Nothing to prove: Hastings set for Leichhardt reunion

Jackson Hastings insists he has nothing to prove to Wests Tigers fans when the Knights playmaker returns to play against the club he once saw a future with.

While Hastings' time at Wests Tigers was short, the 27-year-old admitted there were “a lot of dark days” with the club and hopes the Leichhardt faithful respect him as a visitor at their spiritual ground. 

“For me personally, I’d like to think it would be a decent reception,”

I played with my heart on my sleeve every game, gave my best for the club and saw myself being there for a long time but things didn’t work out.

"I went through a lot of hardship with a lot of people at that club last year, wore a lot of flak off the media and had some dark days there as well.

“But I don’t play to prove anything to anyone besides myself and my teammates. I don’t have anything to prove to anyone at any other club besides the people that are in our four walls and myself.”

Having watched his former club’s 22-10 loss against the Titans on Sunday, the 2019 Super League Man of Steel noted that the new-look Tigers forward pack looked more adventurous under Tim Sheens in their opening clash.

“I do like to watch teams that we’re coming up again the next week and obviously I’ve got mates in the Tigers team that I want to keep an eye on," he said.

“They scored some good tries on the weekend and probably left a few out there from a couple of handling errors.

“But you can tell they want to express themselves with the football and play an upbeat style of footy with offloads and a lot of passing through the middle, so we’ve got to be switched on defensively.”

Having never played at the iconic Inner West ground without a black, white and orange jersey on, the 2019 Super League’s Man of Steel is preparing for an “intimidating” atmosphere after Wests Tigers fans were left reeling from a disappointing Round 1 loss.

But after the Knights also failed to register a victory last week, the new recruit will be hoping to help Adam O'Brien's side turn the screws in 2023 and recreate some of the match winning magic he produced for the Wests Tigers. 

“It’s pretty intimidating. I’d never played there until I played for the Tigers and I know on a Sunday afternoon it’s going to be bouncing,” he said.

“The Tigers have some of the best fans in the world and we need to make sure we’re good with the football and good defensively to try and keep them to minimal noise possible.

“They’ve got a big strong forward pack and they move the ball around well.

“Obviously the passes didn’t stick for them on the weekend but if they do, they’re going to be hard to handle so we’ve got to be very good defensively to keep them out.”

One ex-teammate Hastings is particularly excited to reunite with on Sunday is former halves partner Adam Doueihi.

Running 167 metres, setting up fullback Daine Laurie for a try and scoring one of his own in his season opener, Hastings revealed Newcastle's plan to shut down the elusive No. 6.

“I’m still pretty close with Doueihi, me and him have a bit of banter and it’s good to see him doing well too," he said.

“We’ll have Fitzy (Lachlan Fitzgibbon) there to look after him.

“It’ll be a good battle, they’ve got a good team all across the park and that play a good brand of football.”