Brad Fittler
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Bradley Scott Fittler | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Auburn, New South Wales, Australia | 5 February 1972||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 186 cm (6 ft 1 in)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 96 kg (15 st 2 lb)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Five-eighth, Lock, Centre | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Coaching information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Bradley Scott Fittler (born 5 February 1972), also known by the nickname of "Freddy", is an Australian rugby league commentator, television presenter, and former player.
Fittler captained both
Since retiring from playing, Fittler has also coached the Sydney Roosters in the NRL and New South Wales, with whom he won three State of Origin series.
Early life
Fittler was born in Auburn, 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,
Playing career
Penrith Panthers
Brad Fittler's first grade career started in 1989 at the Penrith Panthers while 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 the
In
During the
At the end of the 1992 season, Fittler was selected in Australia's
The
Penrith improved to a 10–10–2 record and an 8th-place finish in the
By 1995 Fittler was the world's highest-paid rugby league player, reportedly earning $1.05 million for the season.
With the ARL refusing to select SL aligned players for representative football, Fittler was given the captaincy of the
At the end of the 1995 ARL season, Fittler was an automatic choice to captain Australia in the 1995 Rugby League World Cup. Although the Kangaroos suffered a shock 20–16 loss to England in 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 in Huddersfield after 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
This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. (May 2016) |
In 1996, he joined the Sydney City Roosters where he played nine seasons, captaining them to the 2002 NRL Grand Final victory. Fittler retired as the second most experienced first grader, behind Terry Lamb (349), having played 336 games.
The
He was selected for
. Fittler was selected for the Australian team to compete in the end of season 1999 Rugby League Tri-Nations tournament. In the final against New Zealand he 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 captainedIn club competition, Fittler captained the
Two years after Fittler announced his retirement from representative football, NSW coach
Fittler remains the youngest NSW State of Origin player (18 years 114 days) and was once the youngest Kangaroo representative (18 years 247 days) until Israel Folau made 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
In February 2014, at 42 years of age, Fittler came out of retirement for a one-off showing at the
Coaching career
On 9 July 2007, Roosters coach
On 27 July 2007, Fittler's coaching career took a massive leap. The Roosters defeated the Melbourne Storm (front runners of the Premiership) 26–16, with the Storm scoring two late consolation tries. Former Roosters coach, Phil Gould remarked 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 the New 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 the Wests Tigers on 10 August, with the second golden point game in a row for the club after a late field goal attempt from Braith Anasta hit the crossbar with 15 seconds to go. The game ended in a 26–22 win after Joel Monaghan scored the winning try.
Fittler's undefeated streak as a coach was broken on 19 August 2007 when the Roosters lost 22–18 to the Gold 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 the Townsville Bulletin that, a day earlier, a drunken Fittler had tried to gain access to the wrong hotel room while wearing only shorts. The incident occurred at the Holiday Inn in Townsville at 3am.[15] Fittler consequently fined himself A$10,000 and 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 by Brian Smith.
In 2010 Fittler was linked with a move to the London-based Super League side Harlequins, but this ultimately did not eventuate.[19]
On 24 November 2017, Fittler was announced as the new coach of the New South Wales rugby league team as the replacement for Laurie 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 since 2014 with 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 the 2020 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 the 2021 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 the 2022 State of Origin series after game 3 went to a decider in Brisbane which New South Wales lost 22-12.[27] Before the start of the
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
Fittler began his media career by co-hosting NRL 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 two Telstra Next G TV advertisements.[33]
In 2010, Fittler joined the
Outside rugby league
In 2000, Fittler was awarded the Australian Sports Medal for his contribution to Australia's international standing in rugby league.
In February 2008, Fittler was named in the list of Australia's
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 into Sport Australia Hall of Fame.[38]
Controversies
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
- ^ a b "Brad Fittler". Yahoo!. Archived from the original on 6 July 2014. Retrieved 2 July 2014.
- ^ Rugby League Project Coaches
- ^ Brad Fittler rugbyleagueproject.org
- ^ 1992 World Cup final at Rugby League Project
- ^ 1995 World Cup final at Rugby League Project
- ^ 2000 World Cup final at Rugby League Project
- ^ Century's Top 100 Players Archived 25 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Freddie and the father back from the cold". 3 October 2004.
