Fresh twist in John Asiata saga over St Helens tackle

Leigh Leopards star John Asiata has been at the heart of now two controversies against St Helens.

There is no denying that Asiata is one of the best players in the Betfred Super League at present and is a key reason for the success achieved at Leigh Leopards in recent times.

In 2022, he was snapped up by Derek Beaumont and Chris Chester to slot into Adrian Lam’s team and made an instant impact in perhaps the greatest second tier side in the history of our sport.

They won a treble of trophies including the 1895 Cup, the League Leaders’ Shield and the Championship Grand Final.

A year later, as captain, Asiata would lift Leigh’s fourth trophy in less than two years when he captained the club to Challenge Cup glory but that came off the back of a massive controversy.

Leigh Leopards star’s tackle technique

In that final against Hull KR, there was an early incident that forced tensions to boil over as the Leigh Leopards star hit an opponent low. This might seem weird, Often it is the high tackles that are punished rather than the low ones.

However, in the semi-final against St Helens which led Leigh Leopards to Wembley, Asiata was using a low tackle technique effectively but it injured Alex Walmsley who missed most of the rest of the season and the England internationals against Tonga as well as Agnatius Paasi who is still recovering after ACL, MCL and ankle injuries.

Asiata wasn’t banned due to the rules not allowing as such leading to a passionate statement from Paul Wellens. Wellens would later be fined for this but he would get what he wanted with new rules outlawing the tackle technique for 2024.

John Asiata charged for low tackle

The next time Asiata would meet the Saints would be at the start of the 2024 season and 41 seconds into the game he hit Sione Mata’utia with a low tackle similar to the ones used in the semi-finals. He was sin binned for the tackle and later charged with a Grade A offence.

Leigh Leopards elected to appeal the charge this week but Leigh owner Derek Beaumont has revealed the shock development that the appeal has been postponed till next week saying on X: “That will be next week though as both sides busy for tomorrow.”