Losing is helping to shape Roosters rookies into men, says Jackson Hastings

JACKSON Hastings arrived in the NRL cocky. So what impact does five consecutive losses now have on his psyche and that of his fellow Roosters going into tonight’s crunch game?

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JACKSON Hastings, it has been said before, arrived in the NRL cocky. Arrogant. A teenager with both cap and attitude backwards.

So what impact does five consecutive losses now have on that?

Indeed, with the boys from Bondi Junction currently flat out beating time to Rooster Man, could their 20-year-old halfback now even be struggling for confidence?

Jackson Hastings says losing is helping to shape him as a man.

“As a kid, I certainly never experienced anything like this,’’ Hastings concedes. “Playing with Western Suburbs, we won eight straight premierships. Was in some successful rep teams too.

“So for me this is new. For a lot of us, this is new. And I actually think it’s shaping us as men.

“Nobody ever wants to lose in the NRL ... but we’re certainly learning what things are all about”.

Which has a touch of irony, right?

For as anyone who remembers the 80s will attest, nobody lost games for the Roosters quite like Kevin Hastings. Essentially a heart in Tricoloured socks, Horrie was the fella who kept going when everybody else had called time on a game. Giving as much in Grand Finals as lopsided shellackings.

“And that’s exactly what dad reminds me about now,’’ Hastings continues. “The effort areas.

Jackson Hastings in action for the Roosters.

“A couple of days after every game, when the dust has settled, we’ll chat and dad remind me to persist with those things that go unnoticed by everyone by your teammates.

“So I don’t know if you can see it on the field, but I really pride myself on being competitive. On trying to be around the ball as much as possible.

“It’s about all the little things that get you into a game without doing anything special. Then, everything else comes off the back of that.”

As we said, ironic.

For just as Horrie Hastings is best remembered for being the greatest player never to represent Australia, so now heartache may be the making of his son.

“When I first arrived here at the Roosters, straight out of school, I rubbed people the wrong way,’’ the young No. 7 continues. “I understand that.

Jayden Nikorima and Jackson Hastings during a Roosters training session. Picture Gregg Porteous

“I was in awe of the guys here and didn’t know how to interact with them. Didn’t know what was the right thing to say, or when to say what. And it’s something I’ve worked hard on this year.

“I haven’t got it yet. There’s still a lot I’m working on with the way I speak and interact with people. But I think if you ask the boys now, I’ve got their respect. It’s a work in progress for me, but this year I think I’ve been able to earn their trust.”

So no crisis of confidence then?

“Oh, this has been one hell of a challenge,’’ Hastings concedes. “But since age four, I’ve wanted to be here. So the fact everyone is looking at me now saying ‘the pressure, the pressure’, that doesn’t bother me.

“Everyone has written us off. Said we can’t do it. Fine. All that’s done is given a great opportunity to prove ourselves.”

Originally published as Losing is helping to shape Roosters rookies into men, says Jackson Hastings