NRL superstar Nicho Hynes has thrown his support behind his mother after she was found guilty of knowingly supplying heroin.
Hynes had a season to remember in 2022, being awarded the Dally M medal and being propelled to one of the stars of the rugby league game.
However, off the field, the Sharks star has described the past few months ‘as the toughest time of my life’.
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Julie Hynes was the Cronulla player’s guest at the Dally M awards night, however, an ongoing drug supply case has plagued the family’s life these past few months.
The 50-year-old was found guilty of supplying heroin after 29-year-old Luke Murphy was found to have accidentally overdosed and died in her granny flat.
Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald Nicho Hynes explained the mental struggles he had been coping with in the midst of the ‘most challenging time’.
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He said: “It’s probably been the most challenging time of my life.
“I have to take it day by day and see what happens. I’m only human.
“I speak to my mindset coach [Jarred Brown], he’s only a phone call away. I had a really good Zoom session with him on Sunday. I’ve got the right support around me.
“We’ll put things in place for me when the [sentencing] happens in May. Right now, all I can do is worry about getting prepared for this season.”
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Hynes had been getting ready for the Indigenous All Stars and Maori All Stars game when he found out the news of his mother’s charge.
He said he had been prepared to pull out of the match to support his mother.
Hynes said: “I was leaning towards staying and being by her side, and I even told her, ‘This could be the last time I see you for a while’.
“But she said, ‘I want you to play’. We knew the court case was coming, but she said she never wanted it to impact my footy. We had prepared for her court case and always knew it would fall around All Stars week.
“But mum said, ‘Go over, make us proud and make our culture proud’.
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“I was rattled when I got the news. [Craig Fitzgibbon] said to me, ‘If you’re not there mentally and not ready to go out and dominate the game, I’ll pull you out because I don’t want anything to happen to you’.
“I respected that. I was almost ruling myself out. But I also knew how much the game meant to my teammates and even myself.”
Hynes went on to claim the man-of-the-match honours in the game.
Featured Image Credit: NRL/Supplied.Topics: NRL, Australia, Rugby League