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Brad Fittler

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Brad Fittler
Fittler in 2013
Personal information
Full nameBradley Scott Fittler
Born(1972-02-05)5 February 1972(age 52)
Auburn, New South Wales,Australia
Playing information
Height186 cm (6 ft 1 in)[1]
Weight96 kg (15 st 2 lb)[1]
PositionFive-eighth,Lock,Centre
Club
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1989–95 Penrith Panthers 119 31 5 2 136
1996–04 Sydney Roosters 217 91 9 8 390
Total 336 122 14 10 526
Representative
Years Team Pld T G FG P
1990–04 New South Wales 31 8 0 2 34
1990–01 Australia 38 17 1 1 71
1991–97 NSW City 7 1 0 0 4
Coaching information
Club
Years Team Gms W D L W%
2007–09 Sydney Roosters 58 25 1 32 43
Representative
Years Team Gms W D L W%
2012–17 NSW City 7 3 1 3 43
2017–20 Lebanon 5 2 0 3 40
2018–23 New South Wales 18 9 0 9 50
Source:[2][3]

Bradley Scott Fittler(born 5 February 1972), also known by thenicknameof"Freddy",is anAustralianrugby leaguecommentator, television presenter, and former player.

Fittler captained bothNew South WalesandAustralia,and in 2000 was awarded theGolden Boot.He retired as the most-cappedNew South WalesState of Originplayer and third-most-capped Australian international player. Fittler won twoRugby League World Cupsas a team captain; he captained the Kangaroos to victory in both the1995and2000finals, and was also a member of the victorious1992team.[4][5][6]In 2008, he was named among the finest rugby league footballers of the first century of rugby league in Australia.,[7]and has been inducted into the NSWRLHall of Fame.

Since retiring from playing, Fittler has also coached theSydney Roostersin the NRL andNew South Wales,with whom he won three State of Origin series.

Early life[edit]

Fittler was born inAuburn, New South Wales,Australia. He grew up with his 2 siblings, Nathan and Kathleen Fittler.[8]

He played junior rugby league for a number of clubs in the Parramatta JRL District including, Sadleir Bulldogs, Dayments, Ashcroft Stallions and Mt. Pritchard Community Club (Mounties) before moving to Cambridge Park in the Penrith JRL District. While attending Ashcroft High School,St Dominic's Collegethen later,McCarthy Catholic Senior High School Emu Plains,Fittler played for theAustralian Schoolboys teamin 1988 and 1989.[9]

Playing career[edit]

Penrith Panthers[edit]

Brad Fittler's first grade career started in 1989 at thePenrith Pantherswhile he was still attending McCarthy Catholic Senior High School in the western suburbs of Sydney.

Fittler played in the centres in Penrith's 18–14 loss to theCanberra Raidersin the1990 Grand Finaland at the end of the season was selected forAustraliaand went on the1990 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain and France.Fittler did not play in a test on the tour, but played in 8 tour games and scored 8 tries.

In1991,he was part the Panthers' premiership winning-side. Fittler played in the centres as Penrith, under the coaching ofPhil Gouldwon their first ever premiership. At the end of the season, he was selected for the Kangaroosfive game tourofPapua New Guineaand made his test debut for Australia, playing at lock in Australia's two test series victory over thePapua New Guinea Kumuls,scoring two tries on debut at theDanny Leahy OvalinGoroka.Fittler played in all five games during the two-week tour and scored 4 tries.

During the1992 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand,he helped Australia retainThe Ashes.Fittler, like the rest of the Penrith club, endured a tough1992 seasondue to the death of his best mate, up-and-coming halfback/hookerBen Alexander,the younger brother of Penrith captainGreg Alexander.Following Alexander's death in a car accident, Penrith's form dropped off in the second half of the season with the defending premiers finishing out of the finals in 9th place. As a result of Alexander's death which happened between the first and second Ashes tests, Fittler was left out of the second test team by his own request, but returned to the team in the deciding match inBrisbanewhich Australia won 16–10 to retain The Ashes.

