John Asiata

Atalani "John" Asiata (born 19 April 1993) is a professional rugby league footballer who plays as a prop, five-eighth and lock for the North Queensland Cowboys in the NRL. He has played for both Samoa and Tonga at international level.

John Asiata
Personal information
Full nameAtalani Selesele-Asiata[1][2]
Born (1993-04-19) 19 April 1993
Penrith, New South Wales, Australia
Height183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight104 kg (16 st 5 lb)
Playing information
PositionProp, Lock, Five-eighth
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2014– North Qld Cowboys 124 4 0 0 16
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
2016–17 Samoa 2 0 0 0 0
2019 Tonga 2 0 0 0 0
As of 9 July 2020
Source: [3]

He was part of the Cowboys' 2015 NRL Grand Final and 2016 World Club Challenge winning sides.

Background

Asiata was born in Penrith, New South Wales, Australia to a Samoan father and a Tongan mother.[4][5]

He played his junior football for the Wentworthville Magpies and attended Patrician Brothers' College, Blacktown.[6]

Playing career

In 2009, Asiata was a member of the Parramatta Eels side that finished runners-up in the Harold Matthews Cup.[7] In 2010, he played with the Western Sydney Academy in the S.G. Ball Cup before being signed by the Sydney Roosters.[8] He played for the Roosters' S.G. Ball team in 2011 and played for their National Youth Competition (NYC) team in 2012 and 2013.[9] At the end of 2013, Asiata was named at lock in the 2013 NYC team of the year.[10] In November 2013 Asiata signed a 2-year contract with the North Queensland Cowboys, starting in 2014, following his Roosters NYC coach, Paul Green, to the Cowboys.[11]

2014

Asiata started the year playing for the Cowboys Queensland Cup affiliate, the Mackay Cutters. He would play 18 games for them in 2014, scoring 5 tries.

In round 12 of the 2014 NRL season, Asiata made his debut for the Cowboys, against the Melbourne Storm, off interchange bench in the Cowboys 22-0 win at 1300SMILES Stadium.[12][13] Asiata finished his debut year in the NRL with 6 matches for the Cowboys. On 14 October 2014, Asiata was named the Cowboys' rookie of the year at their annual presentation ball.[7]

2015

On 31 January and 1 February, Asiata played for the Cowboys in the 2015 NRL Auckland Nines.[14] On 27 April, he was named in Samoa's 18-man squad to face Tonga in the 2015 Polynesian Cup. He was the side's 18th man and did not participate in the match.[15] In round 9, he made his first start in the NRL, in the Cowboys' 23-16 victory over the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.[16] On 21 May, he re-signed with the Cowboys on a 2-year contract until the end of the 2017 season.[17][18] On 4 October, in the 2015 NRL Grand Final against the Brisbane Broncos, Asiata played off the interchange bench in the Cowboys' golden-point 17-16 win.[19][20] He finished off his premiership winning 2015 season having played in 25 matches.[21]

2016

On 2 February, Asiata was named in the Cowboys' 2016 NRL Auckland Nines squad.[22] On 21 February, he was a member of the Cowboys' 2016 World Club Challenge winning side, coming off the bench in the side's 38-4 victory over the Leeds Rhinos at Headingley Stadium.[23] On 7 May, he made his international debut for Samoa against Tonga in the 2016 Polynesian Cup.[24] Asiata played 19 games in 2016, which included his 3rd career start, against the Canberra Raiders in Round 18.[25]

2017

In Round 7 of the 2017 NRL season, Asiata started at halfback against the St George Illawarra Dragons, replacing the injured Johnathan Thurston.[26] In the 26-20 loss, Asiata finished the game with two try-assists and two line-break assists. On 16 May, he re-signed with the Cowboys until the end of the 2020 season.[27]

In the Cowboys' semi-final win over the Parramatta Eels, his 76th NRL game, Asiata scored his first ever NRL try.[28] On 1 October, he played off the interchange bench in the Cowboys' 2017 NRL Grand Final loss to the Melbourne Storm. Asiata finished the 2017 season playing in all 28 games for the Cowboys.

2018

After playing in the first seven games of the 2018 NRL season, Asiata suffered a pectoral tear in the Cowboys' 26-14 win over the Gold Coast Titans, which saw him miss 11 weeks.[29] He returned for the side's Round 18 game against Canberra and played the last eight games of the season.[30] Due to the injury, he finished the season with just 15 games played (starting four of them), his lowest total since his rookie season.

