The UK club who missed out on signing NRL Grand Final winner and Leigh Centurions’ John Asiata

Leigh Centurions owner Derek Beaumont has bankrolled the club for a decade now and the outspoken leader has been trying to get his side back in Super League.

The Centurions were relegated at the end of the 2021 Super League season after a dismal year in which they only won two games.

But, credit has to be given to Beaumont for his continued support – both financially and physically – and the fact that he has invested more in his Leigh side in 2022 than ever before.

One of his major signings – John Asiata – joined the club after refusing to get the Covid-19 vaccine before he had even began his new career at the Canterbury Bulldogs.

And, he has taken to the Championship and Leigh Sports Village like a duck to water, impressing with his quality and skill for such a big man as Leigh continue to assert their ascendancy at the top of the second tier.

But, the move for Asiata may never have come off had a rival been able to get there first.

“He’s the best thing to come out of Covid!” Beaumont joked on the Dockhouse Rugby Show.

“He’s fully invested and back loving he game and he’s a big part of what we are doing there.

“It was a signing that I spent time with – Chezzy (head of rugby Chris Chester) got so far – and believe it or not York was very close to getting John Asiata.

“The conversation I had with John was a lengthy one – we have a lot of similarities, John is really charitable and likes to help people.”

The weekend’s 46-16 thrashing of Featherstone Rovers in the Summer Bash epitomised how far this Leigh club has come since falling short against Rovers earlier in the season.

The Centurions are now massive favourites for promotion with Beaumont, Adrian Lam and Chris Chester forming an incredible triumvirate at the heart of the Lancashire club.