At the end of the 1992 season, Fittler was selected in Australia'sWorld Cup finalteam to playGreat Britainat Wembley Stadium. In front of a then international record attendance of 73,631 the Australians retained theRugby League World Cupwith a hard-fought 10–6 win. During the first half, Fittler suffered a fractured cheekbone after being hit with an elbow from Lions hookerMartin Dermottwho had gone into tackle the AustralianFive-eighthwith his elbow cocked. After being checked by team doctorNathan Gibbs,Fittler continued playing.

The1993 NSWRL seasonagain saw the Panthers struggle, finishing 12th with a 7–15 record for the year. Fittler played all three games for NSW in their 2–1Origin serieswin overQueensland,before playing in allthree mid-year testsagainst New Zealand with Australia winning the series 2–0 after the first test at theMount Smart StadiuminAucklandended in a 14-all draw thanks to a late field goal by stand in Australian captainLaurie Daley.

Penrith improved to a 10–10–2 record and an 8th-place finish in the1994 NSWRL season,despite the late season walk-out of Phil Gould (who was moving to coach theSydney City Roostersafter falling out with the Penrith club board) who was replaced with Fittler's 1991 premiership teammateRoyce Simmons.During the year he was selected at lock fora test againstFranceat Sydney'sParramatta Stadium(won 58–0 by Australia) and at the end of the season he was selected for his secondKangaroo Tour.Fittler played at lock in all four tests against Great Britain (3) and France (1) on the tour, winning man of the match in Australia's 38–8 win in the second test atOld TraffordinManchesterto keep the Ashes series alive. The Kangaroos went on to win the third test 23–4 to retain the Ashes before demolishing France with a world record 74–0 win inBéziers.Fittler played in 12 games on tour (one as a replacement), scoring two tries. He was also named as Man of the Match playing at lock in Australia's non-test international played againstWalesinCardiff,scoring one of his tours two tries in the wet conditions (his only other try would come in the tours 3rd last game inFrancewhen he scored against aCatalans Seclectionin a 60–16 win at theStade Gilbert BrutusinPerpignan).

By 1995, Fittler was the world's highest-paid rugby league player, reportedly earning $1.05 million for the season.[10]This was during the period of theSuper League warwhen player payments rose to previously unheard of levels as both theAustralian Rugby League(ARL), backed by media billionaireKerry Packer,and the rebelSuper League(SL), backed byNews Ltd.,signed up players for (in some cases) double or triple their previous contracts. Fittler signed with the Australian Rugby League.

With the ARL refusing to select SL aligned players for representative football, Fittler was given the captaincy of theNSW Originteam for the1995 State of Origin seriesagainstQueensland.Coached by rookie coachPaul Vautin,and with a bunch of untried players thanks to not being able to call upon their usual Origin and test stars (mostly from the SL alignedBrisbane Broncos), Qld were not given any chance of defeating the Blues (who could still call on a number of experienced Origin and test players), but came away with a 3–0 whitewash for their first series win since1991.However, despite this, Fittler was given the Australian captaincy for the 3-testTrans-Tasman seriesagainstNew Zealandmaking him Australia's youngest captain (23) sinceReg Gasnierhad first captained Australia in 1962. Fittler led the Kangaroos to a 3–0 sweep of the Kiwis, including winning man of the match in the 20–10 second test win at theSydney Football Stadium.

At the end of the1995 ARL season,Fittler was an automatic choice to captain Australia in the1995 Rugby League World Cup.Although the Kangaroos suffered a shock 20–16 loss toEnglandin the opening game of the tournament at Wembley, and had a nervous, 30–20 win over New Zealand in extra-time in the Semi-final inHuddersfieldafter scores had been locked at 20-all at the end of regulation time, Fittler would lead Australia to its 8th World Cup success (and 5th in a row) with an 18–8 win over England in front of 66,540 fans at Wembley.