- ^ "SportingPulse Homepage for Australian Secondary Schools Rugby League". SportingPulse. Archived from the original on 31 January 2017. Retrieved 10 October 2008.
- ^ Ian, Thomsen (28 October 1995). "Australia Faces England at Wembley : A Final of Rugby Favorites". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 17 November 2011. Retrieved 5 November 2009.
- ^ "Fittler says he'll make Roosters comeback". National Rugby League. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
- ^ "Fittler and Menzies thrive at Nines". 15 February 2014.
- ^ "Caretaker Roosters coach Brad Fittler looks on". Australia: ABC News. 14 July 2007.
- ^ "Don't be fooled by that boyish charm". League HQ. 29 July 2007. Archived from the original on 18 October 2007. Retrieved 22 November 2007.
- ^ "Brad Fittler in 3am hotel shame". Townsville Bulletin. 20 June 2009. Retrieved 20 June 2009.
- ^ "Sydney Roosters coach Brad Fittler fines himself $10 000". Fox Sports News (Australia). 20 June 2009. Retrieved 20 June 2009. [dead link]
- ^ "Dumped Fittler to be replaced by Smith". ABC Sport. 18 July 2009. Retrieved 18 July 2009.
- ^ "A new Ossie ostrich". The Sunday Telegraph. Australia. 11 April 2010. Retrieved 3 July 2010.
- ^ . Press Association. 6 April 2010 https://www.google.com/hostednews/ukpress/article/ALeqM5iXQJaN3-hgzdtY2xmDWCz9XX4cZw. Retrieved 6 April 2010.
{{cite news}}
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(help) - ^ Chammas, Michael (24 November 2017). "Fittler confirmed as new Blues coach". National Rugby League. Archived from the original on 24 November 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2017.
- ABC Online. Retrieved 28 July 2018.
- ^ "State of Origin: New South Wales Blues claim series win over Queensland Maroons in Sydney". Australia: ABC News. 24 June 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
- ^ Webster, Andrew (11 July 2019). "The message Brad Fittler sent to his players with four minutes left". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 11 July 2019.
- ^ "NSWRL board extends Fittler's contract". New South Wales Rugby League. 24 June 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
- ^ "'I'll be ducking Freddy': Journo eats humble pie over 'worst team' call... but doesn't regret it". Fox Sports. Australia. 18 November 2020.
- ^ "State of Origin 2021: Who won, player ratings, scores, squads". www.sportingnews.com.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "The blunders that sealed Freddy's fate... and the two legends who could replace him: Hoops". www.foxsports.com.au. 22 June 2023.
- ^ Fontaine, Angus (31 May 2023). "Queensland flip script against New South Wales in thrilling State of Origin opener". The Guardian.
- ^ "Queensland enforcer Cotter wins Wally Lewis Medal with three 80-minute epics". Fox Sports Australia. 12 July 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
- ^ "Fittler quits: NSW on lookout for new Origin coach". www.nrl.com. 28 September 2023.
- ^ "Rugby League Tables". Archived from the original on 5 July 2009. Retrieved 22 June 2009.
- ^ available for viewing on his website http://www.brad-fittler.com Archived 12 June 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ARL. 23 February 2008. Archived from the originalon 26 February 2008. Retrieved 23 February 2008.
- ^ Melocco, Jen (3 June 2014). "Fittler family selling stylish digs". The Daily Telegraph. Sydney.
- ^ "League: Fittler a secret dad". The New Zealand Herald. Archived from the original on 1 October 2021.
- ^ "Fittler reveals painful secret". 21 May 2005. Archived from the original on 1 October 2021.
- ^ "2022 SAHOF Inductees & Award Winners". Sport Australia Hall of Fame. 13 October 2022. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
- ^ a b "Brad Fittler in 3am hotel shame". Archived from the original on 4 February 2018.
Further reading
- Fittler, Brad; Richard Sleeman (2005). Freddy: the Brad Fittler story. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-7322-8151-2.
External links
- Brad Fittler at IMDb
- Speakers Profile – Brad Fittler
- 2001 Ashes profile Archived 19 July 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- penrithcity.nsw.gov.au