4 days Ago By Robert Dillon
Knights coach Adam O’Brien insists Jackson Hastings is still a selection option and remains confident his team can get their season back on track, declaring: “We’ve been in deeper holes than this in the past.” O’Brien named Tyson Gamble as the team’s new halfback on Tuesday, with Phoenix Crossland shifting back to hooker and Jayden Brailey to the bench. After opening the season with back-to-back wins, Newcastle have suffered three consecutive defeats against Gold Coast, Canterbury and Wests Tigers and slipped to 12th on the ladder.
Of even greater concern is Newcastle’s faltering attack, which has produced just two tries in the space of three games, or four hours of football. The Knights have scored only 46 points across five games this season, the fewest in the NRL by a significant margin. That raises the question of why veteran Hastings has not played in first grade since July 20 last year, despite being one of Newcastle’s highest-paid players on a deal reportedly worth around $800,000 a year.
Jackson Hastings has yet to play a first-grade game for Newcastle this season. Credit: Getty The 29-year-old has appeared in 101 NRL games – 38 of which have been for the Knights. He is their most experienced playmaker and was the regular halfback during their 10-game winning streak in 2023 that culminated in a home final.
But he was dropped twice to NSW Cup last season, in among 16 NRL appearances, and this year he has not been sighted in the top grade. Hastings was unavailable for last week’s 20-4 loss to the Tigers, his former club, because his partner was close to delivering their first child, a baby girl. But O’Brien insisted he remains in the selection mix going forward.
“I’m not saying that he would have played [against the Tigers],” O’Brien said. “I think he was certainly considered. Every single member, every contracted player here is considered, and it’s just what is the best fit for the team.
” Asked why Hastings had spent nine months on the outer, O’Brien replied: “I just think that there’s guys there that suit the style of play that we want to play at the moment. “But that’s nothing against Jackson. It’s just the way that we want to play our footy in that position at the moment.
“I don’t get obsessed with pay packets. You know, that’s irrelevant ..
. we want to make sure that we’re getting the whole team playing well and the guys that best suit that are the ones that I’ll pick.” Knights coach Adam O’Brien.
Credit: Getty Gamble (back) and Jack Cogger (finger) are expected to be fit for Sunday’s clash with Cronulla in Newcastle, with Gamble winning a call-up this week. O’Brien’s greater concern is how to get his depleted pack to match Cronulla’s big men, in the likely absence of Jacob Saifiti (calf), Dylan Lucas (hamstring), Jack Hetherington (shoulder) and Adam Elliott (calf). Tyson Frizell has been shifted to prop to cover for Saifiti, with Mathew Croker starting at lock.
Tyrone Thompson, Jermaine McEwen and Brodie Jones join Brailey on the bench. “We can’t rely on an influx of experience to come back to us,” O’Brien said. “We’re just in a situation now where we’re going to have to rely on youth.
But, you know, there’s an opportunity there too to grow. “I don’t think we’re a team that is going to get through the season without getting squeezed. “Right now we’re getting squeezed with a bit of pressure, and I think that can be a good thing.
“It’s not pleasant to go through, trust me, when you’re going through it. “But we probably need to go through those situations in order to grow to get to the heights that you want to achieve ..
. so I do see it as an opportunity for growth, whilst that’s not blind faith.” O’Brien pointed to seasons 2021, 2023 and 2024 as evidence the Knights are still alive in the finals race.
In all those campaigns, Newcastle started their campaigns slowly but qualified for the play-offs with late-season hot streaks. “We’ve been in deeper holes than this in the past, and we haven’t hoped or, I guess, talked our way out of the situation,” he said. “We’ve relied on some hard work and attention to detail and some accountability.
“We’ll be looking at those three things internally and making sure that we work our way back on track. “And we’ve got some evidence over the past couple of seasons that when we do work ourselves back on track, we can gather some momentum and sort of snowball it. “But right now, we need to go and make that happen.
” Michael Chammas and Andrew “Joey” Johns dissect the upcoming NRL round, plus the latest footy news, results and analysis. Sign up for the Sin Bin newsletter ..
