Craig Fitzgibbon did well to keep a lid on what his side achieved in the nation\u2019s capital with a thumping win over the minor premiers, but it was a short phrase midway through his post-match press conference that shows where Cronulla\u2019s heads are at going into next week\u2019s preliminary final. <\/p>\n
The Sharks knocked off the Roosters in the first week of the finals and then kicked clear after a slow start to eliminate the Raiders away from home with a 32-12 victory where their stars delivered on the biggest stage.<\/p>\n
They face a daunting trip down south against the premiership favourites who have had the week off, but nothing scares the Sharks right now with the team playing its best big-game footy since Fitzgibbon took over in 2022. <\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think we\u2019re any further ahead than what we\u2019ve been,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only thing I can say is that the boys are hungry and they\u2019re making the right choices. We\u2019ve been together for a period of time so it\u2019s time for us to stand up or we\u2019ve got to make some changes or we\u2019ve got to look at the way we\u2019re doing things.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re playing Melbourne in Melbourne in six days. That\u2019s a challenge, but we\u2019re ready for that.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cronulla\u2019s finals record has been an issue over the past four seasons, but they showed on Saturday that they deserve to be premiership contenders after they weathered an early storm to crush a Canberra side missing Ethan Strange.<\/p>\n
Fitzgibbon was worried that the five-eighth\u2019s absence would galvanise the hosts, but instead it was his own star halfback who turned the game on its head with five minutes of brilliance before half-time.<\/p>\n
Hynes won a Dally M in 2022 but this was his finest showing in a big game with the halfback setting up a try and scoring one of his own to silence the crowd, with five-eighth Braydon Trindall taking a back seat after starring last week. <\/p>\n
\u201cI think that\u2019s a fair assessment,\u201d Fitzgibbon replied when asked if that was Hynes\u2019 most important performance for the club.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe deserves some credit for that because he doesn\u2019t get much. He\u2019s had a strong season, but in one week it\u2019s Tricky (Trindall) and the next week it\u2019s Nicho (who takes control).<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s pleasing to see both of them play well together, and that\u2019s the most important thing for us. They\u2019re actually not worried about that, and whatever the team needs is whatever the team needs. <\/p>\n
\u201cSome weeks Nicho will shine and Tricky won\u2019t, and some weeks Tricky will. It\u2019s good to see them playing well together.\u201d<\/p>\n
While Hynes provided the polish, Addin Fonua-Blake dominated up front after bench prop Tom Hazelton was knocked out following a head clash just minutes after coming on.<\/p>\n
That forced Fonua-Blake to punch out huge minutes, with the prized recruit running for more metres than any middle forward on Saturday night as he showed why the club was so happy to spend the big bucks to sign him. <\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s all in,\u201d his coach beamed.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Toby (prop Toby Rudolf) scored the try at the end of the game (last week) the way that Addin celebrated showed that he\u2019s giving himself to whatever the team needs.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s an impressive man \u2013 not just as a footy player \u2013 and he\u2019s done it the hard way. He\u2019s learnt some valuable lessons over the course of his life and he\u2019s stepping up now.<\/p>\n
\u201cI thought tonight when we lost Tommy, I went \u2018Adds, we\u2019re going to have to sauce you\u2019, and he said \u2018sweet mate, whatever you need\u2019. <\/p>\n
\u201cI said \u2018how long can you go?\u2019 and he went \u2018as long as you want\u2019. That was nice to know.\u201d<\/p>\n