sally cinnamon wrote:Lauiti'iti was a great example of a momentum signing, when a team who is already good brings in a player who completely fits in the way the team plays and separates them from other teams.
I lived up in Leeds at the time and used to go to quite a few Leeds games. They were unbelievably positive. Sinfield used to turn down easy shots at goal to tap and run penalties. Tried to offload in every situation. Lauiti'iti was probably the best offloader in the game at the time.
I remember going to a Wire game at Headingley in early 2005. We were a good team then, improving fast in our peak year under Cullen, but they completely outclassed us. Probably the best performance I've ever seen against a Wire team, including some of the great Wigan teams of the past. We couldn't tackle them! Every time we had them wrapped up the ball came out. Lauiti'iti was unbelievable for about the first 18 months after they signed him. Still a decent player after that but he was unplayable in that side when it was at its peak. They lost 2 finals that year and the year after we knocked them out of the playoffs at Headingley with a Briers drop goal, and they reined in some of the cavalier stuff after that and became more efficient and Saints-like. But those early Tony Smith Leeds teams with Lauiti'iti at his peak were something special in SL and about 10 leagues ahead of anything we have seen in Super League recently.
Super league peaked around this period. Saints in around 2003 were amazing to watch, Bradford just before and after were superb. Wigan were too, with lots of good kids in the Mike Greg team, then the Trent Barrett year. Those four clubs were pillars of the competition. Players like Lyon, Vianakolo and Barrett coming over when they were at representative level, and playing like they deserve to play representative games too.
