From the folks at Stuff.....
This paints a different picture than before..... A bit of damage control form the Warriors
Ali no show catalyst for sacking
25 April 2004
By RICHARD BECHT
Ali Lauitiiti's no show at a crisis meeting of senior Warriors was one of the last straws for the club, says Warriors boss Mick Watson.
The Warriors and Lauitiiti's connections are scheduled to meet tomorrow when a decision on his future may be reached.
Watson has revealed more of the reasons for the big second rower's anticipated exit.
Watson cited a key player meeting the enigmatic forward bypassed, his decision to involve player managers in his case and frustration from coach Daniel Anderson about Lauitiiti's attitude.
"I've been applying methodology to this (Lauitiiti's attitudes) for the last five weeks," he said.
"After the St George-Illawarra loss I had a Monday morning breakfast meeting at City Life hotel with Monty (Betham), Stacey (Jones) and Awen (Guttenbeil) and I invited Ali to come.
"On the morning of the meeting Ali rang Monty to tell him he had a headache. That was indicative.
"I said that at every turn of the corner I can't get this guy to commit to anything.
"I've always tried to have Ali involved in that senior group but it never seemed to work out."
Until last week, Lauitiiti didn't even have a personal manager.
He called in Peter Brown and Frank Endacott only after last Monday's meeting with Watson and Warriors general manager Spiro Tsiros when he learned the club was willing to let him go.
"On Wednesday Ali was saying he wanted a meeting at nine the next morning. Then that was off. I have no confidence there'll be a meeting on Monday. We'll just wait and see where it goes next," says Watson.
While coach Daniel Anderson was working with the Kiwis last week, Watson says he was fully involved.
"Daniel and I have spoken about this and it got to the stage where Daniel came to me asking: 'How do we get this guy to care?' Daniel was looking for me to figure out what Ali wanted to do."
Lauitiiti and his wife Janina have spent the weekend in retreat considering as many as 14 offers from Australian and English clubs.
But some of Lauitiiti's peers still hope he will remain at the Warriors, among the them former Warriors captain Stephen Kearney.
"I speak in all honesty when I say I can't see Ali playing for any other team," he said after the Kiwis' 10-37 Anzac test defeat in Newcastle on Friday night. "It would be sad to see him going anywhere else.
"He's a true blue Warrior and I know in his heart he wouldn't want to be playing against his boys. I'm quite certain it will be sorted out."
A theme of support for Lauitiiti also emerged from other players:
* Nigel Vagana: "Ali's a big boy. He can handle himself. He's got God on his side and if you're going to have someone on your side I think he'd be the one you'd want."
* Clinton Toopi: "We're behind him and hope he makes the right decision and hopefully he's going to be happy wherever he goes. His time's not up in the NRL and it would be a shame to see him go. We all love him."
* Lesley Vainikolo: "I couldn't believe it. Hopefully we'll see him in my team at Bradford. Anything could happen with it still. Hopefully the Warriors will give him the chance."
* Ivan Cleary: "No one can really believe it over here. It's obvious he's not happy and things aren't working behind the scenes."
This paints a different picture than before..... A bit of damage control form the Warriors
Ali no show catalyst for sacking
25 April 2004
By RICHARD BECHT
Ali Lauitiiti's no show at a crisis meeting of senior Warriors was one of the last straws for the club, says Warriors boss Mick Watson.
The Warriors and Lauitiiti's connections are scheduled to meet tomorrow when a decision on his future may be reached.
Watson has revealed more of the reasons for the big second rower's anticipated exit.
Watson cited a key player meeting the enigmatic forward bypassed, his decision to involve player managers in his case and frustration from coach Daniel Anderson about Lauitiiti's attitude.
"I've been applying methodology to this (Lauitiiti's attitudes) for the last five weeks," he said.
"After the St George-Illawarra loss I had a Monday morning breakfast meeting at City Life hotel with Monty (Betham), Stacey (Jones) and Awen (Guttenbeil) and I invited Ali to come.
"On the morning of the meeting Ali rang Monty to tell him he had a headache. That was indicative.
"I said that at every turn of the corner I can't get this guy to commit to anything.
"I've always tried to have Ali involved in that senior group but it never seemed to work out."
Until last week, Lauitiiti didn't even have a personal manager.
He called in Peter Brown and Frank Endacott only after last Monday's meeting with Watson and Warriors general manager Spiro Tsiros when he learned the club was willing to let him go.
"On Wednesday Ali was saying he wanted a meeting at nine the next morning. Then that was off. I have no confidence there'll be a meeting on Monday. We'll just wait and see where it goes next," says Watson.
While coach Daniel Anderson was working with the Kiwis last week, Watson says he was fully involved.
"Daniel and I have spoken about this and it got to the stage where Daniel came to me asking: 'How do we get this guy to care?' Daniel was looking for me to figure out what Ali wanted to do."
Lauitiiti and his wife Janina have spent the weekend in retreat considering as many as 14 offers from Australian and English clubs.
But some of Lauitiiti's peers still hope he will remain at the Warriors, among the them former Warriors captain Stephen Kearney.
"I speak in all honesty when I say I can't see Ali playing for any other team," he said after the Kiwis' 10-37 Anzac test defeat in Newcastle on Friday night. "It would be sad to see him going anywhere else.
"He's a true blue Warrior and I know in his heart he wouldn't want to be playing against his boys. I'm quite certain it will be sorted out."
A theme of support for Lauitiiti also emerged from other players:
* Nigel Vagana: "Ali's a big boy. He can handle himself. He's got God on his side and if you're going to have someone on your side I think he'd be the one you'd want."
* Clinton Toopi: "We're behind him and hope he makes the right decision and hopefully he's going to be happy wherever he goes. His time's not up in the NRL and it would be a shame to see him go. We all love him."
* Lesley Vainikolo: "I couldn't believe it. Hopefully we'll see him in my team at Bradford. Anything could happen with it still. Hopefully the Warriors will give him the chance."
* Ivan Cleary: "No one can really believe it over here. It's obvious he's not happy and things aren't working behind the scenes."