Sydney Roosters[edit]

In 1996, he joined theSydney City Roosterswhere he played nine seasons, captaining them to the2002 NRL Grand Finalvictory. Fittler retired as the second most experienced first grader, behindTerry Lamb(349), having played 336 games.

TheRothmans Medalfor player of the1997 ARL Premiershipwas awarded to Sydney City Roosters captain and five-eighth, Fittler.

He was selected forKangaroo Toursin1990,1994and2001and played in theWorld Cupsof1992,1995and2000. Fittler was selected for theAustralian teamto compete in the end of season1999 Rugby League Tri-Nationstournament. In the final againstNew Zealandhe captained the Kangaroos at lock forward in their 22–20 victory. Early in his career Fittler struggled with discipline problems, but he matured into a fine leader. He captainedAustraliain 20 Tests, winning 17 and losing 3, and in a further 5 victories in the 2000 World Cup. He also captainedNSWin 14State of Originmatches, winning 8 and losing 6.

In club competition, Fittler captained theSydney Roostersto the2000 NRL Grand Final,their first in twenty seasons, aPremiershipin 2002 and successivegrand finalappearances in2003and2004,before retiring at the end of 2004. Having won the2002 NRL Premiership,the Roosters traveled to England to play the2003 World Club ChallengeagainstSuper Leaguechampions,St Helens R.F.C.Fittler captained at five-eighth, scoring a try in Sydney's victory.

Two years after Fittler announced his retirement from representative football, NSW coachPhil Gouldbrought him back to State of Origin for the second and third game. Both he and Gould were farewelled in the last game atTelstra Stadiumafter he scored the winning try that sealed the NSW victory.

Fittler remains the youngest NSW State of Origin player (18 years 114 days) and was once the youngest Kangaroo representative (18 years 247 days) untilIsrael Folaumade his debut in late 2007.

As a tribute to Fittler's contribution to the NSW team, the Brad Fittler Medal is named in his honour, awarded to the best NSW player after each series victory by NSW.

Auckland Nines[edit]

Brad Fittler playing in the NRL Nines 2014

In February 2014, at 42 years of age, Fittler came out of retirement for a one-off showing at theNRL Auckland Nines.[11]Representing theSydney Roosters,he made a tackle on prop forwardFui Fui Moi Moiin the loss to theParramatta Eels,before clippingBen Barbahigh in atackle,and also scoring a 75-metre intercepttryoff aDavid Staggpass in their win over theBrisbane Broncos,his first try in 10 years.[12]

Coaching career[edit]

On 9 July 2007, Roosters coachChris Andersonquit the club, just 48 hours after the team lost 56–0 to theManly-Warringah Sea Eagles,their second worst ever loss. Fittler took over the coaching from Round 18, in what was initially for a short term until the end of the 2007 season.[13]The Roosters, who were sitting near the bottom of the competition and struggling with form, turned a corner with Fittler as coach as they went on to post some impressive wins. His first match was against his former mentor,Ricky Stuartcoaching theCronulla-Sutherland Sharks.The Roosters won the match 23–12. His second match was against theNewcastle Knightsand again the team was successful 20–17.

On 27 July 2007, Fittler's coaching career took a massive leap. The Roosters defeated theMelbourne Storm(front runners of the Premiership) 26–16, with the Storm scoring two late consolation tries. Former Roosters coach,Phil Gouldremarked after the Melbourne game "I've always had great confidence that" Freddie "would be successful at anything he turned his mind to. If he truly wants to be a coach, he'll be a bloody good one... I think in the end he was drawn to it and, to me, that's a coach. You don't wake up one day and say, 'I want to be a coach'. You are drawn to it. It compels you. I see and hear this in Freddie these days."[14]Melbourne ultimately went on to win the title, which was later stripped due to salary cap breaches.

