LeagueNews.co | Cooper McEnroe
Newcastle Knights coach Adam O'Brien has justified his decision to keep halfback Jackson Hastings in reserve grade, despite the team's ongoing struggles marked by a five-game losing streak and a total of just 36 points scored.
Hastings, reportedly earning around $800,000 per season, has spent several weeks playing in the NSW Cup as the Knights' attacking performance continues to falter.
Amid growing external pressure to change the halves, O'Brien has chosen not to bring back the veteran playmaker, indicating that it would imply the club's structural problems and hopes for recovery depend solely on one individual.
He asserted, "I think it would be unfair on Jackson to think that he's the one that can come in and fix all of those things.
There's a number of other variables and I'm comfortable with the crew that we've had at the moment."