Wests Tigers playmaker Jackson Hastings will miss the next three games after he failed to have his dangerous throw charge downgraded at the judiciary.
Hastings had been offered a two-game ban for his ugly tackle on Newcastle‘s Tex Hoy in the Hunter on Sunday, but he will now miss three matches due to his failed appeal.
The former Rooster and Sea Eagle had been hoping for a reduction from grade two to one, which would have resulted in a $1000 fine and no ban.
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Hastings has been wiped from games against the Warriors, Titans and Sharks.
Jock Madden, who’s 22 and has only played three NRL games, is expected to to join Luke Brooks in the halves as Hastings’ replacement.
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Hastings is back in the NRL this year after spending four seasons in the Super League, where he played with Salford and Wigan.
The Hastings suspension is another blow for a battling club that’s had a woeful start to the season, with Michael Maguire‘s men sitting in second-last on the ladder following losses to the Storm and Knights.
A winless start to the season is exactly what the Tigers had been desperate to avoid, after Maguire in September survived by the barest of margins following an internal review.
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