League: Northern exposure benefits Lauiti'iti

There appears to be something different about Ali Lauiti'iti. He might be a year older and has picked up a few unusual traits since relocating to the UK but it's what you can't see that's more remarkable.

Once known as one of the quietest members of any squad, petrified of drawing attention to himself anywhere other than on the field, the 26-year-old rose to his feet at a Kiwis meeting last week and addressed his team-mates.

"It blew me away," skipper Ruben Wiki exclaimed. "He came into camp and he's not usually a man of many words but he got us all fired up."

One of the reasons for his apparent maturity as a player and a person is the fact Lauiti'iti was taken out of his comfort zone, as he likes to call it, in Auckland with the Warriors and had to adjust to life away from his family on the other side of the world.

He had just left the Warriors under a cloud of controversy midway through the 2004 season and settled on Leeds after as many as 14 clubs came chasing the signature of the barnstorming second-rower.

"I have no regrets about what happened," Lauiti'iti explained about his sudden departure from the Warriors. "I wouldn't have minded finishing off the season at the time because my heart was with the Warriors but I think everything happens for a reason and the change has been good for me as a player, father and as a husband.

"It's different living here in the UK because I'm normally a home boy but it's taken me out of my comfort zone - although, to me, England is just like New Zealand without the Polynesians."

Lauiti'iti has had a curious reputation over the past 18 months, opting out of the opening two tests in the 2005 version of the Tri-Nations, preferring to travel to the US to visit his wife's family instead. It called into question his commitment to the cause and also brought back into the spotlight Lauiti'iti's troubled relationship with former Kiwis coach Daniel Anderson.

There was no question he would join up with the Kiwis squad for the 2006 campaign once his Super League commitments were out of the way, however, and he's expected to add another dimension to the squad considering he's rated as one of the game's best second-rowers.

Coach Brian McClennan was salivating this week about letting his damaging weapon loose on Great Britain this morning. "He has pure athleticism," McClennan enthused. "If he wasn't playing league he would be a good basketball player. He's not afraid to try things and has really good speed for a big man."

This was no better exemplified than when he scored a crucial try in the defeat of St Helens to help Leeds qualify for the Super League grand final, after scampering almost the entire length of the field.

Speculation mounted earlier this season Lauiti'iti would soon be back playing in the NRL, this time with the Gold Coast, who begin their journey into the NRL in 2007. But the genial giant laughed about the subject. "I didn't have talks with anyone," he said dismissively. "I like it in the north of England and I've just signed another two-year deal so I'll be here for another three years."

In that time his craving for island food and New Zealand chocolate might be enough of a lure to tempt him home. By then he might be almost unrecognisable - on the inside that is.

- HERALD ON SUNDAY