last few years is pretty amazing.
And they're going to be a hard team to beat again this year. And we learned a lot of lessons.
Again, we've reviewed that game and you know, we'll learn from that and what a way to do it and play them again straight away around one in Vegas?
How good?
Yeah, talk about pressure. We'll full steam ahead for twenty twenty five then, And so how are you feeling physically, mentally, everything emotionally heading into this season?
I feel great.
Yeah, it's probably the happiest I've ever been in my life, the most ready I've ever been for a game of footy. You know, I say a lot previous year is about the same thing. But I was just able to go and switch off in the off season and really just knuckle down on fixing the lessons that I was saying before and becoming a better person and a better family member, but a boyfriend, bet a brother, bet of mate.
You know.
I've just really found myself in the off season again. And yeah, it's really excited to see what we can do as a Sharks team this year.
But a lot of talk about like ew and Branden, who wears six, who wears seven? What's the plans, Like how's your combination coming together? Because it is your second year as well, You're going to be better for having last year under your belt for sure.
Well, he's at his shoulder, so he hasn't been in training a hell of a lot. He's starting to become good now, so we'll be looking to build that connection and hopefully pick up where we left off pretty quickly. But yeah, it's just about finding the balance of how we like to play. We're in a unique position where I feel like we can both play six and seven, So yeah, to see what the coach thinks the next couple of weeks.
But it's exciting.
You know, he'll be looking forward to a big year after hope. He just signed a good contract extension, so yeah, people will be talking about him a lot more now. So he's going to hopefully deal with that the way you can and be better for it. And I'm excited to see how I was gonna play this year.
It's funny because a lot of focus tends to be put on what the jersey numbers are, But is it fair to say it doesn't really matter what number you have on your back. You each have an individual role that you have to play, and that might change throughout season.
Yeah, for sure, Like there's going to be times where he might get it war more than men, and I might get more more than him. Like, it's just the way we play, and regardless to what number on the back we wear, it's just about going out and playing our natural games and making sure that fits in our system and in the Shark's way.
So yeah, we're looking to do that.
You mentioned earlier about how the origin period didn't go to plan. Life never goes to plan. But where's your head? Out like about representative footing. Now, it hasn't turned you off or anything like that. Na, Yeah, I just.
Think that.
I'm just worried about winning your premiership and that's it, and the Sharks come first, and yeah, just like if it happens, it again, it happens again.
But all I want to.
Do is win a premiership for the Sharks, and if we're doing that, and if we're in contention to be there at the end of the year, we should be around the top of the table during mid year. And if we're doing that, I should be playing good footy. And if my name gets chucked up.
Again, so be it.
But I'm not sitting here saying a goal of mine is to play Origin next year, because it's always a dream to play Origin. But my goal is purely the fact, just to make sure the Sharks are in a position to win a camp. And I reckon happily be guilty of in the past of like saying I want to play Origin this year. I want to play orogin this year. And yeah, maybe losing sight of other stuff, I don't know, But I just think right now where I'm at in my career and my life is just purely the fact that I always wanted the Sharks to be in a position to win a premiership.
And that's all notice to me.
Team first. So what does what does the perfect twenty twenty five look like for Nico heinzfect.
Twenty twenty five? You don't lose a game of footie and you win a premiership and then you're happy off field, yeah, and you're just loving everyone around you and just living your best life.
And you get to go to another wedding, bali wedding somewhere we don't alright, perfect, all right, thanks you
