Profile:

Lauitiiti played for the Mangere East club in 1996 and made impressive performances as a junior in their U19 side in 1997 scoring 17 tries in 19 games. He went on to gain international honours with the Junior Kiwis that year, and again in 1998. He signed with Auckland at the age of 19 and spent three seasons at the club scoring 18 tries in 47 games. He then moved to the New Zealand Warriors senior team where he spent four seasons playing 68 games and scoring 15 tries.

In 2004 Lauitiiti made the switch to Super League and signed with Leeds Rhinos. He made his debut with the club in round 12 of the 2004 season in the Rhinos’ 34-6 win over Salford City Reds. He scored his first try for the club the following week against Bradford Bulls. He went on to score a further eight tries in another 17 appearances for the club in his first season.

Lauitiiti became a fan favourite and first team regular at Leeds and featured in the 2005 Grand Final which saw Leeds lose to Bradford Bulls 15-6. He went on to feature in Grand Final wins for the Rhinos in 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011. He also featured in World Club Challenge wins against Canterbury Bulldogs and Melbourne Storm in 2005 and 2008 respectively. 

In total, Lauitiiti scored 232 points in 181 games for the Leeds Rhinos and featured in 129 victories across his seven seasons at the club, giving him an overall win percentage of 71%.

In August 2011 it was announced that Super League XVI would be Lauitiiti’s last at the Rhinos. The Samoan International signed a two year deal with Wakefield on 10th August.

Lauitiiti has represented the New Zealand national side 18 times and has scored seven tries for the country. He made his International debut at the age of 21 in an 84-10 win over the Cook Islands on November 2nd 2000. He has also featured for Samoa in four matches since 2008. He has never scored for Samoa but featured in wins against Tonga and France in the 2008 World Cup Qualifiers.

Recent Games Played