PAUL Rowley has vowed to let Jackson Hastings off the reins at St Helens after the duo were reunited ahead of the 2026 Super League season.
New Saints head coach Rowley was at Salford Red Devils as a coaching consultant in 2019 when the halfback earned Man of Steel for his role in guiding Ian Watson’s side to a surprise maiden grand final appearance.
Hastings has spent the past four seasons back in the NRL at Wests Tigers and Newcastle Knights with mixed results, but Rowley believes giving the 30-year-old the freedom to express himself will unleash the best of him with the 10-time Super League champions.
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“He’s a competitor, he’s a champion, he’s a great player and he’s a former Man of Steel,” Rowley, whose side kick off the season away to Warrington Wolves on Friday (8pm), told Rugbyleaguehub.com.
“I’m not sure harness is the right word when you describe someone with all of those adjectives, and he’ll do his thing and I’ll let him to his thing.
“I’ll not harness him, I’ll embrace him.
“He’s a technician, he knows the game inside out and he can back up what he says on the field, so I’ve got the utmost trust in him as a player, 100 percent.”
Hastings, who also featured for St Helens’ bitter rivals Wigan Warriors in 2020 and 2021, signed a one-year contract with the club Salford lost the 2019 Old Trafford showpiece to in November.
The Australia-born former Great Britain international is not the only familiar face to Rowley at the BrewDog Stadium, either.
Former Salford pair Deon Cross and Shane Wright, who was initially on loan prior to making the permanent switch, moved to St Helens last year, with Joe Shorrocks and Nene Macdonald also joining following the Red Devils’ financial collapse and reformation as a Championship club.
That has helped smooth the transition to life as Paul Wellens’ successor at last year’s Super League semi-finalists for Rowley, in a role where he is well-aware success is demanded.
“I made that journey on my own, really, so it’s very different for me,” Rowley said.
“It’s almost – not intimidating, but still first day at school with new people.
“I’ve got to make a lot of friends real quick, got to sell a way of playing real quick – there’s a lot to do.
“So, having familiar faces who believe in me and believe in the way I want to play has been really good for me.”
