Cronulla Sharks halfback Nicho Hynes knows all too well what it’s like to be the target of hateful messages on social media.
So when Lachlan Galvin faced a torrent of abuse during his high-profile mid-season switch from the Wests Tigers to the Canterbury Bulldogs, Hynes couldn’t help but empathise with the young playmaker.
Hynes, 29, and Galvin, 20, will go head-to-head when the Sharks take on the Bulldogs at Accor Stadium on Saturday night in a crucial NRL clash.
“I love rugby league, I love this club and I love trying to be the best version of myself,” Hynes told 9News’ Danny Weidler when asked about the “shooshing” celebration he made after a recent try.
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“I’ve been away from social media. I go on every now and then, but nowhere near as much as I used to, and I don’t see all the hate.
“It’s hard to avoid sometimes; people talk about it and people check in on me to make sure I’m OK.”
Galvin’s move to Canterbury was heavily scrutinised, with some of the harshest criticism coming from within his former club. The former Australian Schoolboy even copped online jabs from Tigers teammates.
“I did feel for him a lot,” Hynes said.
“Part of me really wanted to reach out and see if he was OK, but we had our own internal things we needed to worry about, as well.
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“As a young fella, I think 19 years old [as he was at the time], going through that, and the heat, and he probably would have been getting hate messages and being told things that people shouldn’t be told in those hate messages — it would have been hard for him and his family.”
The 2022 Dally M Medal winner admitted that online abuse has become part of the job for top-tier NRL halves.
“All the best players go through it at some stage in their career,” Hynes said.
“Nathan [Cleary] has gone through a hell of it at a certain stage, and Mitch Moses went through it at a point, and now he’s matured and he’s come out of it, and look at how good he plays.
“I just think that’s just a key part of a role [for] a No.7 or a No.6.”
The Bulldogs are guaranteed to finish third on the NRL ladder heading into the finals, while the Sharks sit fifth but could climb to fourth depending on this weekend’s results.