Nicho Hynes says he can thrive under the pressure of being marked man at No.7, knowing he must respond to prove his status as one of the NRL's top players.
The reigning Dally M Medallist made a successful return to the field on Sunday night, starring in Cronulla's 40-8 win over arch-rivals St George Illawarra.
Hynes' transition back into the Sharks' halves after missing the first three rounds was seamless, as he set up three tries and Cronulla looked as dangerous as they did in 2022.
But there is no doubt Hynes will face a greater challenge this season.
The ex-Melbourne utility entered last season as something of an unknown at halfback, before he set up 26 tries on Cronulla's run to second on the NRL ladder.
This year, rivals will have a year of vision to study to try and shut down Hynes, with the 26-year-old expecting that both he and Cronulla will be more scrutinised.
"It's not just going to happen like last year," Hynes said of the Sharks' attack.
"You have to work extremely hard. Teams are going to be videoing us and knowing how we play.
"They'll come and they'll be doing their homework and coming after me and trying to put things in place to limit my opportunities.
"But if you want to be a premier player in this competition you have to react in the moment and come up with different things."
Regardless, Hynes claims Cronulla's other attacking threats can benefit from more pressure being placed on him.
The bulk of their side remains unchanged from last year, including the spine of Hynes, Matt Moylan, Will Kennedy and Jayden Brailey.
"There are some players around me who can take some pressure off me too, and they're working extremely hard to be in the game and have all options alive," Hynes said.
"We have a quality spine in Brails, Moyza and Will. If they're going to be overloading on my side, then we just take the other side.
"I might be a marked player, but we have strike all over the field to put things in place to make sure we're ready to go."
The other threat, supporting Hynes, is his second-rower Briton Nikora.
Nikora found a hole to run in for one try off Hynes, while the two combined to bust down field and help Jesse Ramien over for another.
"I don't think there is a better backrower at the moment," Hynes said of Nikora.
"I don't know whether he is under-estimated or not ... but he makes my life easier and I try and make his life easier.
"He is someone I will forever be grateful for, and at the end of my career I will say he is easily one of the best backrowers I have played with."
