Knights playmaker suffers nightmare repeat of hip drop drama

There are fears a Knights superstar has suffered yet another severe injury, with the intense debate around the act set to erupt.

Hastings injury from hip drop

There are fears Knights playmaker Jackson Hastings has suffered yet another severe injury from a hip-drop tackle, with the intense debate around the act set to reignite.

Hastings was the victim of an ugly hip drop tackle from Broncos forward Pat Carrigan last year, which resulted in a season-ending leg injury for the Knights half and a four-game suspension for the Brisbane star.

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Hastings suffered what looked another serious injury on Sunday against the Bulldogs after a Jacob Preston hip drop tackle, which resulted in the Canterbury forward going to the bin for ten minutes.

“A hip drop motion from Jacob Preston. It was a hip drop that broke Hastings’ leg and displaced his ankle ... here he is in a similar position,” Warren Smith said on Fox League.

“The way he (Preston) loses his feet and his feet swing wildly around the other side of the tackle and his hip comes back on the top of Hastings.

“Something that has crept into the game, almost by osmosis as much as anything but it needs to be eradicated. That was a serious one right there.”

Hastings injury from hip drop

The Knights half was withering in pain after Preston’s tackle for a number of minutes. Thankfully, he was able to stand up and limp off the field however, a shot of him on the sideline showed his ankle “heavily iced”.

“It was an awful sight to see Jackson Hastings in so much pain... Knights doctors have confirmed it was an ankle injury,” Niko Pajarillo said.

“You see the ankle heavily iced so he won’t be back today.”

Bulldogs captain Reed Mahoney tried in vain to plead his case to referee Peter Gough, but it fell on deaf ears.

“His arse is on the ground, he’s trying to pull him down,” Mahoney said.

It would be the Bulldogs’ second sin binning in seven minutes, which left them playing two men down for three minutes.

“It was a textbook hip drop,” Corey Parker said at halftime.

“Jacob Preston could be in some trouble after that hip drop as you see Hastings will not return so could have a severe injury.”

Originally published as Knights playmaker suffers nightmare repeat of hip drop drama