Hynes blasts ‘embarrassing’ stadium saga as empty seats expose sorry sight
Updated . First published at
Sharks star Nicho Hynes has described the turn out at Allianz Stadium as “embarrassing” after Cronulla fans were forced to relocate from the Shire.
Despite earning the right to a home final, the match against North Queensland was played on neutral territory at Allianz due to Shark Park’s substandard facilities.
Nicho Hynes speaks to Nine’s panel. Nine
The crowd at Allianz Stadium was recorded at just over 17,000 with the empty seats noticeable on the broadcast. Shark Park’s capacity sits at 15,000.
“It’s a little bit upsetting, disappointing and embarrassing there’s so many free seats here,” Hynes said on Nine’s coverage.
“I saw it was 17,000, I’m not blaming the Sharks fans at all, they turned up and were really loud. We would’ve got 15,000 at Shark Park and there’s only 2,000 more people here.
“We did our best to get in a position for a home final, and it’s very unfortunate we didn’t get to do that. Everyone keeps coming up with problems and no solutions. How about give us solutions?
“Upgrade our stadium or give us something we can play at.”
Cronulla have long fought for an upgrade to the stadium which has been colloquially termed as “Portaloo Park” due to the bathroom facilities.
Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon said his problem was the timing of the decision, with his side only finding out just when finals arrived.
“It’s not it’s not our decision ... the amount of talking that went on about playing at Shark Park, I thought we weren’t any chance of getting it this year,” he said.
“They should have just told us earlier, but also, for us, we’re happy to play anywhere. We’re in the semi-finals. We want to play in a big stadium.
“But our members and fans pay their money all year to be able to watch their team make semi-finals and play at home, and we earned that, but we didn’t get it.“
