Under pressure NRL star Nicho Hynes urged to get in touch with Latrell Mitchell following difficult month of footy for NSW Blues and Sharks
- Braith Anasta urged Nicho Hynes to contact Latrell Mitchell
- Hynes has had a tough month of football and has received a lot of criticism
- Mitchell has also faced setbacks this season and has bounced back
Former NRL star turned commentator Braith Anasta has called on Nicho Hynes to reach out to Latrell Mitchell after a tumultuous month of football for the Cronulla Sharks halfback.
With the scores tied 14-14 on Friday night, Hynes had the chance to seal the win against Canterbury at Accor Stadium when the Sharks reached the red zone.
But the 28-year-old fired straight into the goal from 18 yards out.
To make matters worse, rival Matt Burton was the hero in the Bulldogs’ 15-14 victory a minute later with his own long-range shot.
Hynes’ high-profile miss has made for a bumpy few weeks for the 2022 Dally M Medal winner.
Hynes was dropped from NSW’s halfback position following the State of Origin season opener after struggling to get the 12-man Blues to start the match at Accor Stadium on June 5.
In his first game back after Origin I, Hynes missed a conversion attempt on the sideline that could have sent the Sharks into overtime against the Dolphins, who won 30-28.
Hynes has been open about his mental health struggles in the past, and Anasta believes talking to Latrell Mitchell about dealing with adversity would help him immensely.
Nicho Hynes (pictured) has had a bumpy few weeks in rugby league for NSW and the Sharks
Latrell Mitchell (pictured) has also had a challenging year but made a convincing comeback for NSW in the second game of the Origin series
The Souths star has endured a difficult 2024 season but has bounced back strongly since, helping the Blues beat Queensland at the MCG and take the Origin series to a decider in Brisbane.
“Latrell’s gone. Give Latrell a call,” Anasta said on NRL 360 on Monday night.
‘Look honestly where he came from, two or three months ago.’
In a recent interview with Channel 9, Mitchell discussed the toll the ongoing drama and criticism has taken on him this year.
“I feel like a lot of people hate me and they don’t know me,” he said on the Sunday Footy Show.
‘A lot of people hate me and make me the bad guy all the time. That’s why I try not to hide myself as a person.’
‘That’s how I am now, because that’s how I was screwed. In the past, but I learned a lot from those situations when I was young. And when I was exploited.
Fox League presenter Braith Anasta (pictured) hopes Hynes will contact Mitchell to discuss how best to deal with adversity
Hynes was dropped from the NSW Origin team after a poor performance in Game 1 on June 5 in Sydney
“The way I behave on the pitch is a bit of frustration from off the pitch. Behaving like that is not the way to play football. It’s not the game I like.
“These short bursts of anger. That’s not me. That’s what builds up over time or over the course of a week or a month or a year, when people are constantly coming at me.”
Mitchell responded to criticism from media experts by publishing a six-word message.
“If the media would just shut up and let me play,” he said. “Honestly, if you guys would shut up and let me play, there wouldn’t be anything controversial.”