Phil Rothfield’s highlights and lowlights: Fuming Knight Jackson Hastings bans The Mole

Angry Newcastle Knights halfback Jackson Hastings has barred a veteran Nine journalist after taking exception to his reporting, writes PHIL ROTHFIELD.

Jackson Hastings has blocked The Mole. Picture: Getty

Sports Editor-at-Large Phil Rothfield reveals his highlights and lowlights from the weekend of sport including Jackson Hastings barring a veteran Nine journalist.

HIGHLIGHT

Reece Walsh’s try and backflip against Souths. So freakishly talented. It’s early days but he reminds me so much of Billy Slater.

LOWLIGHT

Veteran Broncos forward Marty Taupau got a pathetically light three-week ban for the shocking knee lift on Campbell Graham. That he received a concerning-act letter about his running style prior to the game makes it even worse. He should have been sent off and copped four to six weeks.

LOWLIGHT II

Trent Robinson’s criticism of your columnist around the James Tedesco Byron Bay break. My beef was that the Roosters captain did not attend the Storm game, not that he was having a weekend off. One good half of football against the Titans hardly justifies Robinson’s decision to give him a leave pass. Teddy’s big test will be against Reece Walsh on Thursday night.

James Tedesco took a holiday as the Roosters hit freefall.

SPOTTED

Injured Sydney Roosters enforcer Victor Radley swimming laps at the SCG pool on Saturday morning as his team mates were preparing to play the Titans on the Gold Coast.

SPOTTED

Craig Bellamy sprinting up and down the Skillion at Terrigal, near the Star of the Sea resort, where Storm stayed last week before the Knights game. He looks amazingly fit for 63.

SPOTTED

Lebanese rugby league players Mitchell Moses, Josh Mansour and Adam Doueihi catching up with coach Michael Cheika while he was in town to help lead Argentina to victory against the Wallabies.

HASTINGS BANS MOLE

It’s bad enough having a RLPA media ban but Knights halfback Jackson Hastings has taken it a step further – he’s blocked Wide World of Sports columnist The Mole on social media after taking exception to one of his tweets.

Jackson Hastings has blocked The Mole. Picture: Getty

THE UNWANTED VETERANS DOMINATING NRL

Recruitment and roster management is everything in rugby league.

Two years ago Shaun Johnson was punted by the Cronulla Sharks.

At the same time the South Sydney Rabbitohs parted company with Adam Reynolds, suggesting he was too old.

Now the two unwanted playmakers, on form, are the two top halfbacks in the NRL.

We’ve rated our top 10 halfbacks on the opening 20 rounds of the competition.

Johnson has to be favourite to win the Dally M halfback of the year.

He lost his job at the Sharks when Craig Fitzgibbon decided to sign Nicho Hynes, who finished up becoming Dally M champion by a record margin.

Yet no-one expected Johnson to rebound like he has at the Warriors under rookie coach Andrew Webster.

Of all the halfbacks Johnson is number one in the competition for try assists, try involvements, forced line drop outs and kick metres. He’s second for line breaks and line-break assists.

The form halfbacks of the competition.

His form has created a headache for Kiwis Test coach Michael Maguire.

Storm’s Jahrome Hughes is a great player and is the incumbent.

He’s done nothing to suggest he should be dropped.

But if Johnson carries this form into the finals, it’s going to be awfully hard to leave him out of the New Zealand starting line-up in October.

Reynolds has been as dominant at the Broncos, showing up the Rabbitohs on Friday night on the Sunshine Coast for a shocking recruitment blunder.

He not only signed in Brisbane for three years but is now talking about an extension.

It’s a remarkable story in that Reynolds is 33 and Johnson 32 (he turns 33 next month).

That rugby league is supposed to be a young man’s game yet these two old stagers are in arguably career best form while younger halves in Nathan Cleary and Sam Walker have battled injuries.

And incredibly Daly Cherry-Evans makes up the trifecta of top halves at 34 years of age.

That makes for a top three with a combined age of 100.

Age shall not weary them.

360 VIEW

Catch you on NRL 360 on Fox League at 6.30pm with Braith Anasta, Gorden Tallis, Brent Read and Cooper Cronk to discuss all the major rugby league issues.