Following the win over the Storm, the Roosters went up against theNew Zealand Warriors,with the match resulting in the first draw since 2005 after a hard-fought golden point period which ended with the score 31–31, keeping Fittler undefeated as coach.

That run was extended against theWests Tigerson 10 August, with the second golden point game in a row for the club after a late field goal attempt fromBraith Anastahit the crossbar with 15 seconds to go. The game ended in a 26–22 win afterJoel Monaghanscored the winning try.

Fittler's undefeated streak as a coach was broken on 19 August 2007 when the Roosters lost 22–18 to theGold Coast Titans.The following week, in the penultimate round of the regular season, the Roosters lost to the eventual 2007 wooden spooners, the Penrith Panthers, 28–22.

On 21 August 2007, the Sydney Roosters signed Brad Fittler as their full-time Head Coach until the 2010 season.

On 20 June 2009, it was reported in theTownsville Bulletinthat, a day earlier, a drunken Fittler had tried to gain access to the wrong hotel room while wearing only shorts. The incident occurred at theHoliday Innin Townsville at 3am.[15]Fittler consequently fined himselfA$10,000and apologised for his behaviour at a televised press conference.[16]

On 18 July 2009, following an ongoing season of unrelenting disappointment at the Roosters, the media was informed that in 2010 Brad Fittler would not be part of the coaching staff at the Sydney Roosters,[17]reportedly before he was.[18]Indeed, the Roosters took out the 2009 wooden spoon and a clean-out of the club began. He was replaced byBrian Smith.

In 2010 Fittler was linked with a move to the London-basedSuper LeaguesideHarlequins,but this ultimately did not eventuate.[19]

On 24 November 2017, Fittler was announced as the new coach of theNew South Wales rugby league teamas the replacement forLaurie Daley.[20]and announced a significant change to the Game 1 roster compared to the previous series with the debut of 11 players for the match on 6 June 2018.[21]He ultimately led the side to its first series win since2014with an 18–14 victory in the second game.[22]He was again successful the following year as the Blues won consecutive series for the first time since 2004–05.[23]

On 24 June 2020, Fittler had his contract as New South Wales coach extended until the 2021 State of Origin series.[24]

In the2020 State of Origin series,Fittler coached a highly fancied New South Wales side to a 2–1 defeat against Queensland. Before the series began, some NSW media outlets described the 2020 Queensland team as the worst ever Maroons side in history.[25] In the2021 State of Origin series,New South Wales bounced back under Fittler to win the series 2-1. New South Wales won the first game 50-6 followed by a 26-0 victory in game 2.[26] Under Fittler, New South Wales would lose the2022 State of Origin seriesafter game 3 went to a decider in Brisbane which New South Wales lost 22-12.[27] Before the start of the2023 State of Origin series,Fittler was criticised by the media and fans alike for his team selections before game 1 which included not selecting the in-formCampbell GrahamandDylan Edwards,instead electing to pick the out of formJames TedescoandTom Trbojevicalong with the selection ofTevita Pangai Junior.New South Wales would go on to lose the opening game after leading towards the end of the match. Before game 2, Fittler caused more controversy for his selections including leavingNicholas Hynesout of the team altogether, instead he elected to pickMitchell Mosesas the replacement for the injuryNathan Cleary.New South Wales would lose game 2 32-6 which gave Queensland the series victory.[28][29]NSW bounced back to win the dead rubber 24-10.[30] On 28 September 2023, Fittler stepped down from his role as New South Wales head coach. It was reported that NSWRL Chairman Paul Conlon and his board offered Fittler a contract extension but he declined the offer.[31]

Brad Fittler – NRL Coaching Results by Season[32]
NRL Team Year Games Wins Losses Draws Win %
Sydney Roosters 2007 8 5 2 1 63%
2008 26 15 11 0 58%
2009 24 5 19 0 21%
Career 58 25 32 1 43%

Media career[edit]

Fittler began his media career by co-hostingNRL Deluxe,a streaming video show that aired on Mondays and Thursdays available via Bigpond TV.[citation needed]A year after his retirement, in 2005, Fittler released his book,Freddy: The Brad Fittler Story.Brad has also starred in twoTelstraNext G TV advertisements.[33]

In 2010, Fittler joined theNine Network.In 2010 and 2011, he was a part ofThe NRL Footy Show,as a co-host. Also, since 2010, he has co-hostedThe Sunday Footy Showprogram. In 2016, he has a role inThe NRL Rookie.

