Just months after signing Mitchell Pearce to a new four-year contract, Sydney Roosters initiated a succession plan to his No.7 jumper with the signing of gun teenager Jackson Hastings.
The Roosters won the race to one of the most highly sought-after youngsters in the game, Hastings joining the club where his father Kevin Hastings became a tri-colours legend.
Despite being only 17, the Australian schoolboy was elevated to St George Illawarra's under 20s side earlier this year, and has quickly emerged as a standout in the National Youth Competition.
He looks set to bide his time behind the Roosters' NSW halves pairing of Pearce and James Maloney, but it may not be too long before he is knocking down the door to top grade selection.
"The Roosters were the team I grew up supporting so I'm stoked to be joining the club," Hastings said in a statement put out by the Roosters to announce his three-year deal.
"I've still got a lot to learn and I'm excited to be joining guys like Mitchell Pearce and James Maloney who I can learn so much from."
Kevin Hastings was at the Roosters from 1976-87 and was the first to play 200 first grade games for the club.
Roosters recruitment manager Peter O'Sullivan admitted the signing of Hastings was a significant coup.
"Jackson is a wonderfully talented young man who can play in the halves, at hooker or fullback," O'Sullivan said.
"As we know, he hails from a proud rugby league legacy, but in saying that, Jackson is his own young man and we look forward to watching him develop on and off the footy field in the coming years."
