John Asiata lifts lid on Hull FC move and makes passionate Samoa admission ahead of Test return

New Hull FC signing John Asiata admits he thought the chance to play on the international stage had passed him by: but he wants to make the most of his opportunity both on and off the field.

The 31-year-old has been an influential player for Leigh Leopards over the last three seasons, helping Adrian Lam’s side win promotion to Super League in 2022 before being the Leigh captain who lifted the Challenge Cup at Wembley in 2023.

Asiata, who will join Hull FC on a three-year deal from 2025, has represented both Samoa and Tonga on the international stage, with his last Test appearance coming back in 2019.

But following his impressive displays for Leigh, Asiata received a call-up from Samoa coach Ben Gardiner for this autumn’s two-mach Test series against England.

When asked by Love Rugby League if he thought he’d thought he’d play Test rugby again, he replied: “To be honest, no, with the amount of talent that is coming through in that grade, I didn’t think I would get the opportunity again.

“But to me, I always set my goals, and this was one of them. All I knew was ‘make sure you go out there, do your thing and play the rugby league you know you can play’. If it’s meant to be, it’s mean to be, and I’m very grateful that I got that call and I’m very happy that I’m here.

“When it was closer to the end of the season, I got a call to let me know that I was in contention but I didn’t know whether I was fully in, so even with that I was very happy that I was actually in the mix, so to get the second call to let me know that I was actually in made me very happy and very emotional – and I was very emotional when I told my dad.

“My dad has done a lot for me to get my where I am, whether it’s taking me in the mornings to run, taking me to football training no matter how far it was – he was always going to do that. To be able to represent my country again at the age that I’m at, I know it’s going to mean a lot to him.”

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Asiata has been in the Samoan camp for over a week now as they prepare to face England in Wigan on Sunday, followed by the second and final Test in Leeds the following Saturday.

He and his family have already made the move from Leigh to Hull ahead of his high-profile move to the Black and Whites in 2025.

“I’ve moved already,” Asiata told Love Rugby League. “That’s one thing that I wanted to do was make sure that I settle the family in before I come into camp and I’ve done that.

“My wife and kids are living in Beverley and I’m missing my kids at the moment, especially my youngest one who is running around the house calling for dad and I’m not there, so the sacrifices, especially a lot of these boys who have kids, and to be away from your family for two weeks, you want to make sure that you come here and put your best foot forward to represent your country and family.”

Family and faith come before anything for Asiata, who wanted to represent both his Tongan and Samoa heritage at some stage throughout his career: to connect with his culture, identity and the blood that runs through his veins.

Asiata was born and raised in Australia to a Samoan father and a Tongan-Samoan mother.

“Representing your country is the pinnacle,” Asiata told Love Rugby League. “Playing clubland and playing well for your club is all well and good, but these ones are something else.

“It’s a different feeling that you get and to be able to represent where you are from, so to do it at the age I’m at and to do it in front of my kids, it doesn’t get any better than that. This is just setting the platform for those young kids out there and it’s very good to represent my family and kids.

“I’ve got three kids and they never miss a game. My two oldest have seen me represent Tonga and now they are going to represent Samoa. My youngest one that was born here – a Wigan baby – this is going to be his first rep team that he is going to see me represent so I can’t wait.

John Asiata representing his Tongan heritage against Samoa at the Nines World Cup in 2019

“Faith is number one. I don’t compromise anything for my faith. Faith comes first in everything because I believe in the higher power in God and I know he is the provider of everything that we do. We always have a plan as human beings, the plan that we think is right for us, but when God gets in the way, his plan is a lot better than ours, so I think for me, giving everything in my career to him actually landed me here.

“For me, I thought I was going to finish my career when I left after the Covid period but then the last three years have probably been the best three years of my career – not just the journey and experiences – but my rugby league has gone to another level. I’ve been able to learn a lot more about myself and my faith has been at the forefront of everything.

“Faith – not just for me but a lot of the boys in our team and our culture – it’s massive because once God closes the door, he is going to close the door for a reason and we don’t see that reason – but we’ve just got to believe and trust that what he is doing for the benefit of good.”

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Asiata last performed the Siva Tau in 2017 when he represented Samoa, and has since performed the Sipi Tau when lining up for Tonga in 2019: and his culture is something he is keen to pass onto the next generation of his family.

“It’s been a long time and the Siva Tau is now different to when I was playing,” Asiata added. “It’s different, but I’ve been practicing which is pretty cool.

“I’ve been doing it with my kids, showing them how I did it back then and then showing them it now. The kids are learning that slowly but I can’t wait to do it, that’s a very emotional part of the game and what we do and it just symbolises that we’re ready to go to war.”

Asiata pays tribute to his Leigh Leopards and Samoa team-mate Ricky Leutele

Ricky Leutele in action for Leigh Leopards in 2024

Asiata has been outspoken in his gratitude to Leigh for the love and support they have shown to him and his family over the last three years: and he made a special tribute to his Leopards team-mate Ricky Leutele, who could also make his first appearance in the blue jersey of Toa Samoa since 2017 this autumn.

“I’m very happy for Ricky,” Asiata said. “He had a big injury last year, a neck one, which you don’t muck around with.

“And I think he only missed one game this year, and the way he played the game this year was unbelievable. It was like a 21-year-old Ricky Leutele running around again!

“It’s a credit to what he’s done, he’s very professional and his experience for these young kids coming through is going to be what’s needed for our group.”

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