Jackson Hastings!!

[Game Fowl]

Hastings is all over morts.

Big Call , Big Chook - Morts has a 2013 GF ring Hastings only has the potential to play FG let alone win a GF in FG.

I watched him closely in the Junior Roos and it was unfortunate that he had to play out of position, so my judgement is still reserved .

What I did notice was there seemed to be some angst with some Roo players on the field and then at the end of the game he got caught up in the bruhaha with the KIWIs , with his chest puffed out for no reason - looked like a liability to me.

As to Jacksons potential these Pen Pages are littered with players of potential who never had what it takes to step into FG and perform on a constant basis week after week and recover from injury and adversity on a regular cycle.

[John Corey]

Doubt he regrets leaving us. He was never getting a run until origin. He's a decent player morts but he's just not big enough. Some slender players can cut it but he just wasn't tough enough. I'd have liked to have seen him put some more size on.

I would never say Morts was not tough enough. He never shied away from taking the big boppers on head on. I thought he had a huge heart and was a great support player.

I agree about his size tho. Ok when playing in the halves but playing dummy half for us he was pretty small. But like I said, I loved the way he put his body on the line.

[TheBigFella]

Is Hastings a better 6 or 7 ? I know the positions are pretty similar but just reading the comments about Pearce being happy playing 5/8 made me think..

[The Brain]

Jacko's interview ....Got it from facebook spells it all out. RUGBY LEAGUE: Prodigious Roosters talent Jackson Hastings admits the rumours about his perceived bad attitude have been partially true - but they are now a thing of the past.

In a refreshingly honest interview with the 19-year-old star on the rise, the son of Roosters legend Kevin "Horrie" Hastings admitted it was an area of his life he had been working on.

The young backline utility made his first-grade debut at just 18 against defending premiers the Rabbitohs late last season.

That was before he was involved in an ugly fracas when playing for the Australian under-20 team against New Zealand.

The young Aussies charged in on the haka showing a collective brashness, angering many fans across the game.

Hastings starred for Australia against the Kiwis at fullback on Saturday, the team turning around last year's defeat in a thrilling 22-20 victory.

But again he and his teammates were involved in a melee with their fierce Trans Tasman rivals after the siren.

In a sign of his growing maturity though, hands were shook with opposing players and the issue seemed to be left out on the field.

"It's probably right, you know (the rumours regarding his attitude). In the past coming up through the grades I did honestly have a bad issue with my attitude," Hastings told APN.

"I'm a very passionate kid, as you can probably tell by the way I play footy.

"I think that gets perceived the wrong way."

Hastings said Roosters coach Trent Robinson had been instrumental in helping him grow up.

"It's just little things like making sure I say hello to everyone, and it goes back to Robbo," he said.

"He's been the sole influence on that, and I can't thank him enough.

"I think I just need to control my body language, and control what I say at what times.

"But I do understand why people think that (about a perceived attitude problem), yeah.

"It's a work in progress."

Roosters assistant and Australia under-20s coach Justin Holbrook had nothing but positive things to say about the classy utility, who has been compared to Sharks star Jack Bird.

"It (attitude) is great; I think it's fantastic. He loves playing footy and he loves being around the footy field," Holbrook said.

"He's a classy player, Jacko. We're still not sure what his best position is, but he's a good footballer and he knows how to play."

Another thing Hastings cleared up was that he was happy at the Roosters, the same team his club legend father played 228 games for, denying recent talk he would soon be headed to Penrith.

Hastings has been forced to bide his time behind representative halves Mitchell Pearce and James Maloney, and Kiwis fullback Roger Tuivasa-Sheck, at the Bondi club.

"I've got another year (at the Roosters). One hundred per cent I want to stay. I've got no intentions on leaving," Hastings said.

"They showed a lot of interest in me when I was off contract as a kid, and they've developed me into the player I am today."

[Game Fowl]

Good on him , saying all the right things , now all he has to do is show it week in and week out when given the opportunity.