EXCLUSIVE: Nicho Hynes will cop heat but this is who really needs to step up for Sharks, writes Paul Gallen
NRL great PAUL GALLEN will appear on Nine's 100% FOOTY every Monday night of the NRL season, debating rugby league's hottest topics alongside Phil Gould and James Bracey. Tune in LIVE at 7.30pm (AEST) on 9Now tonight following a bumper finals week one!
There is only one thing Cronulla can do to stop the noise and criticism being aimed at the club.
The Sharks just have to beat the Cowboys this week - simple as that.
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Winning solves everything.
We can sit here and talk about how they haven't won a semi final since 2018, or about how Nicho Hynes needs to step up.
But the truth is if they go out and win on Friday night nothing else really matters.
Cameron Munster of the Storm is tackled Nicho Hynes of the Sharks. Getty
People are going to be giving it to Nicho and I understand that being a million-dollar player in the most key position on the field brings that type of pressure.
Nicho understands that too.
But as the old saying goes, forwards win matches and the backs decide by how many.
If your forwards get beaten in the middle there is not much the halves and backs can do, and unfortunately the Sharks didn't have a single forward run for more than 100m on Saturday.
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We were beaten in the middle by Melbourne and it reflected on the scoreboard.
The Sharks have a great chance to silence some doubters with a win over North Queensland on Friday.
The Cowboys have had a pretty good 10 weeks but they've been too inconsistent over the course of the season.
Sione Katoa and Briton Nikora of the Sharks walk off the field after losing to the Storm. Getty
They have a roster that's as good as any in the competition but I think you need to be more consistently good during the year to become a real threat in finals.
The fate of the Sharks is in their hands.
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Manly had no right to beat the Bulldogs on Sunday and the fact they won that game is a credit to the team.
Canterbury bashed the Sea Eagles for 73 minutes and then the Manly big guns suddenly turned it on and the game changed.
Tom Trbojevic was clearly hampered by his shoulder injury and while he tried his absolute guts out, he certainly wasn't as damaging as he normally is.
But the cream rose to the top when he linked up with Daly Cherry-Evans late in the game to set up the win.
The fact the Sea Eagles have a six-day turnaround will not help them against the Roosters, who have the luxury of eight days between matches.
The Chooks also get a huge in this week with Jared Waerea-Hargreaves returning.
Jared Waerea-Hargreaves is back for the Roosters. Getty
JWH is one of the best props of the last 20 years and he is a massive addition to the team.
Just his presence on the field will help the Roosters, who will feel safer simply by having the big prop alongside them.
I just hope Jared keeps his head about him and avoids doing anything that will get him sin-binned or suspended again.
His teammates have done really well to get to this point while he's been suspended, and now he needs to repay them.
He can do more for the team by simply staying on the field rather than trying to intimidate the opposition and accidentally hitting someone high.
He just needs to lower his target and play clean. We all know his record and if he even sneezes on an opposition player the referee might bin him.
We're set for a couple of cracking semi finals this weekend.
