Reports: Ex-Hull KR boss found former Wigan Warriors star “hard to handle” prompting move

Jackson Hastings is one of the best players we have seen in Super League in recent times.

The halfback stirred Salford Red Devils away from relegation in 2018 and all the way to an unlikely Grand Final in 2019 as he won the Man of Steel.

In 2020, he ended St Helens’ dominance at the top of the league as he guided the Wigan Warriors to the League Leaders’ Shield only to be left broken hearted by a bounce of the ball in the Grand Final which saw St Helens claim a second consecutive Grand Final win.

At the end of 2021, he left to return to the NRL and was one of Wests Tigers’ best players. In fact, three of their four wins in 2022 came with him at seven.

Despite this, ex-Hull KR boss Tim Sheens has chosen Luke Brooks as his number seven for the 2023 season and was set to consign Hastings to playing out of position as a 13.

However, when the opportunity came to bolster their pack with the signing of David Klemmer from Newcastle Knights in a swap deal with Hastings headed to Newcastle to end their search for a halfback, the Tigers took it.

But now more details have emerged as to why Sheens and the Tigers reportedly wanted to move Hastings on.

According to Fox League and the Sydney Morning Herald, the club found him “hard to handle.”

Meanwhile, WAToday recently said that his presence on social media and his disappointment at the decision to part company with ex-Wigan Warriors boss Michael Maguire also played a part.

It had also been speculated that the impending move for Wigan Warriors star John Bateman.