Braith Anasta has put a metaphorical arm around axed NSW playmaker Nicho Hynes and shed light on how difficult it is to change your State of Origin reputation.
Sharks halfback Hynes has been dropped after a Game 1 the second year in a row after the Blues once again lost the series opener.
Anasta, who represented Australia and New South Wales, was dropped several times in his Origin career that included 10 games over seven years.
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“You know what the problem is with Origin, and I’ve been there with this myself, I’ve been on the end of it… is people label you an Origin player or not, that’s what happens,” Anasta said on NRL 360.
“And Nicho has got the attitude to come back into that team and he’s got the game to be a really good Origin player.
“It’s the label you get and then people judge you on that.”
Queensland icon Gorden Tallis said Hynes should turn his axing into a positive.
“When players miss out on teams, and we all have, isn’t that motivation? Is this because every kid got a ribbon at school?” Tallis said.
“He’s playing for a team coming first (on the ladder). Go back, concentrate on Cronulla and get them to win another premiership.”
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Phil Rothfield revealed that Hynes was dealing with being dropped a lot better than last year.
“I think it was more expected this time. I think he’s worked very, very hard with good people on his mental health and being able to react to setbacks like this one,” he said.
“Everyone handles it differently but he’s not down in the dumps like he was last year.
“I just wish we knew what would have happened if it was 13 v 13 that game if it would have been easier for him to make a statement in that football game.”
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Fellow journalist Brent Read then pointed out that Hynes was always the Blues’ third-choice halfback behind Nathan Cleary and Mitchell Moses.
“I think it’s important to remember that Mitch would have been there if he’d been fit, it would have been Cleary and Moses in the halves,” he said.
“So Mitch was always going to come back into this team.”
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