Why I would bring Ali Lauiti'iti and Motu Tony back to the New Zealand Warriors by warriors4life
[1,882 words]
Since the Warriors formed in 1995, players have left the club to pursue a new career (and more money) in the English Super League. Many prominent Warriors players have taken this path including Stacey Jones, Ali Lauiti’iti, Francis Meli, Motu Tony, Henry Fa’afili, Vinnie Anderson, Robbie Paul, Henry Paul, Shontayne Hape and Joe Vagana. These players have had their fair share of games in the Kiwis jersey, but have left holes in the Warriors team. Two players that have been very immense losses for the playing roster are Ali Lauiti’iti and Motu Tony. I will speak on the importance of these two players in their time at the club and why I would bring them back to the Warriors.
He is the Michael Jordan of rugby league. Once rated the best second rower in the world. A brilliant player with skill to burn. Yes, of course, I am speaking about Ali Lauiti’iti. During the 2002 season he was the driving force behind the Warriors success, with his brilliant ball skills, offloading in impossible situations and the pace of a back. King Ali was at home at the fortress of Ericsson. In the Warriors first finals game of 2002 when Canberra came to Auckland Lauiti’iti started on the bench as an impact player. He entered the match with the scores close and within 30 seconds of coming on, and his first touch of the ball, scored a magnificent try, before saluting to the heavens. King Ali was a fan favourite and brought plenty of crowd support to Ericsson Stadium on game day. His name (and Stacey Jones) was synonymous with the Warriors and he pushed the club to their first Grand Final ever, an achievement no Warriors fan would ever forget.
In 2003 he missed a lot of the season with injury but in 2004 he struck a hole in his rugby league path. The Warriors got off to a horror start and players that were not putting in the required amount of effort were bandied about. King Ali was one of them. Mick Watson called Stacey Jones and other senior members of the Warriors into the office and showed them a list of Lauiti’iti’s priorities in life. They were listed in this order: friends, family, faith, football. Watson also said that Lauiti’iti did not care if he got a premiership ring or not. Even though Stacey Jones said that he did not mind about Lauiti’iti’s priorities, Ali was released shortly after the meeting and following a race to get his signature on a contract by many clubs, the Leeds Rhinos were victorious.
Now, 2 years later, with the Warriors off to a 2-4 start and on 0 points on the premiership ladder I believe that it is vital for the Warriors to sign Ali back to the playing roster. The reason I think this is because of the achievements on and off the field that he has done since the Warriors released him in 2004. After Lauiti’iti was released and played out the year for the Leeds Rhinos he was named in the top Super League team and was acclaimed by many critics, saying that he was the reason that the Rhinos won the premiership that year. A stellar year in the Super League was backed up by selection for the Kiwis, although they did finish in third place in the Tri-Nations.
When interviewed Lauiti’iti still called New Zealand his home and would welcome the chance to play for the Warriors again, stating that they would always be his favourite club. In 2005 another great year for Ali, being named in the top Super League team once again, was capped off by another Tri-Nations in which the underdog Kiwis emerged victorious.
The reason that Ali Lauiti’iti was sent on his way was always a contentious topic. Stacey Jones stated in his recent book “Kiwi Warrior†that Daniel Anderson had a go at some of the players, particularly Lauiti’iti, and Jones felt like walking out of the club there and then. Anderson was obviously frustrated with the sub-par start to the season, as many players were, and took his anger out on the players and Tony Kemp, who he did not speak to for many days after a loss. However, Anderson did pick Lauiti’iti for the Kiwis tour at the end of 2004.
I would bring Ali Lauiti’iti back to the New Zealand Warriors for many reasons. Not only does he call the Warriors his club, but he is exactly the player we need, not only for his scintillating play, but also because he was a fan favourite. People would come along to the Warriors games at Ericsson to see this revolutionary player, the Michael Jordan of rugby league as he was called. Today, in 2006, our back-row is hardly fearsome, consisting of Louis Anderson, Wairangi Koopu, Awen Guttenbeil and Micheal Luck coming off the bench. While these players are workhorses and do more than their share of hitups and tackles, they do not possess the explosiveness and ball skills of Ali Lauiti’iti. In the present the Warriors are in desperate need of a ball-playing forward, and while many people expected Sione Faumuina to fill that role, he has since switched to five/eighth.
