Incoming South Sydney Rabbitohs head coach Wayne Bennett will reportedly turn his attention towards securing the services of Jackson Hastings in a move that could turn into a player swap deal between the club and the Newcastle Knights.
Hastings, believed to be on a deal worth around $800,000 per year in the Hunter, is well and truly out of favour with Adam O'Brien and his coaching staff.
The halfback was dropped more than once during the 2024 NRL season and finished the campaign in reserve grade.
That came after he spent much of the team's surprise run to the semi-final in 2023 on the injured list, before returning for the semi-final where the club were knocked out.
The Knights again made the finals this year with Hastings playing reserve grade, and it has become clear his time at the club is over if he can find a suitable new home.
That lifeline may come in the form of Bennett, who will look to immediately turn the fortunes of the South Sydney Rabbitohs around upon arrival, with the veteran taking over from the axed Jason Demetriou and his interim Ben Hornby.
The Rabbitohs have major question marks over their own halves, and per a Sydney Morning Herald report, the arrival of Hastings at Maroubra could see the out of sorts Lachlan Ilias go the other way to Newcastle.
It emerged earlier this year that Ilias had been told by South Sydney he was free to go if he could find a new home as he recovered from a broken leg - that itself came in reserve grade after he had been dropped from the top grade.
Cody Walker and Jack Wighton finished the year in the halves, although it seems unlikely Bennett will run that duo in 2025, with Lewis Dodd also arriving at the club.
Hastings could yet fight his way into the halves, or he could feature off the bench as a utility, playing back up at halves, lock and hooker where the club have lost Damien Cook to the St George Illawarra Dragons and will turn to Peter Mamouzelos as their fulltime number nine in 2025.
Ilias too would fight for a spot in the Hunter, where there was often a revolving door of halves in 2024 between Hastings, Tyson Gamble, Jack Cogger and Phoenix Crossland.
