Born in Ingham, Queensland, Spina was a stand-out player during his junior years in the Herbert River local competition.
Queensland captain Wally Lewis later said both he and coach Wayne Bennett had supported Spina,[4] but he was sensationally left out of the Maroons' team for the series and never went on to play a game for them.
At the end of the season, aged just 27, Spina returned to north Queensland to play for his former club, Herbert River.
In 1995, at age 31, Spina returned to first grade, being named the inaugural captain of the newly introduced North Queensland Cowboys in the Australian Rugby League competition.
Since 1996, the Laurie Spina Shield, a two-day carnival featuring a number of under-11 sides from around Australia, has been contested in Townsville.