Ali Lauitiiti, one of Mt Smart's favourite sons, will return to the Warriors for the 2016 season. This shouldn't come as too much of a surprise as Lauitiiti had already voiced his desire to return to Auckland after he finished a rather glittering career in England.

With Lauitiiti signing a second-tier contract, neither party has to worry about any pressures that usually surround new recruits. With that in mind, it's hard not to view this as a great deal for the Warriors, following on from other smart business moves over the past year.

Lauitiiti won't be expected to do too much in the NRL. In Simon Mannering, Bodene Thompson and Ryan Hoffman the Warriors have three 80 minute back-row forwards who form one of the best starting back-row groups in the competition. There could be room for Lauitiiti on the bench, although the Warriors also have an exciting crop of young forwards who are coming off career-best/their first NRL seasons. Sam Lisone, Albert Vete and Charlie Gubb should make for an aggressive, skillful and mobile bench along with Thomas Leuluai. That doesn't leave much room for big Ali - which is why he is on a second-tier contract. This isn't about bringing in another superstar (as Ali once was).

Regardless of whether Lauitiiti plays more than 10 games or not, there are many other benefits to welcoming Lauitiiti back on board. Just like the Blake Ayshford signing (and the Jonathan Wright signing before that), Lauitiiti will offer experienced depth. The Warriors have generally had to rely on young players to fill in for injured or suspended players but now they have a crop of players who have seen and experienced so much more. Throw in the leadership and role model factor that Lauitiiti offers and that's where the benefit of this lies. Many of the younger players will consider Lauitiiti a hero of theirs and Lauitiiti, full of wisdom gained in a long English Super League career, will undoubtedly pass his knowledge on.

Jim Doyle has put an emphatic stamp on the Warriors since he took over and the signing of Lauitiiti is just another example of Doyle making smart moves in the player market.