Coach
Jack Gibson 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. 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 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 who gave players nicknames that started with the same initial as the surname. The Kevin Hastings Stand, at the
Sydney Football Stadium, which was the home ground for the
Sydney Roosters before its demolition, was named in his honour. Hastings was on hand at the
Sydney Football Stadium to see his son Jackson make his first grade début for the
Sydney Roosters in 2014. ==Personal life==