John Asiata will only change if ordered to after ‘out of control’ claim

JOHN Asiata insists he will only change the way he tackles if he is told to after being branded ‘out of control.’

The Leigh skipper was blasted by St Helens coach Paul Wellens after being involved in challenges that ended the seasons of Alex Walmsley and Agnatius Paasi.

John Asiata is adamant he will only change his style if rugby league bosses order him to, despite claims he was ‘out of control’ after St Helens’ Alex Walmsley’s season was ended..SWPIX.COM

But despite the furore surrounding him allegedly going for opponents’ knees, he was cleared by the Rugby Football League’s match review panel.

And he will stick to what he knows until he is told otherwise.

Asiata said: “To me, I don’t think I did anything wrong. I’m just the type of player who puts his body on the line.

“Obviously, I feel for those players but it’s not in my character to say, ‘I’m going to go and injure that guy.’ It’s not who I am.

“I reached out to Agnatius and I feel really bad about the circumstances my tackle led to but it’s the way I play the game and I’ll do whatever it takes for the team.

“As a coach, Paul was just supporting his players. They may change the rules next year around what tackling is going to look like. If that happens, I’ll have to adjust the way I tackle.

“But I never doubted myself, it’s just the way I tackle.”

Asiata leads the Leopards to their first Challenge Cup final since 1971 on Saturday against Hull KR and Wembley will be a new experience for him.

So new, he only saw it for the first time as he travelled on the coach to Sunday’s Super League clash at Leeds, in which there was no thinking about steering clear of challenges to make sure he was fit.

The 30-year-old added: “On the bus we saw the Arsenal v Manchester City game at Wembley and it looked unreal but I haven’t watched any Challenge Cup finals.

Asiata will lead Leigh at Wembley – after only seeing it for the first time at the weekendSWPIX.COM

“That was the first time I ever saw Wembley, even on TV. It was also the first time I heard what it could sound like too.

“And when you start to think about things like ‘avoid injury, avoid a head knock, avoid trouble with the ref’, those things happen. I’m the type of player who just goes hard every game.

“I really believe in things happening for a reason and you can’t prevent them unless you really try not to do that sort of thing.

“And if I believe something, I stick with it 100 per cent. It’s the way I live my life.”