2019

Asiata played in all 24 games for the Cowboys in 2019, scoring three tries, his highest single-season try tally. Due to injuries, he spent considerable time in the halves once again, starting 11 games at five-eighth and one at halfback. In Round 7, he played his 100th NRL game in the Cowboys' 12–24 loss to the Canterbury Bulldogs.[31] On 22 June, he made his debut for Tonga, starting at five-eighth in their 14–34 loss to New Zealand.[32]

Achievements and accolades

Individual

Team

Statistics

NRL
Statistics are correct to the end of the 2019 season[3]
† Denotes seasons in which Asiata won an NRL Premiership
Season Team Matches T G GK % F/G Pts
2014 North Queensland 600—00
2015† North Queensland 2500—00
2016 North Queensland 1900—00
2017 North Queensland 2810—04
2018 North Queensland 1500—00
2019 North Queensland 2430—012
Career totals 117 4 0 — 0 16

International
Season Team Matches T G GK % F/G Pts
2016 Samoa 100—00
2017 Samoa 100—00
2019 Tonga 100—00
Career totals 3 0 0 — 0 0

Personal life

Asiata and his wife, Shailah, have two children: a daughter, Eleana, and a son, John Junior.[33][34]

References
  1. "Player statistics for Atalani Asiata - FOX SPORTS PULSE". Wangarattafc.vcfl.com.au. 14 September 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  2. "2011 NSWRL JUNIOR REP'S TEAM LISTS". Ourfootyteam.com. 28 May 2009. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  3. "John Asiata - Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project.
  4. Webeck, Tony (8 June 2019). "Asiata to make call on rep eligibility". NRL.com. Retrieved 8 June 2019.
  5. "Former Samoa Toa player to represent Tonga". Radio NZ. 15 June 2019. Retrieved 16 June 2019.
  6. "2011 President's Teams - New South Wales Combined Catholic Colleges". Sportingpulse.com. 17 July 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  7. "John Asiata reflects on the role his father in helping him resurrect his rugby league career". Townsville Bulletin. 14 October 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  8. "nswrl junior rep 2010 team lists, harold matthew's cup team lists, sg ball team lists". Ourfootyteam.com. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  9. https://web.archive.org/web/20130926015529/http://rleague.com/players/john-asiata_3676/Stats/. Archived from the original on 26 September 2013. Retrieved 31 May 2014. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  10. "2013 Holden Cup Team of the Year". NRL.com. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  11. "Asiata joins Cowboys on NRL contract | NRL". Zero Tackle. 12 November 2013. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  12. https://web.archive.org/web/20140531130646/http://www.cowboys.com.au/news/2014/05/31/team_lists_cowboys_v_storm.html. Archived from the original on 31 May 2014. Retrieved 31 May 2014. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. "Depleted Storm no match for Cowboys". NRL.com. 31 May 2014. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  14. "COWBOYS UNVEIL 2015 NINES SQUAD". Rugby League Week. 27 January 2015. Archived from the original on 31 January 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  15. "Samoa Named To Face Tonga In Pacific Test". Rugby League Week. 27 April 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  16. "Rugby League Tables / North Queensland 23 v Canterbury 16 / Round 9, 2015". Afltables.com. 9 May 2015. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  17. "Asiata extends Cowboys' contract". Cowboys.com.au. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  18. "Asiata re-signs with Cowboys". NRL.com. 21 May 2015. Retrieved 21 December 2015.
  19. "NRL Grand Final 2015: North Queensland Cowboys outgun Brisbane Broncos to win premiership". Smh.com.au. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
  20. "NRL Grand Final Player Ratings". Dailytelegraph.com.au. Retrieved 12 October 2015.
  21. "Custom Match List". Rugby League Project. 29 October 2015. Retrieved 25 December 2015.
  22. "Cowboys name strong Nines squad". Rugby League Week. Archived from the original on 4 February 2016. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  23. "North Queensland Cowboys thump Leeds in World Club Challenge, James Tamou punched by Mitch Garbutt". Abc.net.au. Retrieved 25 February 2016.
  24. "Samoa too good for Tonga in fiery Pacific Test clash at Pirtek Stadium". Dailytelegraph.com.au. 7 May 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  25. http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/matches/Custom/Ni0xNjc3LTQtLS0tLS0yMDgzMC0tLS0tLS0tLS0tLS0=
  26. http://www.cowboys.com.au/news/2017/04/15/team_list_cowboys_v_.html
  27. http://www.cowboys.com.au/news/2017/05/16/signing_news_for_asi.html
  28. Gabor, Martin (17 September 2017). "Asiata's first try for 'Cowboys family'". NRL.com. Retrieved 18 September 2017.
  29. https://www.foxsports.com.au/nrl/nrl-premiership/round-7-nrl-casualty-ward-storm-lose-test-prop-jesse-bromwich/news-story/0191dde3bf71351049ebbaaf5194cc2e
  30. https://www.nrl.com/news/2018/07/10/john-asiatas-comeback-boosts-cowboys-but-matt-scott-still-struggling/
  31. https://www.couriermail.com.au/sport/nrl/teams/cowboys/cowboys-gun-john-asiata-reaches-100-nrl-games-and-hopes-to-go-further/news-story/ae55f3361e2a4a12647dcc178c16ab81
  32. https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/sport/league/former-toa-samoa-player-john-asiata-had-get-dads-permission-play-mate-maa-tonga
  33. http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/national/john-asiata-announces-birth-of-child/news-story/31aedfb8a5f83a5e34b7d04eea08a8c9
  34. https://www.townsvillebulletin.com.au/news/townsville/cowboys-forward-john-asiata-and-wife-shailah-welcome-baby-boy/news-story/00116e149b34e38f4deff535d66b1074
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