Frenzy won’t faze Hastings

JACKSON Hastings is bracing himself for a media frenzy on arrival with the Great Britain squad in Sydney but is confident he can deal with whatever is thrown at him.

The 23-year-old Australiaborn half-back, who qualifies to play for the Lions through his English grandmother, left the NRL under a cloud following a bust-up with his old Manly Sea Eagles captain and coach.

But Hastings returns a changed person, as well as Super League’s Man of Steel after a magnificent 18 months with Salford Red Devils.

“I’m just a completely different person,” said Hastings, who will be a Wigan player when he returns from the tour.

“Salford have taught me a lot. It’s a club that doesn’t have much and you have to earn everything you get.

“I’ve been able to take those lessons on the field off the field to become a much better person and involve myself in the community. It’s just been a whole learning curve.”

Hastings was brought up by his mother Megan, who flew over for both the Man of Steel ceremony and the Grand Final and will could now see her son play for his adopted country.

“I’ll probably have to fork out some money to get her over to New Zealand but it’s definitely worth it if she gets to see me play for Great Britain,” Hastings said. “When I rang her, she was halfway home in Doha and she started bawling her eyes out.

“She’s obviously immensely proud of me.

“She’s been there for me and been affected by the bad press in the past so to see her crying with happy tears and not being upset is a good feeling.”