and bloody well good on him too.

I can fully understand some English people not being happy when Bennett picked him for GB when he clearly sees himself as an Aussie.

It's an oddity, for sure. English when it suits you, but Aussie most of the rest of the time?

And it really paid off too.

No wonder the NRL sees us as a joke.

The NRL can see us for what ever they want but for certain they wont be worried about us currently as they got enough of there own problems going on. At the end of the day Hastings and Austin both qualified to play for England but that does not make them English and as far as i am aware neither have pretended to be. Hastings has been asked a question and has answered it honestly, i am ok with that. Don't see the need to create a big issue over it but that said the doom and gloomers are struggling for something to be negative about at the minute we’ll certainly about Wigan anyway.

We need to accept the situation for what it is. And not start personally abusing one of our players via twitter. He is evidently a fragile person and abusing him via social media might be the trigger to set him on his way. Then the idiots who have caused it are the ones who will be critiquing the most about him. As previously posted by someone his love for rugby league and the Wigan fans is currently evident if you go the game you can see that in spades both during and particularly after.

Rant over.

I wonder if these people abusing him and questioning his loyalty did the same with Sam Tomkins when he left not once but twice, or Trent Barrett who left midway through a contract.

Hastings is no different to any other player where a contract with a "get out" clause is concerned.

Money now comes before any loyalty to club as proved with the the example of the move by Hastings from Salford to Wigan and no doubt will be the same if a bigger contract from any NRL club comes along which is better than that any player from down under is on at any of our clubs.

The decline in loyalty to our clubs is shown by the fall in testimonials in recent seasons and the desire by some of our players wanting to play in the NRL or even Rugby Union in our country where thanks to Fox/Sky Sports, there is now more money than what there is in our game.

Hastings is a top class player. A big attribute that makes his so good is that he is a world class competitor.

This was the reason I wanted us to sign him when he first became available prior to joining Salford. I hadn’t seen that much of him however from what I had seen he had a real passion to win and be top dog.

Prior to his fall out with Evans at Manly there were plenty of rumours about some players getting rubbed up the wrong way by him due to the intensity in which he trained and his desire to be “the man” despite the team having the Australian half along side him.

That attitude makes him the player he is. He is a player that will always want to test himself at the next level. He probably lacked the maturity when he left the NRL to be able to keep a lid on that side of his personality but it seems something he has gained during his time in the UK.

I think he is a player that wears his heart on his sleeve. I’ve no doubt he has matured into a top teammate but you can’t ask him to be something he isn’t or expect him to lose that edge that makes him the player he is.

When we signed him it was widely accepted it would be for a year, 2 at best. He clearly has unfinished business in the NRL that he needs to draw a line under.

The current situation doesn’t help as it leaves so much up in the air, however I don’t blame him for his response the the question and I look forward to seeing him in the Cherry and White for whatever limited time this season has left.

My only concern is that the decision is made early so we can sort our plans out for next year. Smith I’m sure will be our 7 next year and he will need an experienced and quality 6 outside him.

Don't forget he can no longer play for Australia so if he wants to continue playing international rugby he might decide it's better to stay in Super League. If he does I hope it's with us.

And this has been proven when?, While he was at Salford?, He was that world class down under that no other NRL club wanted him

They didn't want Jamie Lyon in 2003 either

Oh deary me, How embarrassing, You really do need to get your facts right

Not wanted in 2003 yet played in all 3 origin games
Not wanted yet played in 21 games scoring 14 tries

Are you in fact confusing his 2004 controversial retirement to "They didn't want him"

Yes I probably am.

Still.....now that Hastings is in a better place mentally (thanks to Salford) I'm sure he will give the NRL a better crack.

No probs, I keep mixing the 2006 season up with the 2007 season

Neither were any good really aside from the end of 06 and 3 of the last 4 games in 07

My best memory form 2006 is the Bradford comeback game from 2007

Hold on there Whiffy. Take a breath and read what I put.

At no point have I said Hastings is a world class player. I don’t think any player can really be regarded as world class unless they are playing in the NRL with a few notable exception.

What I did say is Hastings is a world class competitor. He has a massive desire to win and be “the man” in the squad and this has been highlighted by his time at the Roosters and Manly. It was widely reported despite being a junior/rookie player he would challenge the senior players and show 0 respect when competing with them in training and it caused him a good few issues. Off field fall outs with team mates at both clubs got him the reputation as being a trouble causer.

Fighting with the NRL poster boy after a night out was the final straw but there were reports of friction before that at Manly as he was trying to take the mantle of the dominant half over club and I think at the time possibly Australian captain.

He clearly has traits in him that make him want to be the best he can be and test himself at the highest level. Having had one crack at it and the league turning his back on him because of his perceived bad attitude I’m sure he feels he has unfinished business.

I think the spell in SL however long it lasts has seen him manage to mature and learn to control that competitive edge that he has and he has shown with his performances over here he can now kick on and achieve his potential.

Having that ultra competitive attitude is what will make him want another go at the NRL but it is also what makes him the talent he is. He is clearly an ambitious lad and in our code particularly if you are Australian the only way to truly prove yourself is in the NRL.

Spot on

Hastings reminds me very much of Shaun Edwards, a 100% competitor who loves playing and gives his all. He doesn't suffer fools or shirkers, I believe he had a few choice words to some of the players on the coach back from Cas.
He's a winner and if he rubs a few players/fans up the wrong way, tough .

I read that first bit wrong, no probs

Well, most of those fans you're advising to suck it up are also winners. They've seen trophies lifted many times.

If Jackson does that, I'm sure he'll be equally a hero to Hanley, Edwards, Lockers etc. But if the Coronavirus restricts him to only a handful of meaningless games in Cherry and White then I'm sure you won't begrudge those same fans the right to weigh his achievements (several excellent games, but not enough to be significant, sadly) against his oft-reported lack of enthusiasm for being at Wigan?

Look ... I know we shouldn't believe the eyewash that Salford fans who couldn't believe they ended up with such a good player come out with. He signed for Wigan, didn't re-sign for them and all that jazz. But there were odd things during the brief period between, and within three months of first appearing in our colours, he's looking elsewhere ???

None of this is good, mate.

Where has he said he is looking elsewhere? His passion for Wigan can be seen in every game he plays.

I can’t believe any Wigan fan thinks Hastings is “a” let alone “the” problem at Wigan. He is a real asset to your team and anyone that can’t see that needs to consider whether rl is the game for them.

Of course like a lot of opposition fans I was laughing my socks off at the thought that he might not come over, but he has...

Great backtrack by Jackson to be honest, fair play to him still screams he will be off though which if he wins you the league you won’t be bothered at all ey? And rightly so..