Kevin "Horrie" Hastings (born 5 January 1957) is an Australian former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who played as a and during the 1970s and 1980s. Hastings played for the

Eastern Suburbs Eastern Suburbs may refer to: Places *Eastern Suburbs (Mumbai), India *Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Australia **Eastern Suburbs railway line, Sydney, Australia Sports clubs ;Association football *Eastern Suburbs AFC, Auckland, New Zealand * Eastern ...

in the

New South Wales Rugby League The New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL) is the governing body of rugby league in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory and is a member of the Australian Rugby League Commission. It was formed in Sydney on 8 August 1907 and was ...

(NSWRL), making 239 appearances for the club from his debut 1976 until his last match in 1987. He has been described as a stalwart of the club, and has won numerous individual accolades, including the

Rothmans Medal The Rothmans Medal was the premier individual award in the New South Wales Rugby League and Brisbane Rugby League competitions, and later in the Australian Rugby League, which was given to the player voted by referees as the best and fairest ...

(1981) and was

Dally M The Dally M Awards are the official annual player awards for the National Rugby League competition. As well as honouring the player of the year, who received the Dally M Medal, awards are also given to the premier player in each position, the b ...

Halfback of the Year for three consecutive years (1980, 1981 and 1982). He also played for English side Barrow during 1986–87.

Early life

Hastings was born in the

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

suburb of

Surry Hills Surry Hills is an inner-city suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Surry Hills is immediately south-east of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Sydney. Surry Hills is surroun ...

. A student of Our Lady of Mount Carmel primary school in Waterloo, he first played rugby league when his school side was coached by a

Sister of Mercy A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a family, familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to r ...

, Sr Gabrielle Flood RSM, of Waterloo.

Career

Coach

Jack Gibson Jack Gibson may refer to: * Jack Gibson (rugby league) (1929–2008), Australian player and coach * Jack Stanley Gibson (1909–2005), Irish physician * Jack Gibson (ice hockey, born 1880) (1880–1955), ice hockey player and executive * Jack Gibs ...

placed Hastings into first grade in 1976 when he was 19. He went on to have a distinguished career with Easts that lasted 12 seasons and he played in the 1980 grand final against

Canterbury-Bankstown Canterbury-Bankstown is a customary region of Sydney, Australia, in the south-western suburbs. The area is located around the Bankstown railway line, to the west of the St George region and to the south of the Inner West region. The suburbs ...

. He held the distinct honour of being the first player to appear in 200 first grade games for the club and held the record for the number of first grade games for Easts at 228 until broken by

Luke Ricketson Luke Ricketson (born 5 February 1973) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. An Australian and Ireland international, and New South Wales State of Origin representative back-row forward, ...

in 2002. Throughout his first grade career, Hastings received every major individual award of the 1980s, but was constantly overlooked for rep selection, making one appearance for New South Wales as a reserve in 1983, despite his impressive performance when brought on to the field, this would remain his only appearance for New South Wales. Hastings received the name 'Horrie' from

Bob O'Reilly Robert Edward O'Reilly (born 16 February 1949) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. An Australian international and New South Wales interstate representative prop forward, he pl ...

who gave players nicknames that started with the same initial as the surname. The Kevin Hastings Stand, at the

Sydney Football Stadium The Sydney Football Stadium, commercially known as Allianz Stadium and previously Aussie Stadium, was a football stadium in Moore Park, Sydney, Australia. Built in 1988 next to the Sydney Cricket Ground, the stadium was Sydney's premier rect ...

, which was the home ground for the

Sydney Roosters The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby league, Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won ...

before its demolition, was named in his honour. Hastings was on hand at the

to see his son Jackson make his first grade début for the

in 2014.

Personal life

His son is halfback

Jackson Hastings Jackson Hastings (born 4 January 1996) is a Great Britain international rugby league footballer who plays as a and for the Newcastle Knights in the NRL. He previously played for the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, Sydney Roosters and the Wests ...

who also played for the Roosters and is a current

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...

international. From his first marriage to Catherine Jones, he is the father to Margaret, Christopher and Robert Hastings. He is currently married to American Lynn Hastings.http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sport/nrl/the-18yearold-son-of-roosters-great-kevin-hastings-jackson-will-make-his-debut-against-south-sydney-at-allianz-stadium/story-fnp0lyn3-1227046909807 Hastings continues his passion for sport as a personal fitness trainer. He specialises in functional training and motivating individuals with varying fitness levels, from beginners to competitive athletes.

Honours

Individual *

Amco Cup The Amco Cup (subsequently known by various other sponsors' names including the Tooth Cup, KB Cup, National Panasonic Cup and Panasonic Cup) was a mid-week rugby league competition held in Australia between 1974 and 1989. The format was usua ...

player of the series: 1979 * ''

Rugby League Week ''Rugby League Week'' (frequently abbreviated to RLW) was the highest selling Australian rugby league magazine, ahead of major competitor ''Big League''. It was published weekly (on Wednesdays) during the Australian rugby league season, which ru ...

'' Player of the Year: 1980, 1981 and 1982 *

: 1981 *

Halfback of the Year: 1980, 1981 and 1982

References

External links

Statistics for Kevin HastingsBack on the Wembley trail

14 March 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:Hastings, Kevin 1957 births Living people Australian rugby league players Australian expatriate sportspeople in England Barrow Raiders players New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin players Rugby league halfbacks Rugby league players from Sydney Sydney Roosters players