After appearing in all 28-games of the 2017 campaign, the injury bug bit John Asiata in 2018.

The skillful forward suffered a torn pec against the Titans in Round 7, but astonishingly was able to return in less than three months and missed just nine games.

Asiata provided an immediate boost to the Cowboys forward pack upon making his return against Canberra in Round 18.

Head coach Paul Green thrust the 25-year-old straight into the starting side, with his slick ball-playing adding a new dimension to the Cowboys attack.

Following his Round 18 return, Asiata spent three weeks in the starting side before reverting to the bench following the returns of star props Jordan McLean and Matt Scott in Round 20.

The 2015 premiership-winner saved arguably his best game for one of the biggest games of the season.

After starting from the interchange in Johnathan Thurston's last game at 1300SMILES Stadium against Parramatta in Round 24, Asiata finished with four tackle-breaks, a try assist, a line-break assist, 79 running metres and 16 tackles.

Aside from the drop in games played, Asiata's 2018 numbers were on par with the previous season, with his average running metres slightly down and average tackles increasing by one.

2018 STATS:

Played: 15

Average runs: 9

Average run metres: 74

Average tackles: 20

Tries: 0

Try assists: 3