“Get on and play halfback, bring Nicho off”.
That’s what life’s like for Cronulla’s cult hero Tom Hazelton.
Last year a curly-haired surfer, Dally M-winner called Nicho Hynes was the face of the Shire. This year, it's looking a big, bald prop from Goulburn.
Hard-working Hazelton should be somewhat of an unknown rookie ahead of Saturday's elimination final against the Roosters – having played just 18 NRL games – but when the 24-year-old runs onto Shark Park, Cronulla fans will be screaming his name.
“I don’t really know where it's [the cult following] come from, it’s got to be the bald head and the tape more than anything,” Hazelton laughed with pan66.com.
“But I love playing here and if me coming on gives the crowd a bit of energy and gives the team a bit of a lift, I'm all for it.
“When I come sit on the bench, the crowd does start going off a bit but all I can think about then is getting onto the field and making an impact when I get out there.
But I always have a laugh when I come off and hear people telling me to get on and bring Nicho off and play halfback.
Tom Hazelton Sharks forward
“That side of it is quite funny.”
Just five years ago Hazelton was running around for the Goulburn Bulldogs and looking to start a building apprenticeship.
But after local rugby league legend Gavin Miller convinced Hazelton to trial for the Sharks' Jersey Flegg team, the no-fuss forward began to dream of life as an NRL player.
“Gavin rang up Grant Jones, the recruitment guy here at the time, and they got me a trial. I signed a pre-Christmas contract after that,” Hazelton said.
“I was playing first-grade back home and I got the call up after the trial and I was a bit taken back by it at the start. I always loved playing footy but I never thought of it as something I could do as a career.”
While the fans go crazy for him, Hazelton’s country ways have also rubbed off on his teammates with fellow prop Toby Rudolf enjoying watching the rookie's development this season.
While Rudolf revealed the real secret behind the iconic bald head, he said Hazelton is not only a favourite for the fans but amongst his teammates too.
One for the purists
“He is one of my favourites here at the Sharks, whenever I see him in the morning it’s always an energetic handshake,” Rudolf said.
“I love him because he’s a country boy with a heart of gold.
"But I think the fact that he’s six foot seven, he’s got bald hair and he tapes his head is why everyone gets around him. The fans gravitate towards something different and Tom’s just a whole lot of different.
“He tried to go the hair tablet route and then he looked in the mirror one day and just said ‘this is not me’, so he shaved it off and Fitzy has (Fitzgibbon) loved it ever since.
“He’s put together a very strong first season in the NRL and I don’t think finals will be any different for him.”
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Hazelton will take his career full circle when he lines up against Trent Robinson’s Tricolours, the same side he debuted against in Round 12 last year.
Almost 12 months later, the impact prop returned to Cronulla's first-grade side, stringing together 17 games this season and cementing a spot in the team each week.
“After your first game all you want to do is keep playing NRL but we have a really quality forward pack and when you're in a position like I was it’s about opportunity and you never want to see anyone get injured but that's where my opportunities came from,” Hazelton said.
“It didn't happen for me last year but I played the first few rounds in NSW Cup this year and got my opportunity and it's been really good just to string a few games together.
“So I've just got to keep showing up and nine times out of 10 it's just a normal hit up and nothing happens, but I just want to make sure I'm in the right spots at the right time to be there if something does open up.
“I’m lucky we have guys in the forward pack that are really good at either short passing or creating space and then off the back of that you have Nicho.
“His brain, footy wise, is something like I've never seen and the way that he can manipulate a defensive line to create space for me obviously helps a lot as well.
“Nicho will be the real face of the Shire for a long time.”
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