Jackson Hastings has lifted the lid on the red card he sustained for St Helens in their August clash against Castleford Tigers, admitting that he is ‘embarrassed about the whole situation’.
St Helens were cruising at 30-0 up just before the half against Castlford when Jackson Hastings and Tyler Dupree got into an altercation that left the prop forward with a cut on his eye.
Hastings was subsequently sent off for what the officials deemed a punch with the disciplinary outcome being a three-game ban that would end Hastings’ season, with St Helens going on to lose their final three games and miss out on the play-offs.
The former Great Britain man has now appeared on the Nova Sport podcast and addressed the incident, including his current feelings on the matter, why it happened, whilst also issuing an apology.
“I’ll start by saying that I’m actually embarrassed about the whole situation,” he said.
“I apologised to the boys at half time because getting red carded isn’t ideal and as the captain, getting red carded at half time is unacceptable, so I take responsibility for that.”
He’d also apologise to the fans, outlining his belief that had he avoided a ban then Saints’ season could have ended far better.
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Hastings said: “To the fans as well, a lot of them supported me but a lot of them were off me. At the time, when I was in the heat of the moment I didn’t think about it that way, but I apologise to them because I believe that if I played the last three games then we win two or three. It’s arrogant but I believe with the way that I was starting play and the way we were all starting to do our role, then I reckon we win two or three.
“I apologise again to the boys, the fans, the club, I let us all down but the person I let down most was myself.”
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“Had to defend myself” – Jackson Hastings on Tyler Dupree incident
Speaking more on how the incident happened, Hastings explained that he and Dupree had become embroiled in a verbal battle, that once it turned physical left him feeling that he had to defend himself.
He explained: “It’s not big and tough but getting under people’s skin is part of the game. I got hit late early on in the game, I went to regain my feet, got tackled to the ground and there was a bit on the ground.
“He took a carry close to the line, went to offload and he gave me a little push so I just thought I had to stand my ground a little bit so as I ran past him, I shoved him.
“Then he gripped me and I thought ‘f**k, he is strong’, and he was ragging me about. I was getting tossed around and felt like I was on a rollercoaster and I know he said he didn’t get me but I’ve got the stadium footage and there was a couple of cheeky ones in there so by the end of it, I thought I had to defend myself here and yeah, I threw a punch.”
That red card didn’t impact the result as St Helens went on to win 36-12 but the playmaker would miss the final three games of the season, something he described as ‘embarrassing’.
“To get suspended for three weeks for throwing such a dog s**t punch is actually embarrassing really and I regret doing it,” he said.
“I don’t condone fighting at all but on a serious level, I was defending myself as it got to a point where he was that much bigger and stronger than me that I thought if I didn’t do something to break it up, I could be in a bad way.”
Dupree had previously told his version of events on the Nova Sport podcast as well, confirming that Hastings and he had traded insults.
