Jackson Hastings' sad confession about Daly Cherry-Evans' family over infamous 2018 incident
The Newcastle Knights player has spoken out about his remorse.
Jackson Hastings has expressed remorse for the way Daly Cherry-Evans' wife and daughters were dragged through the mud by their infamous altercation in 2018. Hastings and Cherry-Evans were teammates at Manly in 2017 and 2018, but the former was dumped to reserve grade and eventually released by the club after an 'incident' after a game in Gladstone.
Hastings broke a team curfew and left the hotel without permission, and was involved in a run-in with Cherry-Evans when he returned heavily intoxicated. The incident effectively ended Hastings' career at the Sea Eagles and forced him to move to England to play in the Super League because of the damage it caused. Cherry-Evans was also fined $10,000.
Hastings bided his time in the UK during stints with Salford and Wigan, which helped him get his career back on track before he eventually returned to the NRL in 2022 with the Wests Tigers. He's since moved to Newcastle and helped the Knights make back-to-back finals appearances.
Speaking to Josh Mansour on the 'Let's Trot' podcast this week, Hastings reflected on the infamous incident with Cherry-Evans and admitted that his partner recently falling pregnant has given him a new perspective. "It nearly ruined my career," he admitted. "For four and a half years I was exiled.
"We both apologised to each other not long after it. I'm extremely apologetic for the reason that I'm having a little girl now, and he had three young kids at the time. To be a part of the reason why someone had their family dragged through that - especially his kids and his partner. I'm very remorseful.
"Obviously I was young and what happened to me was horrible, with the death threats I got. The journos out the front of my house. I was on the back page of the papers for something like 20 days in a row."
Jackson Hastings' remorse over Daly Cherry-Evans incident
Hastings said the story was blown way out of proportion because he's the son of an NRL legend. Hastings made his NRL debut for the Sydney Roosters in 2014, and there was hope he'd be as good as his famous father Kevin - who played 239 games for Eastern Suburbs.
His stint at the Roosters only lasted 35 games, but the hype and media attention followed him to Manly. "I was an easy story to write about with my name and had been since I was about 14," he said. "I've always been painted as the villain, but when I act like a villain everyone is up in arms as well (as when I try to be good).
"If I could have my time over again I wouldn't have broken curfew, wouldn't have gotten as drunk, and wouldn't have been a young idiot. And I wouldn't have put myself or anyone else in that situation."
RELATED:
Reece Walsh gets his wish at Maguire makes call on sacking Ezra Mam
Selwyn Cobbo cops $1m blow as Josh Addo-Carr's new team revealed
Jackson Hastings lifts the lid on strained relationship with father
Hastings also touched on his relationship with Kevin, which was damaged when his father moved to America for 10 years when he was a child. "Mum and dad broke up when I was four, and dad lived in Australia until I was seven or eight," he said. "He used to come and watch me play footy and I'd stay at his house, so the relationship was never broken.
"But one day mum told me dad was moving to America. And it was originally meant to be three months, which turned into three days, and all up it ended up being 10 years. I only saw him here and there for snippets over that 10-year period.
"Our relationship is what it is. We're never going to be fully close or like a father and son looking after each other. But he'll be a part of the baby's life and he's going to have to be around a little bit, as long as him and mum can be in the same room and get along."