Lauiti’iti was able to make metres, offload, mesmerise the defence with his ploy of the ball in one hand, had good speed and best of all could score tries, the statistics showing that he scored 1 try every 3 or 4 games (33 tries in 115 games), where the average second-rower scores 1 try about every 10 games. Lauiti’iti is also a great impact player, being able to come off the bench when the defence is worn down a bit and create havoc. He is exactly what we need for today’s Warriors back-row, a ball-playing forward. Having Lauiti’iti in the second row would allow a player like Awen Guttenbeil or Louis Anderson to drop to the bench, and then make his mark midway through the game.
Lauiti’iti would not only be brilliant talent wise for the Warriors, but he would also bring fans along to watch him. He is a revolutionary player with enough skill to get people along to the games in hope of him delivering an exceptional performance. This is important, as over the past couple of years the Warriors home game crowds have been dwindling, due to poor and inconsistent results.
These reasons prove that Ali Lauiti’iti should be bought back to the New Zealand Warriors.
2002. The New Zealand Warriors defining year. Against all odds they emerged minor premiers and after defeating the Canberra Raiders 36-20 in the first week of the playoffs a week off led to the preliminary final against the Cronulla Sharks. While the most memorable play of the match for many was the late try to John Carlaw off a Stacey Jones grubber, a lot of people overlook the defining moment of the game, which broke the deadlock and put the battle in the Warriors favour. 0-0. A Sharks player retrieves the ball from his own goal line and returns it up the field before being met in the tackle by Motu Tony. Tony then strips the ball and sprints to the line, scoring in the corner, before Ivan Cleary converted from the sideline. This led to a 16-10 victory by the Warriors, and their first Grand Final ever. No Warriors fan will ever forget that.
Motu Tony was a brilliant player for the Warriors in his time at the club. While there he played several positions including five/eighth, fullback and hooker. He scored 23 tries in 55 games at the club, an impressive strike rate for a player who is not an outside back and not always having scoring opportunities. He tailed off the Warriors radar during the 2003 season, after Thomas Leuluai wrapped up the number 6 jersey and Brent Webb was injected into the fullback position. But during the finals for the 2003 season he was prominent when the Warriors destroyed the Canterbury Bulldogs in the first week 48-22, after the Bulldogs had been one of the form teams for the season. He then signed with the Brisbane Broncos but promptly left and went to the English Super League.. After good play in England he was selected for the 2004 Tri-Nations, but pulled out early because his wife was having a baby. In 2005 Lance Hohaia was injured in the first game against Australia and Motu Tony was picked by Brian McClennan to take over at hooker. He played brilliantly in tandem with David Faiumu on the bench against the Kangaroos and the Great Britain Lions and consequently the Kiwis won the 2005 Tri-Nations.
I would bring Motu Tony back to the Warriors for many reasons. He is a great utility player who can cover many roles including fullback, five/eighth, halfback and hooker. Besides Grant Rovelli there are no other players who can cover all these roles, and Motu Tony has the skill and experience to be a fantastic starting or bench player at the Warriors. He can play at hooker and take the pressure off Lance Hohaia or could fill in at five/eighth and halfback and allow Nathan Fien, Sione Faumuina and Jerome Ropati to have a break. Since leaving the Warriors, Tony has excelled in the Super League, which is why he has been chosen to play for the Kiwis two years in succession. He has experience and skill to turn the Warriors into a great attacking team, and actually try to create something on the 4th tackle, rather than just hitting the ball up another 7 or 8 metres.
Motu Tony has improved as a player since leaving the club, and would not be adverse to returning to his home country and playing for the Warriors.
For these reasons I would bring both Ali Lauiti’iti and Motu Tony back to the New Zealand Warriors. Ali Lauiti’iti is hungry to come back to New Zealand and play for the Warriors, has had a couple of years in the English Super League to freshen him up and along the way has been the driving force behind the success of the Leeds Rhinos, is a ball-playing forward, which is exactly what the Warriors need, has the skill and the speed to turn the Warriors into a great attacking team and can bring fans to the game, and bolster the Warriors dwindling crowds. Ali Lauiti’iti is a revolutionary player, the Michael Jordan of rugby league, once regarded as the best second-rower in the world, and the Warriors would be foolish not to sign him if he was available and wanted to come back to the club. Motu Tony, since leaving the New Zealand Warriors at the end of 2003, has improved as a player, consequently leading to a call up for the New Zealand Kiwis in successive years. He has played extremely well when given the chance and is exactly the type of player the Warriors need, a utility player who can spark a team on the 4th or 5th tackle. From all of what I have stated above I trust that I have proved that if two ex-Warriors had to be bought back to the club from the English Super League, Ali Lauiti’iti and Motu Tony would be resigned.
