Is there a possibility of him moving to Toronto? I’m sure they’d be able to offer an acceptable fee to Wigan, especially for a player who might leave for nothing in a year’s time.

Do they have a marquee place?

I think they are keeping things rather mysterious.
Firstly, they don’t need a marquee space for him if they can fit all his salary under the cap anyway. Looking at their squad, they might be able to do that.
The SBW deal is also shrouded in mystery. Apparently he has been given a percentage of the club, so how that will count against the cap is anyone’s guess. Likewise, there are rumours that SBW has a significant proportion of his salary exempt from the cap anyway as he’s considered to be a player returning to RL.

As he signed a 2yr contract, then IL had better get a good fee for him, should he decide to sell him. None of this letting him go for nowt because he wants to stay home, only for him to pop up back in SL within a year (a la Gelling)

This, more than anything, tells you everything you need to know.

Mistake signing him in the first place, We should have done some sort of deal with Canberra, Sezer for Williams and Cash or at least gone for Maloney, 2020 could see us being the laughing stock of SL again if this goes tits up

MELTDOWN!!!!!

The problem could be right there,if it was in the contract that Wigan were not to announce the signing and they did Wigan would be in breach of contract.Just a thought.

I find the whole announcement thing a little baffling - Hastings is even quoted in the press release [urlhttps://wiganwarriors.com/news/2019-07-08-hastings-to-become-a-warrior[/url

We need to dig our heels in here RE the contract or this is going to keep on happening. Put a massive fee on him and stick to it. If he’s as good as he thinks he is someone will pay it.

That was in July. He's been and still is back 'down under' now. He's put himself in the 'shop window' here last season, and he 'thinks' some Sydney club will sign him, as that is what he really wishes for.

Frustrating !

I see that yet again lots of us are automatically assuming that Wigan are at fault.

Could it not just be that Hastings - like Shaun Edwards - is basically a bit thick?

He signed a contract and was quoted in the press as looking forward to coming.

Edwards had wriggle room because it was a handshake deal. It still demonstrated an astonishing lack of self-awareness on his part, but legally it was sound. Hastings does not have that leeway, and yet still he's trying it on. You've got to wonder if off the rugby field there's actually not much of a brain in that head.

A reminder whilst we're on the topic of your inside knowledge of disgruntled players

Bit thick? If anyone was a 'bit thick' it was IL or the clubs legal team not ensuring all the i's were dotted and t's were crossed before parading Edwards around the pitch and having him interviewed before securing him as a coach. But that's all in the past.

I think there's more to the Hastings story in terms of 'who's in the right and who's in the wrong' currently. But as they say; there's no smoke without fire and Hastings is currently failing to address any of it and put the negative rumours to bed; that's telling.

No they don't. Their 2 marquee spots are taken by SBW and Ricky Leutele.

Let's not pretend there wasn't an awful lot of deception going on from Shaun Edwards too. He made every indication on a global platform that he was coming to us. But all that's been said and it's not worth raking up again.

If Wigan have been thick over Jackson Hastings, then I'm sure that will come out. But at present there's only one person behaving badly on that front. If he didn't want to sign for us, he shouldn't have done it. No one twisted his arm.

They could just employ him on minimum wage and then get his mum working in the canteen for £250k a year. I'm sure that won't be the first time a club has done something similar.

You seem to enjoy delving through old posts buddy and selectively posting to suit your agenda. The original topic regards this comment was Zak feeling a little unsettled and open to move away from the Club. None of that was fabrication, Wigan didn't want to let him go, Castleford simply couldn't afford him and Leeds (Kevin Sinfield) wanted nothing to do with him. Once the reality set in that it was Wigan or nothing, I spoke with him one to one and he assured me he was knuckling down and would make it work, which he has. His girlfriend moving over, the GB call-up and his friends over in Yorkshire have all made a massive difference in the whole scenario and I am glad he looks settled. I post that too if I remember rightly (but I am sure you already know this!). I will happily send over the £200 to Joining Jack, no issue at all. I did say at the time it was win-win for the Charity and that suits me.

Jacko has made no secret of his regret at the whole him leaving saga. If he had held off agreeing a deal with us, no doubt in my mind he would still be a Salford player given there financial status now. He gave a set mandate for how he wanted the situation dealt with, nothing Diva-ish at all, he just wanted the season to play out and be announced as a Wigan player once it was finished. Of the few people I trust that know Jacko well, the main concern is how he fits in at the club with its leadership structure, he is a big character and how he handles not been the "messiah" will be interesting, if of course he honors the deal.

So for Grimmys little book of knowledge, I am not stating have any inside information on Jackson Hastings' plans. I am merely stating that the club in Jacksons eyes breached the contract by announcing the deal before the date agreed. He is refusing to acknowledge his move to the club to the press or in general and the only interaction to his friends or fans on social media towards Wigan is negative.

Alright calm down

I just can't help but feel we're making something out of nothing. I can understand him wanting to enjoy his off season with family and friends in Aus rather than acting as rumour control. Someone might correct me but I'm almost certain I can remember overseas players even missing the first friendly in the past because we've allowed them a bit longer back home during the off season.

Grimmy, the club can shut this down in a heartbeat by contacting Jackson Hastings and asking him to make a statement. Why do you imagine that hasn't happened as yet? Maybe because the relationship has soured since they ed him off and he is unlikely to even accept a call from KR or IL.

He's better off not coming now, he's right at the top of the 2020 scapegoat list and nothing's going to change that now.
I just hope he has actually put pen to paper and we can get a fee for him.

I believe Hastings will be a Wigan player next season. As someone who lives in Oz I can say I understand Hastings not saying anything about the situation. When I come home to Wigan I don’t give work a thought and enjoy family time. I expect Hastings is doing the same down in Sydney/Wollongong.

It does make sense. The key factor which isn't going away is: how the negativity is growing, more people are talking and nothing has been said from either party to quickly put an end to the gossip/rumour.

This next part is pure speculation. Perhaps Jackson since signing for Wigan has been offered something which turns his head more than a potential move to Wigan, say a NRL club. But Jackson is contracted to Wigan; so surely said contract means he's going to be a Wigan player; meaning Jackson will have to say 'thanks but no thanks' to approaches from NRL clubs. Then, just maybe someone (let's say a solicitor) finds Jackson a loophole to allow him to leave his Wigan contract. The loophole being Wigan's early announcement.

Now if my speculation is true; what would we have... 2 sides (Jackson and Wigan) going radio silent as they work out the mess in private. Both waiting till a verdict is met before making any kind of statement. Could that be exactly where we are?

If this speculation is accurate, one thing is for sure. Jackson Hastings doesn't want to be a Wigan player.

Purely speculating of course.

Or alternatively, his seeming disdain for his new deal - and the fans who were waiting to idolise him - has vexed the club off, and they consider that the ball is now in his court.

I get what you’re saying but the guy is a pretty big user of social media and in a situation like this where his intentions are being questioned, you’d think he’d find 30 seconds to simply comment that he’ll be a Wigan player in 2020. He’s found the time to post pictures of all sorts of randomness over these past few weeks and whilst it’s all been personal stuff to him and none really rugby related, I’d personally want to ensure I wasn’t getting off on the wrong foot with my new club and it’s supporters before my times began ‘If’ I intended on heading to that club in just a couple of weeks time.


The silence is telling a story at the minute unfortunately. If it drags on for another couple of weeks and he does come, you still can’t help but feel there will be question marks over his commitment.