Craig Fitzgibbon
Encyclopedia
Craig "Fitzy" Fitzgibbon (born 16 June 1977) is an Australia
n professional rugby league
footballer for Hull in the European Super League and previously the Sydney Roosters
of the NRL
. A New South Wales State of Origin and Australian international representative forward, he is the son of former rugby league player and coach Allan Fitzgibbon
. Fitzgibbon has signed with English club Hull of Super League
for the 2010 season.
, Bradley Clyde
and Andrew Ettingshausen
.
in 1998. Following the Steelers' merger with St. George Dragons
, he played for the merged club St. George Illawarra Dragons. Fitzgibbon played in the Dragons' 20–18 loss in the 1999 Grand Final
, scoring the first try.
Fitzgibbon subsequently transferred to the Roosters in 2000, again scoring a try in the Roosters' 14–6 loss to the Brisbane Broncos
. Eventually, Fitzgibbon won a premiership with the Roosters in 2002, winning the Clive Churchill Medal
for his best-on-ground performance.
In the 2003 NRL grand final
Fitzgibbon played in the second row and was the Roosters' goal-kicker in their loss to the Penrith Panthers
. After that he was selected to go on the 2003 Kangaroo tour
.
In 2006, Fitzgibbon succeeded Luke Ricketson
as captain of the Roosters. On 12 August 2006, he became the highest scoring forward in premiership history, surpassing ex-Canberra Raiders
back-rower David Furner
. Fitzgibbon passed the previous record of 1218 points by converting winger Sam Perrett's third try in the 64th minute after beginning the match four points behind the Canberra forward.
In August 2008, Fitzgibbon was named in the preliminary 46-man Kangaroos squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup
, and in October 2008 he was selected in the final 24-man Australia squad.
On 16 May 2009 it was announced that Craig had signed a one year deal, with the option of a second year, with English Super League side Hull for the 2010 season.http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/super_league/hull/8053856.stm
On 3 September 2011 Fitzgibbon suffered a fracture and ligament damage to his ankle and announced his retirement at the age of 34. On the 26 September announced he would return to the Sydney Roosters
in 2012 as apart of it's Coaching Staff http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_league/14827593.stm
against England
at Headingley on 10
June 2011.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n professional rugby league
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
footballer for Hull in the European Super League and previously the Sydney Roosters
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League...
of the NRL
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League is the top league of professional rugby league football clubs in Australasia. The NRL's main competition, called the Telstra Premiership , is contested by sixteen teams, fifteen of which are based in Australia with one based in New Zealand...
. A New South Wales State of Origin and Australian international representative forward, he is the son of former rugby league player and coach Allan Fitzgibbon
Allan Fitzgibbon
Allan Fitzgibbon is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He played for the Balmain Tigers between 1968 and 1970, and appeared in the 1969 Grand Final where the Tigers won in an upset against the South Sydney Rabbitohs...
. Fitzgibbon has signed with English club Hull of Super League
Super League
Super League is the top-level professional rugby league football club competition in Europe. As a result of sponsorship from engage Mutual Assurance the competition is currently officially known as the engage Super League. The League features fourteen teams: thirteen from England and one from...
for the 2010 season.
Early years
Craig Fitzgibbon played his first game of junior football with the Dapto under-9Bs. His heroes as a child were Gavin MillerGavin Miller
Gavin John Miller is an Australian former rugby league footballer who at his peak was regarded as the most dangerous attacking force in the NSWRL owing to his great ball skills...
, Bradley Clyde
Bradley Clyde
Bradley Clyde is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s, 90s and 2000s who, at the peak of his playing career was widely acknowledged as the best lock forward in the game....
and Andrew Ettingshausen
Andrew Ettingshausen
Andrew Ettingshausen is an Australian former rugby league footballer of the 1980s, 1990s and early 2000s. He played his first grade Australian club football for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, retiring with the record of most games at a single club, with 328...
.
Playing career
Fitzgibbon began his playing career for the Illawarra SteelersIllawarra Steelers
The Illawarra Steelers are an Australian rugby league football club based in the city of Wollongong, New South Wales. The club competed in Australia's top-level Rugby League competition from 1982, when they, along with the Canberra Raiders, were admitted into the then New South Wales Rugby Football...
in 1998. Following the Steelers' merger with St. George Dragons
St. George Dragons
The St George Dragons was an Australian Rugby league football club in St George, Sydney, New South Wales that played in Australia's top-level Rugby league competition from New South Wales Rugby Football League in 1921 until 1998; in 1999 they formed a joint venture with the Illawarra Steelers,...
, he played for the merged club St. George Illawarra Dragons. Fitzgibbon played in the Dragons' 20–18 loss in the 1999 Grand Final
Grand Final
Grand Final is a predominantly Australian sport term used to describe a match that decides a league champion.It originated in Victoria and South Australia and has become specifically significant Australian culture...
, scoring the first try.
Fitzgibbon subsequently transferred to the Roosters in 2000, again scoring a try in the Roosters' 14–6 loss to the Brisbane Broncos
Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the city of Brisbane, the capital of the state of Queensland. Founded in 1988, the Broncos play in Australasia's elite competition, the National Rugby League premiership. They have won six premierships and two...
