25 June 2024
As seen on yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk
Ali Lauitiiti alongside three other Leeds Rhinos legends were inducted into the club’s Hall of Fame.
Five-time Grand Final winner Lauitiiti flew from New Zealand to attend the Leeds Rhinos game against Leigh Leopards and a special lunch at AMT Headingley yesterday.
A ball-handling back-rower, Lauitiiti joined Rhinos midway through the 2004 season and was the final piece in their first Grand Final-winning jigsaw. One of the greats of the modern era, he was big and fast, with an offload which was almost impossible to defend.
In eight seasons with Leeds he was a Super League winner five times – making his 200th and last appearance when St Helen were beaten at Wembley in 2011 – and World Club champion twice. A junior Kiwi, he played for Mangere Easts and New Zealand Warriors and was an NRL second-rower of the year before joining Leeds. He was capped 19 times by New Zealand and featured for Samoa at the 2008 World Cup.
After leaving Rhinos he made almost 100 appearances for Wakefield Trinity. He is now chaplain at New Zealand Warriors, where he finished his career as a reserve-grade player in 2016.
