Nicho Hynes came back from a calf problem and instantaneously the Sharks looked more like the real deal, cruising past Griffin’s Dragons 40-8 at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium.

It shouldn’t have been as one-sided as it was, with Cronulla scraping to a 12-8 half-time lead and facing the prospect of running into a stiff northerly in the second stanza.

But from the moment Jayden Sullivan bobbled a Moses Suli offload in the opening minutes of the second half, it was all one-way traffic as Hynes produced a playmaking lesson. The Sharks peeled off 28 unanswered points as the Dragons completed at 42 per cent in the second half and missed an unforgivable 25 tackles.

“It thought it was very embarrassing,” Dragons captain Ben Hunt said. “I don’t think there would be a guy in our side who could put their hand up and say they played well in that second half. To dish it up in front of your home fans, it’s not good enough.

Asked about the speculation around the coach, Hunt said: “It’s very disappointing. Preferably I’d like everything to stay in house, but it doesn’t happen in rugby league. It’s not going to go away now.”

It’s not a stretch to say Hynes could miss the first three games of the season and still win the Dally M again, especially if he continues at this pace.

His teammates Ronaldo Mulitalo and Jesse Ramien grabbed doubles, but it was all about Hynes, who was parked on the bench for the final seven minutes, so emphatic was his night’s work.

It says a lot about the current NRL landscape, and maybe the parlous state of the Dragons, that the southern Sydney derby was only the third-best rivalry match of a weekend. In these times, a grand final rematch between western Sydney rivals and the inaugural battle of Brisbane took precedence.

Thankfully for the Sharks, it also co-incided with Hynes playing his first game of the year.

The former Storm pin-up helped lay on a sparkling first try when he released Mulitalo, who streaked downfield and then deftly kicked for Will Kennedy with the outside of his right boot.

But as good as he was for the first try of the night, he was just as bad for the second as last year’s Dally M rival Hunt wheeled past him for St George Illawarra’s first points.

Jaydn Su’A’s try after a slick Jayden Sullivan pass handed the Dragons the lead, only for the Sharks to snatch it back at half-time when Ramien profited from a chaotic Hynes bomb which had St George Illawarra fullback Tyrell Sloan pleading he was taken out in the contest.

The only plea the Dragons could make after the break was one for mercy.

Loading

It might be the only way for their coach, too.

CRONULLA SHARKS 40 (Ronaldo Mulitalo 2, Jesse Ramien 2, Will Kennedy, Briton Nikora, Sione Katoa tries; Nicho Hynes 4, Siosifa Talakai goals) defeated ST GEORGE ILLAWARRA DRAGONS 8 (Zac Lomax, Jaydn Su’A tries) at Netstrata Jubilee Stadium. Referee: Todd Smith. Crowd: 15,126.

Stream the NRL Premiership 2023 live and free on 9Now.