JACKSON HASTINGS has revealed that his ‘first option’ would be to stay at St Helens for longer than the one-year deal he has signed at the Merseyside club.

Hastings, who plied his trade with Newcastle Knights in the NRL in 2025, is back in Super League after earning cult hero status with the Salford Red Devils and Wigan Warriors in his first spell in the northern hemisphere.

To some surprise, however, the 29-year-old signed just a one-year deal, before revealing on Sky Sports that there had initially been talk of an extra year option.

That being said, Hastings went on to explain that the one-year deal is to ‘prove his worth’ to his new club.

“I don’t know, there was talk of doing an (extra year) option,” Hastings said on Sky Sports’ The Bench.

“But for me, the big message that I wanted to get across was, I’m not coming over just because I had to but that I want to come and prove my worth.

“If I’m good enough to earn another contract at St Helens, that would be the first option to stay there.

“It’s a two-way street, I’ve got to earn that contract, but that contract has got to be there to sign.

“My sole focus is on 2026 and I know that’s a cliché, but it’s about playing the best footy I can and helping this club win as many trophies as we can.”

So how did the move to Saints actually come about?

“I messaged Paul Rowley when he got the job, I stayed in contact with him throughout the time he took over as Salford head coach.

“He did a lot for me in that year at Salford when he came in as an assistant, he was very hands on with me and was very good for my mentality towards the game. I always had the utmost respect for him.

“When he got the Saints job, it was almost a joke – but it wasn’t a joke – saying that if you need me, I would always there kind of thing.

“Then that progressed really quickly, and we had some internal conversations with people at St Helens – Mike Rush and Rowley in particular – and the way we managed to keep it in-house, showed a really good start to our relationship.

“They beat me in two Grand Finals, so I’m hoping I’m on the right side of the fortunes this year.”