NEWCASTLE Knights signing Jackson Hastings has revealed why he left Salford Red Devils and Wigan Warriors to ultimately make his return to the NRL.
Hastings first moved to UK shores back in 2018, leaving behind the Manly Sea Eagles after a fallout with lynchpin Daly Cherry-Evans.
Whereas in Australia the halfback was a relative unknown, Hastings soon became one of Super League’s brightest talents, helping Salford to first stay in the top flight in 2018 and then guiding the Red Devils to the Grand Final in 2019.
After winning the Man of Steel for his performances during 2019, Hastings was snapped up by Wigan and he once more helped his new club to a Grand Final.
But, the 26-year-old revealed that it was a very difficult decision to sign for the Warriors.
“I made a hard decision to sign for Wigan. Wigan are a massive powerhouse, massive club, not only in England it’s known well in Australia,” Hastings told the Newcastle Knights website.
“I wanted to win a comp so I thought my best chance to win a comp was at Wigan and I also wanted to be in a position where I was gonna be on TV nearly every week.”
Though the 26-year-old lost both showpiece events at Old Trafford, his performances left NRL clubs chasing him and now he has explained why he made the decision to return home after leaving such a massive legacy in the UK.
“Watching boys my age playing in the NRL killing it and playing State of Origin, it just sort of lit that fire for me.
“(I thought) I needed to make something of myself because I’m just throwing away this talent I’ve got.”
