Leigh captain John Asiata says his side are reaping the rewards for their towering self-belief after sinking Hull KR on golden point to claim their first Betfred Challenge Cup in 52 years at Wembley.

The 30-year-old has been a mainstay of the club's stunning transition from second-tier hopefuls to top-flight title winners since his surprise switch from Australia's lucrative NRL in December 2021.

Asiata was the first to admit there were times he questioned the wisdom of his decision, with his side almost unanimously tipped to struggle in their first season back in Super League.

But Asiata reflected: "Throughout pre-season we did a lot of hard work building on the attitude and belief in our group, and no matter what the expectation was from the outside it was what we believed within us.

"We set a goal that we wanted to be involved in these big games, and this year we ticked each box as they went by. Every week we improved and improved and change people's minds with what they think of us and what we can do on the field.

"We looked at ourselves and said, we can do something big here, as long as we're strong mentally and continue to learn. We understood that these moments don't come along that often, and this could either be our last one or the first of many."

Asiata is no stranger to the drama of a golden-point final win having played for North Queensland Cowboys in their 2016 win over Brisbane Broncos at the ANZ Stadium.

And Asiata admitted he immediately drew comparisons with Johnathan Thurston's winner in that game when team-mate Lachlan Lam let fly with the kick that sealed Leigh's first Challenge Cup triumph since 1971.

"It was a big flashback when Lachlan actually kicked the ball because I remember when Johnathan Thurston kicked it, the way he dropped the ball was on an angle and the way it flew over the posts was just exactly the same to how Lachlan did it," said Asiata.

"It's just an amazing feeling and a lot of emotion has gone out there. This is up there with the lot of them."