John Asiata loves helping Leigh prove doubters wrong - and they’re not done yet.
The inspirational captain has been a driving force for Leopards in their brilliant rise in Betfred Super League. He has been one of the competition’s top performers as the promoted side surged to within two points of top spot ahead of this round.
Most people wrote them off before a ball was kicked off but Adrian Lam’s team have already rattled off ten wins in just 15 games and booked a Challenge Cup semi-final date against St Helens. They visit pacesetters Catalans on Saturday for arguably their biggest test yet.
Leigh have FOUR regulars - Kai O’Donnell, Zak Hardaker, Tom Nisbet and Ava Seumanufagai - all banned after Sunday’s fiery Cup win at part-timers York. But ex-North Queensland loose forward Asiata, 30, insisted: “I believe no matter who comes in, we’re still strong enough to get the win. I’m pretty confident that this playing group can do that if we play how we can.
“The boys are enjoying their footy at the moment and when you’re having fun you play your best footy. I’m really enjoying it here. No one really gives us a chance. And no one gave us a chance from the beginning of the year. But no matter what the outside noise is, as a group we’ve just worked hard to put ourselves in a good position. And we’ll keep doing that.”
But the ex-Tonga international knows they’ll have to watch themselves in Perpignan having had a player sent-off in each of their last two games. Their stunning nine-match winning run is under threat but Asiata said: “We’ve put ourselves in tough positions the last two games, playing the majority of them both with 12 men and going down to 11, too. But we’ve still won and it shows what we’re like as a group, the commitment to each other and how we’re tight-knit.
“Discipline is something we want to look at these next couple of games. It hasn’t been too bad until Magic and last week. We’re looking at our actions when it’s not going our way: we have to keep cool heads and stay calm when things are going wrong. It’s something we’re working on.”
He famously ended up at Leigh last year having been unable to continue in the NRL given he refused to have a Covid vaccine. The NRL Grand Final winner's lucrative deal with Canterbury was ripped up but Asiata insisted: “I’ve got no regrets. Whatever happens, happens for a reason. I believe God always closes doors when they need to be shut. And he opened one for me.
“I always wanted to come to Super League at some point. This is just earlier than I expected. And I’m loving it. I’ve been given that opportunity by Lammy and Chezzy (Chris Chester). I’m here until the end of 2024 and then whatever happens after that happens. If it’s staying here then great. But I’ll let my footy do the talking.”