Outside rugby league[edit]

In 2000, Fittler was awarded theAustralian Sports Medalfor his contribution to Australia's international standing in rugby league.

In February 2008, Fittler was named in the list of Australia's100 Greatest Players(1908–2007) which was commissioned by theNRLandARLto celebrate the code's centenary year in Australia.[34]

Fittler has a longtime partner, Marie Liarris. They have two children.[35]

He also fathered an illegitimate son after a one-night stand in 1995. He has never met the child and only pays child support, deliberately having chosen not to have seen the boy since 1996.

In an article published written by Sandra Lee in The Sunday Telegraph in 2005, Fittler stated that "I just hope that he lives in a stable environment, that's all I can hope for. I was young... I just dealt with it as best I could. You don't (come) equipped with those sorts of skills. I suppose I did what I thought was best for me at the time. I just made sure I covered all legal angles, what my commitments were. I was in no state at the time. I didn't think I was up to raising kids. I was 23. I would have asked her to think about it maybe from my point of view. Whether that most probably would have been a selfish point of view... it's just hard when you're never asked, never confronted. I understand it could be hard on the boy, but the mother has to shoulder much of the blame for the way she went about things." In his autobiography,Freddy, The Brad Fittler Story,Fittler says he believes that a financial contribution to raising his boy, who is now nine, is sufficient.[36][37]

In 2022, inducted intoSport Australia Hall of Fame.[38]

Controversies[edit]

In 1999, Fittler was dropped onto the front lawn of a Sydney police station by a taxi driver after a night out. A police source described Fittler as "the drunkest human being ever".[39]

In 2009, Fittler fined himself $10,000 after police were called to Townsville's Holiday Inn after two female guests reported a "creepy man" with a "hairy chest" – wearing only shorts – trying to get into their room. Police arrived at 3.15am to find a "very drunk" Fittler still outside the room.[39]

References[edit]

