JACKSON Hastings knew things were different in England this time around. He was not abused as he got his visa stamped!
And the changes in him – not least fatherhood – can help St Helens get back to the top.
At the moment, it is a good job the half-back is around given the injuries that have decimated Paul Rowley’s camp.
Hastings has found himself captaining the side as the likes of Matty Lees, Daryl Clark, Jack Welsby, Alex Walmsley and Jonny Lomax have been missing.
Throw in Nene Macdonald, Jacob Host and Jake Burns and it is easy to see why they may be up against it as they head to champions Hull KR, who are eager to finally get firing, tonight.
But Hastings 2.0 is determined to use his sometimes bitter experience, on and off the field – especially the death of mum Megan Harrod, make sure he stands up to be counted.
He said: “I wouldn’t say I’m a completely different person. I feel like I’m still the same Jackson,
“I still love the game like I’m a little kid, I’m still a larrikin, I’m still outspoken, I still train as hard as ever, but I feel like I’ve grown up definitely.
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“Obviously I’m 30-years-old now, not 21 like the first time I came over.
“I’m a dad now and I’ve lost my mum, so a lot of life-changing events happened for me to mould myself into the person I am today.
“But I’m proud of the human I’m becoming and I’ve always been proud of the player I am. I just want to keep building on both of those aspects and being the best version of myself.
“When you lose your mum and you become a dad, life comes at you quickly. I’m just trying to be the best human I can and I feel like I’m doing the best I can, so I just want to keep working on that.
“Every day’s a blur really. It’s trying to get up and accomplish being a dad, doing that well and then grieving my mum and giving her the honour and respect that she deserves.
“She was my best friend in the whole world and someone that I love more than anyone. Now I’ve got my daughter, she can’t replace my mum but she does a fair job of it.
“She brings a lot of light to not only my life but the rest of my family and it’s a privilege to be a dad.
“I look forward to having that title for the rest of my days and being the parent that my mum was to me to my little girl and if I can do that, that’ll make me as proud as anything I do on a rugby league field.”
Hastings is no stranger to getting taunts from fans. Being a former Wigan star playing for arch-rivals St Helens will bring stick from certain quarters.
But it is something the man who wants to play for England, who he qualifies for through his grandmother, at this year’s World Cup has had on the street.
And after starring at Salford, where fans hoped for success, he can handle pressure at Saints, where many expect glory.
He added: “I wasn’t getting abused in the streets of Salford getting my visa stamped this time, so that was a bit of a different experience
“But I feel that as a player, no matter what jersey you put on, you should expect to win games. That’s the attitude we had at Salford and it took us all the way to the Grand Final.
“Just because you play for a club that’s not expected to win doesn’t mean you can’t win and just because you play for a club that’s expected to win doesn’t mean you are going to win
“It depends on the personnel that you have, how you train and how much you want it. I know this playing group really wants it and I know that I really want it.
“It doesn’t matter who you play against, how good a player you are, it’s what you put on the field and how much you’re willing to do the small things that don’t get noticed by the fans that usually gets you the result.”
