NRL star Nicho Hynes has returned to where it all began for him on the NSW Central Coast to be honoured with a mural at his junior club.
The Cronulla Sharks halfback described the mural on the Umina Bunnies’ clubhouse as humbling.
“I’m very grateful to be here and see my face on the wall and a young photo of me as well,” Hynes said.
“[It] brings back a lot of memories and a fair bit of emotion.
“I was a little kid, like some of the kids here running around right now, kicking the footy, and wanting to be in the stage I’m in.”
The mural also features an image of Nicho Hynes as a boy. (Supplied: Cronulla Sharks)
The admiration from junior fans and adults was plain to see at the unveiling as Hynes took selfies and signed autographs.
Hynes made his first-grade debut for the Melbourne Storm in 2019 before joining Cronulla in 2022 and winning the Dally M as the NRL’s player of the season the same year.
He has represented NSW in State of Origin and played for Australia.
But despite being one of the biggest names in rugby league, he said he was not burdened by the expectations that came with being a role model.
“I know what sort of human I am, and I know how I want to live day to day … and I think that’s a pretty good person,” he said.
Supporting youth mental health
Hynes also used his visit to take part in a mental health workshop with teenage players from the Umina Bunnies.
“I know a lot of people go through struggles and tough times, but you can come out of it,” he said.
“I feel like I’m someone who has walked through some tough things in life and I’ve been able to come out the other side with hard work and dedication.“
Nicho Hynes’s star has risen since he played his first game for the Sharks in 2022. (ABC News: Jake Grant)
Hynes, who has been an ambassador with the Find Ya Feet program for five years, said it was changing young people’s lives.
“All these kids get around each other, love each other, whether they’ve felt like they’ve been bullied before and there’s people in the room that have bullied them, they get up and apologise,” he said.
“It’s a really incredible situation to be in.”
Marshall Michie took part in a mental health workshop with Nicho Hynes. (ABC Central Coast: Sarah Forster)
Bunnies player Marshall Michie, 17, said Hynes’s rise from Umina to the best in the NRL was an inspiration.
“It’s amazing to have Nicho as a role model,” he said.
“It’s great to see people get out and do their thing and chase their dreams … you saw Nicho succeed his dreams and it shows lots of the younger kids around here that they can do the same no matter what.
“There’s lots of mental health issues in the area and having Nicho here … it’s just great.”
Marshall said his mum and dad sat down with him as a teenager to talk about the challenges of mental health.
“I’m always checking up on the boys … [to] see if they’re alright,”
he said.
Marshall Michie says he checks in on his mates. (ABC Central Coast: Sarah Forster)
Tools to speak up
Find Ya Feet founder Tommy Herschell developed his workshops to equip young people with the tools to speak up if they needed help and support a peer if they noticed something was wrong.
“I’m a school teacher by trade and I’m a big believer in getting young people talking from a young age about their mental health,” Mr Herschell said.
Tommy Herschell works with young people to remove the stigma around speaking up about mental health. (ABC Central Coast: Sarah Forster)
He said the workshops gave people a platform to tell their story and listen to others.
“The beauty of having someone like Nicho [involved] is that they [the teenagers] want to pass like him and kick like him in the backyard but my goal is for them to want to talk like him, act like him and be open and vulnerable like him,” Mr Herschell said.
He said he looked forward to a time when workshops like the ones he facilitated were not needed because prioritising good mental health had become the norm.