Jackson Hastings comments on future and next steps after first NRL appearance this year

Jackson Hastings has spoken about his future in the NRL after making his first appearance for Newcastle Knights in over a year.

Hastings was brought in from the cold last weekend by head coach Adam O’Brien to represent the Knights against Sydney Roosters at the McDonald Jones Stadium, with the club going through a shortage of personnel. He did well by all accounts, too, coming in for praise from O’Brien despite the 12-8 loss.

However, Hastings is in the final year of his contract at the Knights and there is uncertainty surrounding his future at the club given his lack of game time.

He has been linked with a move to Super League club Leeds Rhinos in recent months and is obviously no stranger to the competition in the Northern Hemisphere, having represented Salford Red Devils and Wigan Warriors earlier his career.

Hastings insists he is happy down under at present, though, and he’s keen to extend his time playing in the NRL.

“Of course I’m hopeful to be in the NRL. I’ll just let my manager take care of that, just play good footy, and I’m not too worried about that at the moment,” he said, per NRL.com.

“I think people need to realise how much I actually love playing here. Whether I’m here or not, I love putting this jersey on, and I’ve loved my time playing for the Knights.

“I’m not looking past trying to make the top eight here at the moment, where I fit into the team.”

Jackson Hastings reflects on his return to the Newcastle Knights fold

On his return to first grade action after spending the best part of 11 months out of the picture, he said: “I almost got my jersey embroidered. It felt like my debut again.

“I got to play in front of my eight-week-old daughter for the first time in first grade, so that meant more to me than actually just getting to go back out there.

“Playing in front of someone who’s obviously going to idolise me for a long period of time, my mindset has completely changed since having a baby.

“I’m grateful obviously for the fans, I love playing in the jersey. Every time I go out there, it’s never going to be perfect but I put my heart on the line. Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose, but yeah, grateful to be back.”