Newcastle Knights set to land a Tigers halfback, just not the one they've chased for a year - Luke Brooks

The deviation to Hastings has been driven out of necessity, given the Tigers have been adamant about retaining Brooks and he appears to have shown no recent interest in pushing for a release.

The Knights, as last season proved, could not afford to head into next year without having a more experienced half on their roster.

The Tigers were also maybe one playmaker too heavy with Hastings, Brooks and Adam Doueihi.

All three can't play in the halves, where Hastings wants to play and not at lock.

Light on front-rowers, the Tigers appear set to net Knights prop David Klemmer in a player-swap that will help both clubs plug holes.

But after missing Brooks, it's worth considering what the Knights will be getting in Hastings.

At 26, he has made 63 NRL appearances and 75 in Super League. He has also played four Tests for Great Britain.

In his NRL return at Wests this year, Hastings played 16 games, including 13 in the halves.

He was moved to lock before a leg injury ended his season five rounds early.

In 2022, he notched seven try-assists, three line-breaks and 31 tackle-breaks. He also forced seven drop-outs, a tactic the Knights drastically lacked last season.

Hastings is a strong runner of the football, has a decent boot and can goal-kick. He is also a fierce competitor who takes a loss to heart.

The son of former Roosters player Kevin Hastings, he is a far more mature player, and man, than the teenage prodigy who debuted at the Roosters at 18 years of age.

As the halfback has previously admitted, he was too confident for his own good in his early years.

After falling out of favour at the Roosters, he had an infamous run-in with Daly Cherry-Evans at Manly in 2018 which put him on the outer at that club, and eventually on a plane for England.

As Hastings recalled a bit over a year later when he won the Man of Steel award, he thought it was all over.

"I never thought I was going to play again as a professional," he said.

"It's a great equaliser rugby league. I soon found out that it can be taken away from you and I probably didn't respect it as much as I should have."

Hastings rebuilt his career, and image, in Super League.

In 2019, he guided Salford to their first grand final in more than 40 years and was voted the game's best player. The club ran 11th the year prior.

It was there where Hastings really took control of a side and a contest, and started showing why he was so sought after as a teenager.

He shifted to English giants Wigan in 2020, where he again made but lost a grand final.

He was part of Wigan's side that got knocked out of the 2021 finals, but had already agreed to return to Australia and join the Tigers.

In a bit over three Super League seasons, Hastings set up more than 70 tries and scored 28.

If he can rediscover that sort of form at Newcastle, the Knights might just have landed the haflback they've been craving.

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