St Helens’ 20-18 win over Leigh Leopards was a win built on grit and off the back of a Jackson Hastings masterclass with the former Man of Steel proving exactly why Saints signed him.
Wins based on grit don’t typically see halves land the Man of the Match award but Hastings was a worthy winner on Friday night, though the likes of Harry Robertson, Joe Shorrocks and Daryl Clark all warrant mentions too.
However, it was the character that Hastings showed that was so important in Saints’ victory, particularly after the club’s dour round one display that was capped off by Hastings being sent to the sin bin for a lazy and potentially petulant late tackle.
Characterised by Paul Rowley as a ‘late push’, Hastings’ sin bin summed up the round one performance in that St Helens dipped their toe in, something that Hastings admitted when speaking to Sky Sports after the win over Leigh Leopards.
He said: “We dipped our toe in last week and full credit to Warrington, they bashed us. One through 17, they outplayed us and we needed a response this week against one of the sides that are favourites for the comp.”
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What Jackson Hastings said after win over Leigh
What made St Helens’ win so much more impressive was the adversity that they dealt with. Jonny Lomax was brought into the starting XIII to partner Hastings as a result of a reshuffle caused by Jack Welsby’s injury, however, Lomax left the field inside five minutes to injury.
Nene Macdonald would limp off at the 20-minute mark leaving Saints with just a two-man bench for the final hour, though Hastings claimed the adversity galvanised the Red Vee.
The former Great Britain international said: “You never write off the Saints, you know that. It’s a catchphrase that this club has had for more years than I’ve been alive and the reason you come to clubs like this is because they bring the best out of you.”
For Hastings, it meant even more responsibility and he answered that call in big fashion. The stats might not suggest a dominant showing with his one assist the highlight but the stats did show 75 less running metres for the half, which actually was a massive positive.
Hastings removed the superhero cape and stopped trying to force things himself, instead trusting in the team and that was evident at times when he refused to kick on the last with St Helens more than happy to turn the ball over and then back their defence on Leigh’s goal line.
He also revealed their plan relating to the wind, stating: “We said at half time that the wind was a 20-point wind and I know we didn’t score 20 points but we knew if we just used that to our advantage. (Adam) Cook has got a great kicking game but it’s hard to kick into so we used that to our advantage.
“Full credit to our middles. David Klemmer played 60 minutes straight or something like that, I don’t even know if he went off. That’s why we signed blokes like that, NRL experience and Origin experience, and it came to the fore today.”
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St Helens star calls for consistency going forward
Whilst Klemmer’s efforts were praised, Hastings also needs noting for his try-saving tackle on Josh Charnley in the first half (seen ab0ve) as Leigh threatened to put the game out of sight.
That epitomised what he said of the side’s playstyle, which is still developing under Paul Rowley: “We’re nowhere near our best but at the start of the year it’s about getting your tackle right, kicking to corners and then when the pitch dries up, you start tossing the ball around.
“The blueprint on how we want to play is there and through adversity we got a win tonight against a great side. It’s good to get off the mark, we’re one and one now and we’ll build into next week.”
As for what’s to come, Hastings admitted: “I’m not going to make any crazy statements but we’d like to think we’re going to be there or thereabouts. It’s only round two, we were awful last week and good this week so keeping consistency is key.”
An away trip to face a Catalans Dragons side reeling from defeat to Bradford Bulls will be a tough test but one that Saints can certainly handle, especially if the round two version of Jackson Hastings turns up. He, and St Helens, had a point to prove after round one and it’s fair to say that they made it.
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