Daejarn Asi (born 15 August 2000) is a Samoa international rugby league footballer who plays as a halfback, five-eighth or centre for the Castleford Tigers in the Super League.
Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | 15 August 2000 Christchurch, New Zealand | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 186 cm (6 ft 1 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 97 kg (15 st 4 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Halfback, Five-eighth, Centre | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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As of 7 October 2024 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
He has previously played for the North Queensland Cowboys, the New Zealand Warriors and the Parramatta Eels in the NRL. He has also played for the New Zealand Māori at representative level.
Background
editBorn in Christchurch, New Zealand, Asi is of Samoan (Solosolo and Afega), Māori (Ngāi Tahu and Tuhoe) and English descent. He played his junior rugby league for the Aranui Eagles before moving to Australia.[3]
In Australia, he played his junior rugby league for the Nerang Roosters and Ormeau Shearers. Asi attended Keebra Park State High School and later Brisbane Grammar School before being signed by the North Queensland Cowboys.[4][5][6]
Playing career
editEarly career
editIn 2016, Asi played for Gold Coast Green in the Cyril Connell Cup.[7] In 2018, he played for the Norths Devils in the Mal Meninga Cup.[8]
In 2019, Asi moved to Townsville, where he played for the Townsville Blackhawks in the Hastings Deering Colts. Later that season, he made his debut for the Blackhawks' Queensland Cup side.[9]
2020
editIn January, Asi was a member of the Queensland under-20 Emerging Origin squad.[10] In February, he re-signed with the Cowboys on a three-year deal.[11]
In Round 10 of the 2020 NRL season, Asi made his NRL debut, starting at five-eighth and scoring a try against the Penrith Panthers.[12] Asi played five games in his rookie season, missing time due to minor knee injuries.[13]
2021
editOn 20 February, Asi represented the Māori All Stars, coming off the bench in their 10-all draw with the Indigenous All Stars.[14]
Asi began the 2021 season playing for the Blackhawks before making a mid-season switch to the Mackay Cutters.[15] He returned to first grade in Round 17, starting at fullback in a loss to the 46–18 loss to the South Sydney Rabbitohs.[16]
He played five games for the Cowboys in 2021, starting three at centre.[17]
2022
editIn 2022, Asi joined the New Zealand Warriors. He played his first game for the Warriors in round 8 of the 2022 NRL season. Asi made a total of eight appearances for the New Zealand club as they finished 15th on the table. On 6 September, he was released by the New Zealand Warriors.[18]
In November, Asi signed a contract to join Parramatta for the 2023 season.[19]
2023
editIn round 15 of the 2023 NRL season, Asi made his club debut for Parramatta in their 32-12 victory over arch-rivals Canterbury.[20] He played a total of ten matches for Parramatta in the 2023 NRL season as the club finished 10th on the table.[21]
2024
editIn round 6 of the 2024 NRL season, Asi was called into the Parramatta team for their match against North Queensland. He scored his first try for the Eels and kicked a field goal in the clubs 27–20 victory.[22] Asi made a total of 14 appearances for the club filling in for the injured Mitchell Moses as they finished 15th on the table.[23] On 11 September, it was announced that Asi would be departing the Parramatta club after not being offered a new contract.[24]
In September, Asi was linked with a move to the Castleford Tigers in the Super League,[25][26] who were looking to replace departing halfback Jacob Miller.[27] On 30 October, Castleford announced Asi would join from 2025 on a two-year contract.[28][29]
Career statistics
editClub
edit| Club | Season | Tier | App | T | G | DG | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | NRL | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | |
| 2021 | NRL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Total | 10 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2022 | NRL | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 8 | |
| 2023 | NRL | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2024 | NRL | 14 | 3 | 17 | 1 | 47 | |
| Total | 24 | 3 | 17 | 1 | 47 | ||
| 2025 | Super League | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Career total | 42 | 6 | 17 | 1 | 59 | ||
- As of match played 19 September 2024[1]
References
edit- ^ a b "Daejarn Asi - Playing Career". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
- ^ "Player Summary: Daejarn Asi". Rugby League Records. Rugby League Record Keepers Club. Retrieved 12 November 2024.
- ^ "Red and Black Report 2019: Edition No. 1". Canterbury Rugby League. 18 March 2019.
- ^ "Round 4 Senior Wrap". Keebra Park Rugby League. 11 June 2016.
- ^ "Brisbane Grammar School season preview". The Courier Mail. 13 July 2019.
- ^ "Cowboys young gun Daejarn Asi gets his chance". The Townsville Bulletin. 22 February 2020.
- ^ "Weekend Results". Easts Tigers. 11 April 2016.
- ^ "Mal Meninga Cup state final teams". QRL. 1 May 2018.
- ^ "Blackhawks fall short against high-flying Falcons". Townsville Blackhawks. 20 August 2019.
- ^ "Cowboys named in 2020 Qld U20s Emerging Origin squad". NQ Cowboys. 22 December 2019.
- ^ "Team list:Trial v Broncos". NQ Cowboys. 19 February 2020.
- ^ "NRL team list: Round 10 v Penrith". NQ Cowboys. 14 July 2020.
- ^ "Updated team list: Round 20 v Brisbane". NQ Cowboys. 23 September 2020.
- ^ "Greig gets late call-up for Maori All-Stars". NQ Cowboys. 20 February 2021.
- ^ "Mackay Cutters star Daejarn Asi to return to NRL against Rabbitohs". The Courier Mail. 8 July 2021.
- ^ "Origin players unavailable, half the competition on bye". The Daily Telegraph. 6 July 2021.
- ^ "Cowboys updated team list: Round 25 v Sea Eagles". NQ Cowboys. 3 September 2021.
- ^ "Warriors farewell 15 players after return to New Zealand". www.foxsports.com.au.
- ^ "Cowboys hand PNG young gun NRL audition; luckless hooker's Manly lifeline: Transfer Centre". www.foxsports.com.au.
- ^ "Moses nails Origin audition with 'absolute clinic' as 'King' Gutho bags hat-trick in Eels stunner". www.foxsports.com.au.
- ^ "NRL 2023: Parramatta Eels season review". www.sportingnews.com.
- ^ "New halves a 'perfect fit' as energetic Eels seal much-needed win: What we learned". www.foxsports.com.au.
- ^ "The Mole's end of season review: What went wrong at the Parramatta Eels?". www.nine.com.au.
- ^ "Eels farewell departing players". www.parraeels.com.au.
- ^ Shaw, Matthew (11 September 2024). "Castleford Tigers chase Parramatta Eels halfback in significant recruitment move". Yorkshire Live. Retrieved 25 September 2024.
- ^ Bower, Aaron (11 September 2024). "Castleford Tigers target Parramatta Eels half-back as part of 2025 squad plans". Love Rugby League. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
- ^ Harber, Tony (1 October 2024). "Castleford Tigers closing in on half-back signing with Jacob Miller making way for overseas recruit". Wakefield Express. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
- ^ "Castleford sign Parramatta Eels back Asi". BBC Sport. 30 October 2024. Retrieved 30 October 2024.
- ^ Walker, Callum (30 October 2024). "Castleford Tigers make their second signing for the 2025 Super League season with capture of Parramatta Eels halfback Daejarn Asi". TotalRL. Retrieved 30 October 2024.