Change of scene possible for Lauitiiti after 2011 season

The 32-year-old former New Zealand international will be out of contract with the Challenge Cup semi-finalists at the end of the season and admits a move to French rugby union could be a possibility.

“I only played it at school but I don’t mind giving it a go,” he said.

“Where I’m from, rugby union is the main game. I’m not too sure what’s going to happen. It’s up in the air. I could still be at Leeds or somewhere else. Hopefully, I’ll know in the next couple of weeks.

“I’ll go wherever I can get a job.”

Lauitiiti, who is in his eighth season with the Rhinos, played in all three of the Rhinos’ consecutive Grand Final triumphs from 2007-09 but has yet to experience a Challenge Cup victory and was a spectator at Wembley last August when they lost 30-6 to Warrington.

Despite his vast experience, the former Auckland Warrior was one of the unlucky players left out of coach Brian McClennan’s final line-up but he took the disappointment on the chin.

“It’s part of rugby, you’ve got to take the bad with the good,” he said. “I was just happy for the boys getting there.

“I got injured and wasn’t playing that well at the time. I think other guys deserved it more than me.”

Lauitiiti played in Leeds’s quarter-final win over Hull but will not be taking his place in Sunday’s semi-final against Castleford at Doncaster’s Keepmoat Stadium for granted.

“There’s heaps of young guys coming through, pushing their way into the first grade, which is a good thing,” he said. “It’s a healthy environment.”

Bradford Bulls will play out the rest of the season without an experienced hooker after Matt Diskin was told he needs to undergo shoulder surgery.

Diskin, 29, who has played in all 23 Super League games since joining the Bulls from Leeds, had been playing through the pain barrier since June.

The blow comes two months after the club’s other specialist hooker Heath L’Estrange had his season ended prematurely by ruptured knee ligaments, and is likely to give another opportunity to teenager Adam O’Brien, who made his Super League debut against Huddersfield in March.

Diskin will undergo surgery on Friday and is expected to start pre-season training in November.

Super League have signed a new £90m deal which will allow Sky Sports to screen live matches until the end of 2016. It represents a 12 per cent increase on the existing agreement.