Nicho Hynes' hilarious reaction after brutal Cooper Cronk moment during Dally M count

Sharks star Nicho Hynes took an awkward and unintentional swipe on the chin at Wednesday's Dally M awards night as NRL great Cooper Cronk dug the knife into the halfback as he tumbled down the leaderboard. When the Dally M voting went behind closed doors after Round 12, the Sharks halfback sat in second place on 31 points, just one point behind Panthers fullback Dylan Edwards.

But after a calf strain in Round 12 saw him play just 32 minutes and he missed the following two weeks of NRL after being selected for the NSW Blues Game 1, it was inevitable that Hynes would slide down the leaderboard. And after being axed from the Blues side for Games 2 and 3, a void of confidence Hynes put in underwhelming displays in his next three NRL games in Round 15, 17 and 18. And Cronk's comment when he again polled no votes against the Titans in Cronulla's Round 18 raised a few eyebrows.

The Sharks were stunned at home by the Titans 20-16 and Hynes struggled to get into the game. While he did cross the stripe for a try late on, away from that he had a limited impact on the match. As the votes for the game were read out, Hynes was seen looking uncomfortable in his chair as Cronk announced: "Nicho Hynes fails to poll and remains on 30 points".

The camera zoomed in on Hynes who cracked an awkward smile and pulled at his collar. That round marked the final week Hynes played before he suffered a serious ankle injury in training that ruled him out for eight weeks, something Cronk noted when the Round 19 votes were read out. "Nicho Hynes remains on 30 points, Nicho suffers a fractured ankle that leaves him sidelined for eight weeks".

However, it was far from a directed swipe at Hynes, with Cronk also announcing Isaah Yeo didn't poll a vote in that round either. This is due to it being standard to mention every player in the Top 10 and how many votes they polled, to keep everyone up to date on each key player's chances while they are still mathematically in contention for the prestigious NRL honour.

A similar incident occurred last year when Braith Anasta was reading out the votes for Round 25 and noted that Warriors star Shaun Johnson, who was right in contention for the top gong, polled no votes. After Anasta said "no points", cameras showed Johnson's face drop and then the halfback sarcastically called out "thanks mate" as those in attendance broke out into awkward laughter.

On Wednesday night, fans pointed out how brutal Cronk's wording sounded that Hynes 'failed' to score any votes. It was a big talking point on social media, and prompted laughter in the audience in attendance.

Nicho Hynes claims 2024 Ken Stephen Medal

Hynes won the Dally M medal in 2022 but had a horror back half of the season. This was largely due to a bad injury but also because of a massive dip in confidence - similar to the season prior - after being axed from State of Origin. It meant Hynes didn't secure a single Dally M vote after voting went behind closed doors in Round 12.

But Hynes didn't leave the 2024 Dally M awards night empty-handed as he was awarded the 2024 Ken Stephen medal. The medal recognises the efforts of players who have not only achieved on the field but have committed time off the field to community projects.

Hynes is a vocal advocate for a range of Indigenous programs both within the NRL and across the wider community. The Sharks halfback played a key role in the NRL’s Diversity and Anti-Racism Program ‘One Heart’, as well as supporting the School to Work program and the ‘MegaJaws’ program - assisting with clinics for children and adults with disabilities.

In addition to supporting the NRL and club-based initiatives, Hynes campaigned for the Sharks to introduce a Mental Health themed round in collaboration with Gotcha4Life, focusing on mental fitness and raising suicide awareness. Accepting the award on Wednesday night, Hynes kept his speech short and sweet saying: "I’m always grateful and honoured to be up for these sort of awards, but as players we don’t do it for these awards, we do community (work) because we love it."