John Asiata’s tackles are “proper tackles” claims pundit

Going into the Challenge Cup Final against Hull KR, Leigh Leopards star Asiata was shrouded by controversy.

The Leigh skipper was the subject of a lot of debate after his tackle technique injured four players in the semi-final against St Helens.

Asiata hit his opponents low and hard in tackles that were branded as “incredibly dangerous” by Jon Wilkin on social media.

Paul Wellens revealed that one tackle had left Agnatius Paasi’s knee “blown to smithereens.”

There was a moment in yesterday’s Challenge Cup Final where his tackle technique was again a talking point as one tackle prompted a response from Hull KR and led to a Leigh penalty.

This prompted Johnathon Davies to state that it was a “proper tackle.”

“There’s been an awful lot of comments and questions about the high tackles in recent years, but that’s a proper tackle,” he said.

“There is one thing that he does get wrong; he gets his head in the wrong position. He’s going to injure himself more than he injures the ball carrier there.

“For me, there’s nothing wrong with that tackle. It’s a low tackle and a fuss over nothing.”

It was a great game as Hull KR struck first. Elliot Minchella gave away that penalty but immediately made amends as he broke through and found Jez Litten in support to score.

A Tom Briscoe error nearly led to a Tom Opacic try as the ball was kicked ahead. Opacic was then tripped up by Lachlan Lam who went for the ball but it was deemed an accident and no penalty try was given.

Leigh then said anything you can do we can do better as Kai O’Donnell broke through in similar fashion finding Lachlan Lam in support to score.

Minchella’s strange day kept going as he was penalised for a hit on Ben Reynolds and the Leopards took a 10-6 lead as Hull KR went down to 12 men.

Hull KR then nailed a penalty of their own on the stroke of halftime to make it 10-8.

The second half started as the first one ended with a Hull KR penalty as Hull KR drew level at 10-all.

It was then a very tense second half as neither side gave each other an inch. Try scoring sensation Josh Charnley had a chance when he got the ball wide but was held up.

Tom Briscoe scores tries at Wembley like it’s his backyard. Today was his eighth Challenge Cup Final try in his fifth final appearance and his eighth in the last four. He struck a decisive blow in the corner for the Leopards after a sweeping move.

But that try was cancelled out when Parcell touched down to score in the 79th minute after a kick bounced off Zak Hardaker.

However, in the end it was Leigh who will lift the Challenge Cup after a golden point drop goal from Lachlan Lam won the game for the club.