You don’t have to spend long with John Asiata to know that this is a different kettle of fish for Hull FC. The ball-playing loose forward may be bringing a whole new dimension to the side in how he shapes up, but it’s his experience and leadership qualities that are truly craved.
That is what the Black and Whites have been determined to add to their squad with their 2025 recruitment, and in Asiata, they’ve got it. This is a player, one of the best in the competition, who has been there and done that.
In Australia, he was part of North Queensland Cowboys’ 2015 NRL Premiership side. At Leigh Leopards, he captained the club to Challenge Cup victory in 2023. Last year, it was no conicidence the Leythers turned for the better when Asiata returned from injury, and it’s that sort of impact he’s now hoping to bring to the Black and Whites.
“My big goal is to make sure that I’m a leader of the club,” Asiata told Hull Live. “I want to make sure that the relationship and the bond within the group are really strong. If we have that connection and if we do the one percent stuff and make the hard yards in a game, then when things get tough, we’ll be there for each other, and we will get better.
“I want to make sure that I lead with my actions and lead with the way that I train. I just want to be who I am and play the game of footy that I know I can play. I want to help the young boys develop as well; we’ll be at a point where, if there are injuries, people will need to step up, and we need to make sure that those next in line are ready to go when the time comes. My goal is to make sure, as a group, that we’re bonded as one and we’re all aiming for the same goal.”
He continued: “For me, my game doesn’t change; it’s about hard work, and it’s about talk. I love to talk. You might hear me on the field directing; that’s what I like to do. I’ve always done that in my career, and I love to have the ball in my hands, organising stuff. That’s my job now as a loose forward: talking to Aidan Sezer and our halves, understanding what they want and what they need.
“As a middle, I try to control that ruck and ensure that we get to our points so we can give our outside backs the best possible chance to be in a position to score tries. For me, it’s just being a voice for the middles to connect us and be the glue through the middle that holds everything together.
“I just want to be a voice for the players if there’s anyone within the group that we need to improve on. I’m an open book, just like Sezer is, and we both just want to make sure that we’re all striving to get better each and every day, and when it comes to game time, put our best foot forward.”
Aiming to do exactly that in training, Hull have been gelling this pre-season with a focus on skill. While fitness is a huge component of John Cartwright’s side, the way they shape up is equally so. That has seen the Asaita and the like build up cohesion and connections, but most importantly, understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses. For the 31-year-old, who is in good nick and gearing up for February’s season start, this is where his leadership truly shows.
“That’s been a big focus, especially with a new team and a lot of new faces throughout the club,” he explained. “Pre-season is where you can nail down your practice without the competition of the games and where you can build your foundation of hard work and what we want to focus on throughout the year, but also how we want to play as a team.
“The way we do that is that we understand each other and what everyone’s attributes are and then work with their skills and make sure that we build a balance in the squad and an understanding of who does what well and who doesn’t do what really well. What we need to do is build up parts of each other’s games and help each other develop those areas and help in that way.
“For myself, I’ve been around the game for so long, but there are a lot of things as a player, and there are new goals that I want to tick off to make sure that every year I’m getting better. At my age, I’m trying to pass that down to the younger boys and help them develop as well.”
He added: “It’s all been pretty good so far. The transition has been pretty smooth, moving over to Beverley and then starting with the club after the internationals. I did about four weeks of pre-season with the boys; it’s been pretty good. Pre-season is pre-season, and it’s very hard, no matter how many years you’ve done it, but it’s been good to get among the boys and build some relationships.
“The intensity has picked up since we’ve been back (after Christmas). The contact and everything have picked up a lot more now, and we’re getting closer to the games. The boys understand that the games are just around the corner; some of our young players were pretty devastated that Sunday’s game was called off, so last Friday’s session was pretty solid. The boys were ripping in and making sure that the intensity and the work ethic that we want to do are up to scratch, but yeah man, the games are just around the corner now, and everyone is getting excited.”
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