Salford Red Devils halfback Jackson Hastings appeared on the BBC’s Super League Show and spoke about his impact at the The Salford Stadium and the difficulty of the upcoming fixture against Toronto Wolfpack.
Hastings, sponsored by Advanced Steel and speaking on BBC’s Super League show, said: “The results we’ve had have been nothing short of amazing.
“I think I just wanted to bring a bit of control and leadership and also a bit of energy and enthusiasm in attack. Everything I do is to play quick and with a positive energy.
“The position we’ve been in as a Club and then finding ourselves in The Qualifiers you have to do everything with a positive mindset. You can’t go into games thinking I hope we win, or I hope this comes off you’ve got to be really positive in your approach.”
The Red Devils face Toronto Wolfpack on Saturday at the The Salford Stadium looking to make it four from four in The Qualifiers however Hastings knows how tough the game will be.
“This week’s game – apart from the first – will probably be our hardest test.
“Toronto are the Betfred Championship side who everyone thinks can really make the Betfred Super League and be competitive so if we’re off by an inch we’ll get done.
“We have to make sure we do our homework and be ready to go.”
You can watch what Jackson Hastings thought of all this weekend’s Betfred Super League and The Qualifiers fixtures by watching the show in full HERE.
Welcome the Wolfpack!
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Tag: BBC
Jackson Hastings | “I’ve never experienced anything like that”
Yesterday evening Salford Red Devils halfback Jackson Hastings appeared on BBC Radio Manchester’s ‘Sport at Six’ and emphasised how good the atmosphere at the The Salford Stadium was on his debut against Leeds Rhinos.
Speaking on BBC Radio Manchester, Hastings, sponsored by Advanced Steel, said: “I’ve never experienced anything like that.
“I’ve played in front of bigger crowds but the noise from our fans and the Leeds fans combined was pretty special for a first game.
“I felt really welcome from not only the players and coaching staff but the fans as well who gave me an unbelievable reception.
“We’ve got a couple of hard games coming up against teams with very vocal fans which will be very exciting as well.”
You can listen to Jackson Hastings’ full appearance on BBC Radio Manchester’s ‘Sport at Six’ by clicking here.
Brian Noble | “He’s clearly set a marker down”
Jackson Hastings debuted for the Red Devils in an impressive victory over Leeds Rhinos on Friday evening and Brian Noble feels he has lifted spirits at the The Salford Stadium.
Speaking on the BBC’s Super League Show, Noble said: “The break from dummy half is fantastic – a bit of speed and bit of zip.
“You want new players to do something for you and he clearly has I think he’s involved in an assist as well, so he’s clearly set a marker down.
“He’s saying all the right things publicly.
“I think he freed up Robert Lui a little bit there which has helped his game and clearly there’s an enthusiasm about Salford there that maybe wasn’t before Hastings was.”
Former Salford halfback Luke Robinson, also speaking on BBC’s Super League show, said: “Bringing in new players as Brian said earlier it just lifts the players.
“It’s a bit of a morale boosting lift when you’re bringing in someone of that quality and he seemed to have a big impact on the day.”
You can watch Jackson Hastings’ full debut by purchasing or renting the full eighty-minute game here.
Or, you can watch the highlights on Salford Red Devils TV below:
David Watkins MBE wins special award at Wales Sports Awards
Last night Salford Red Devils legend and all-time top points scorer David Watkins MBE received the Special Recognition Award at the Wales Sports Awards 2017.
Phil Bennett, when presenting the award, said: “This gentleman is up there at the very top.”
Watkins featured for the Red Devils between 1967 and 1979 making over 400 appearances for the Club and racking up a staggering 2907 points while at The Willows.
The Welshman captained Salford in their last Challenge Cup final appearance against Castleford at Wembley in 1969 and also earned caps for both Wales and Great Britain. Watkins went on to finish his career with Swinton.
The Club legend was a star in both codes playing for Wales and the British and Irish Lions in Rugby Union after spells with several Welsh Rugby Union sides.
In the 1986 New Year Honours, Watkins was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for his services to Rugby League.
Everyone at the Salford Red Devils would like to congratulate David Watkins on a most deserved award.
Salford’s last representative eliminated from the Rugby League World Cup
Manu Vatuvei’s Tongan side were knocked out of the Rugby League World Cup following a semi-final defeat at the hands of England on Saturday morning.
England opened up a 20-0 lead against the surprise semi-finalists with tries from Jermaine McGillvary, Gareth Widdop and John Bateman.
However, Tevita Pangai Junior, Siliva Havili and Tuimoala Lolahea all went over in the space of seven minutes for the Tongan’s to almost pull off a memorable fightback.
There was late controversy as Andrew Fifita almost went over for Tonga with the final play of the game but was adjudged to have dropped the ball following a collision with Elliot Whitehead which wasn’t sent to video referee Ben Thaler by referee Matt Cecchin.
Vatuvei was the last Salford representative at the Rugby League World Cup.
New signing Gavin Bennion, who featured for Wales in the World Cup, has been in training with the Red Devils while fellow countryman Craig Kopczak has also linked up with the side today.
Ireland international Tyrone McCarthy is set to be back in training in midweek while Vatuvei will re-join the squad in the next fortnight.
England are set to face Australia in the 2017 Rugby League World Cup final at 9:00am on Saturday 2nd December with the game being live on both BBC One and Premier Sports.
Remember to see any of our World Cup stars in action in 2018 you can purchase your Season Ticket at the Club Ticket Office, over the phone on 0161 786 1570 or online here. A list of all our ticket prices and their respective Direct Debit payment schemes can be found here with the Direct Debit option being available from the Ticket Office or over the phone.
Salford timekeeper David Clegg remembers Chris Hesketh
Salford Red Devils lifelong fan and timekeeper David Clegg spoke about his memories of Chris Hesketh on this week’s RL podcast with the BBC’s Dave Woods.
Hesketh, who was a Salford icon making over 450 appearances for the club, sadly passed away last week and the club marked his passing with a minute’s silence prior to Friday’s game against Castleford.
The centre captained the 1974 Touring side as well as playing in Salford’s last visit to Wembley in 1969 were the Red Devils lost to Castleford.
Despite losing the Challenge Cup final Hesketh helped the Red Devils win two Championship titles, a Lancashire Cup and a Floodlit Trophy.
His final match for Salford was on May 13th 1979 at St Helens. Hesketh was awarded with an M.B.E in the 1976 New Years Honours as a tribute to his tremendous service and dedication to Rugby League.
Hesketh defied the odds in his search to become a professional Rugby League player battling polio at the age of seven however by the age of 11 he was playing at Central Park, Wigan in the Schools Cup Final.
Listen to the interview here – http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p05cctj1