  1. ^ab"Brad Fittler".Yahoo!. Archived fromthe originalon 6 July 2014.Retrieved2 July2014.
  2. ^Rugby League Project Coaches
  3. ^Brad Fittlerrugbyleagueproject.org
  4. ^1992 World Cup final at Rugby League Project
  5. ^1995 World Cup final at Rugby League Project
  6. ^2000 World Cup final at Rugby League Project
  7. ^Century's Top 100 PlayersArchived25 February 2008 at theWayback Machine
  8. ^"Freddie and the father back from the cold".3 October 2004.
  9. ^"SportingPulse Homepage for Australian Secondary Schools Rugby League".SportingPulse. Archived fromthe originalon 31 January 2017.Retrieved10 October2008.
  10. ^Ian, Thomsen (28 October 1995)."Australia Faces England at Wembley: A Final of Rugby Favorites".The New York Times.Archived fromthe originalon 17 November 2011.Retrieved5 November2009.
  11. ^"Fittler says he'll make Roosters comeback".National Rugby League. Archived fromthe originalon 3 March 2016.Retrieved3 January2014.
  12. ^"Fittler and Menzies thrive at Nines".15 February 2014.
  13. ^"Caretaker Roosters coach Brad Fittler looks on".Australia: ABC News. 14 July 2007.
  14. ^"Don't be fooled by that boyish charm".League HQ.29 July 2007. Archived fromthe originalon 18 October 2007.Retrieved22 November2007.
  15. ^"Brad Fittler in 3am hotel shame".Townsville Bulletin.20 June 2009.Retrieved20 June2009.
  16. ^"Sydney Roosters coach Brad Fittler fines himself $10 000".Fox Sports News (Australia). 20 June 2009.Retrieved20 June2009.[dead link]
  17. ^"Dumped Fittler to be replaced by Smith".ABC Sport. 18 July 2009.Retrieved18 July2009.
  18. ^"A new Ossie ostrich".The Sunday Telegraph.Australia. 11 April 2010.Retrieved3 July2010.
  19. ^.Press Association. 6 April 2010https://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5iXQJaN3-hgzdtY2xmDWCz9XX4cZw.Retrieved6 April2010.{{cite news}}:Missing or empty|title=(help)[dead link]
  20. ^Chammas, Michael (24 November 2017)."Fittler confirmed as new Blues coach".National Rugby League. Archived fromthe originalon 24 November 2017.Retrieved24 November2017.
  21. ^Perry, Jodan (29 May 2018)."Brave new era? Blues put faith in fresh faces to break Maroons' Origin stranglehold".ABC Online.Retrieved28 July2018.
  22. ^"State of Origin: New South Wales Blues claim series win over Queensland Maroons in Sydney".Australia: ABC News. 24 June 2018.Retrieved28 June2018.
  23. ^Webster, Andrew (11 July 2019)."The message Brad Fittler sent to his players with four minutes left".The Sydney Morning Herald.Retrieved11 July2019.
  24. ^"NSWRL board extends Fittler's contract".New South Wales Rugby League. 24 June 2020.Retrieved24 June2020.
  25. ^"'I'll be ducking Freddy': Journo eats humble pie over 'worst team' call... but doesn't regret it ".Fox Sports.Australia. 18 November 2020.
  26. ^"State of Origin 2021: Who won, player ratings, scores, squads".www.sportingnews.com.
  27. ^Howcroft, Jonathan (13 July 2022)."State of Origin 2022 Game 3: Queensland Maroons punish NSW Blues to run away with series – as it happened".The Guardian.
  28. ^"The blunders that sealed Freddy's fate... and the two legends who could replace him: Hoops".www.foxsports.com.au.22 June 2023.
  29. ^Fontaine, Angus (31 May 2023)."Queensland flip script against New South Wales in thrilling State of Origin opener".The Guardian.
  30. ^"Queensland enforcer Cotter wins Wally Lewis Medal with three 80-minute epics".Fox Sports Australia. 12 July 2023.Retrieved13 July2023.
  31. ^"Fittler quits: NSW on lookout for new Origin coach".www.nrl.com.28 September 2023.
  32. ^"Rugby League Tables".Archived fromthe originalon 5 July 2009.Retrieved22 June2009.
  33. ^available for viewing on his websitehttp://www.brad-fittler.comArchived12 June 2009 at theWayback Machine
  34. ^"Centenary of Rugby League – The Players".NRL&ARL.23 February 2008. Archived fromthe originalon 26 February 2008.Retrieved23 February2008.
  35. ^Melocco, Jen (3 June 2014)."Fittler family selling stylish digs".The Daily Telegraph.Sydney.
  36. ^"League: Fittler a secret dad".The New Zealand Herald.Archivedfrom the original on 1 October 2021.
  37. ^"Fittler reveals painful secret".21 May 2005.Archivedfrom the original on 1 October 2021.
  38. ^"2022 SAHOF Inductees & Award Winners".Sport Australia Hall of Fame.13 October 2022.Retrieved16 October2022.
  39. ^ab"Brad Fittler in 3am hotel shame".Archived fromthe originalon 4 February 2018.

Further reading[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toBrad Fittler.
Sporting positions
Preceded by Captain
Australia
Australia
1995–2001 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Laurie Daley
2013-2017
 Coach
New South Wales
New South Wales State of Origin
2018–2023 		Succeeded by
Michael Maguire
2024-present
Preceded by Coach

Sydney Roosters
2007–2009 		Succeeded by
Brian Smith
2010–2012
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