. Eventually, Fitzgibbon won a premiership with the Roosters in 2002, winning the Clive Churchill Medal
Clive Churchill Medal
The Clive Churchill Medal has been presented to the man-of-the-match of the National Rugby League's annual Grand Final match ever since the 1986 season. The award was created to honour Clive Churchill, one of the greatest rugby league players in Australian history, following his death in 1985...
for his best-on-ground performance.
In the 2003 NRL grand final
2003 NRL grand final
The 2003 NRL grand final was the conclusive and premiership-deciding match of the 2003 NRL season. In what was a contest of Sydney's east versus west, defending premiers and match favourites, the Sydney Roosters played against minor premiers and underdogs, the Penrith Panthers...
Fitzgibbon played in the second row and was the Roosters' goal-kicker in their loss to the Penrith Panthers
Penrith Panthers
The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, the top rugby league football competition in Australasia. For the 2012 NRL season they will be coached by Ivan...
. After that he was selected to go on the 2003 Kangaroo tour
2003 Kangaroo Tour
The 2003 Kangaroo Tour was a six-match tour by the Australia national rugby league team of France, Wales and England. The last three matches were all Tests against Great Britain...
.
In 2006, Fitzgibbon succeeded Luke Ricketson
Luke Ricketson
Luke Ricketson is an Australian retired professional rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s. An Australian and Ireland international, and New South Wales State of Origin representative back-rower, he played his entire club football career for the Sydney Roosters of the NRL...
as captain of the Roosters. On 12 August 2006, he became the highest scoring forward in premiership history, surpassing ex-Canberra Raiders
Canberra Raiders
The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership since 1982...
back-rower David Furner
David Furner
David Furner is an Australian professional rugby league football coach and former player. He is the current head coach of the Canberra Raiders of the NRL...
. Fitzgibbon passed the previous record of 1218 points by converting winger Sam Perrett's third try in the 64th minute after beginning the match four points behind the Canberra forward.
In August 2008, Fitzgibbon was named in the preliminary 46-man Kangaroos squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup
2008 Rugby League World Cup
The 2008 Rugby League World Cup was the thirteenth staging of the Rugby League World Cup since the inauguration of the tournament in 1954, and the first since the 2000 event...
, and in October 2008 he was selected in the final 24-man Australia squad.
On 16 May 2009 it was announced that Craig had signed a one year deal, with the option of a second year, with English Super League side Hull for the 2010 season.http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_league/super_league/hull/8053856.stm
On 3 September 2011 Fitzgibbon suffered a fracture and ligament damage to his ankle and announced his retirement at the age of 34. On the 26 September announced he would return to the Sydney Roosters
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League...
in 2012 as apart of it's Coaching Staff http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_league/14827593.stm
Rugby League International Origin Match
Craig Fitzgibbon was selected for the Exiles squad for the Rugby League International Origin MatchRugby League International Origin Match
The Rugby League International Origin Match is an annual rugby league fixture between the English national side and an Exiles side consisting of foreign players currently playing in the English Super League competition. The match was held for the first time at Headingley Carnegie Stadium in Leeds...
against England
England national rugby league team
The England national rugby league team represent England in international rugby league football tournaments. The team has now seen a revival, having largely formed from the Great Britain team, who also represented Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The team is run under the auspices of the Rugby Football...
at Headingley on 10
June 2011.
Career highlights
- Played in the 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 & 2004 Grand Finals (scored 3 tries & kicked 9 goals for 30 points)
- Won the Clive Churchill MedalClive Churchill MedalThe Clive Churchill Medal has been presented to the man-of-the-match of the National Rugby League's annual Grand Final match ever since the 1986 season. The award was created to honour Clive Churchill, one of the greatest rugby league players in Australian history, following his death in 1985...
in the 2002 Grand Final - Played 8 games for New South Wales 2003–2005 (scored one try & kicked 16 goals for 36 points)
- Played 15 games for Australia 2002–2005 (scored 3 tries & kicked 39 goals for 90 points)
- Played 4 games for Country vs. City 2002, 2004, 2005 & 2006
- Craig Fitzgibbon is the highest point scoring forwardRugby league positionsA rugby league football team consists of thirteen players on the field, with four substitutes on the bench. Players are divided into two general categories: "forwards" and "backs"....
(1560 points) - Has played 239 first grade games (scored 39 tries & kicked 700 goals for 1560 Points)
- Has kicked over 600 goals for the Sydney Roosters
- One of the last remaining Illawarra SteelersIllawarra SteelersThe Illawarra Steelers are an Australian rugby league football club based in the city of Wollongong, New South Wales. The club competed in Australia's top-level Rugby League competition from 1982, when they, along with the Canberra Raiders, were admitted into the then New South Wales Rugby Football...
players (Along with Trent BarrettTrent BarrettTrent Barrett is an Australian retired professional rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s...
and Luke PattenLuke PattenLuke Patten is an Australian professional rugby league player for the Salford city reds in the super league competition. An New South Wales Country Origin representative fullback he previously played for the Illawarra Steelers and the St George Illawarra Dragons...
)
External links
- Sydney Roosters profile
- National Rugby League Profile National Rugby League Home
- Craig Fitzgibbon Rugby League Tables & Statistics
- State of Origin / New South Wales Players Rugby League Tables & Statistics
- Sydney Roosters profile
- Illawarra Steelers Profile
- Craig Fitzgibbon to Hull FC Hull FC website