Lauitiiti signs for NZ Warriors

New Zealand Warriors have confirmed that Ali Lauitiiti has signed a one-year second-tier deal to play for the club in 2016.

The Auckland club was where Lauitiiti began his career 16 years ago, and he has moved his family back to New Zealand to settle down.

“For Ali this is a chance to come back to where it all began,” said Tony Iro, the Warriors’ recruitment and development manager.

“With his depth of experience he has so much to offer us as a leader and mentor both on and off the field.

“In realigning our squad our goal was to retain and recruit quality players while also ensuring we had a strong blend of experience throughout the wider group.

“While Ali is 36 now we saw he still has his range of skills when he played for Leeds against the Kiwis a few weeks ago.”

Although Lauitiiti has not signed for the club’s NRL side, he is delighted to have the chance to head back home.

“As a family we’re excited about heading home after being away so long,” he said.

“For me it couldn’t be better being given this chance to come back to the Warriors. I left a long time ago but the club has always been really special to me.

“While I’ve kept training I’ll have some catching up to do once I join the boys for training but I want to do all I can to help the coaching staff, the team and the club in any way I can.”