Brad Fittler

Over 16 seasons, Brad Fittler a.k.a. Freddy, set a standard for longevity and durability that few rugby league players could match. He has played for Penrith Panthers, Sydney Roosters, captained NSW in the State of Origin series, captained Australia in Test matches, coached the Sydney Roosters and the NSW State of Origin team. Brad is a knowledgeable commentator and an in demand NRL speaker.  His stories from his playing days are hilarious and give a great insight into the game. He talks on leadership, building cultures and building high performance teams.

More about Brad Fittler:

Brad represented the Australian Schoolboys from McCarthy Catholic College in 1988 and 1989. His first-grade career started in 1989 at the Penrith Panthers while he was still in high school. He played in Penrith’s 1990 Grand Final loss, then in the Premiership winning side of 1991.

In 1996, he joined the Sydney Roosters where he played nine seasons, captaining them to the 2002 Grand Final victory. Brad is second behind Terry Lamb as the most experienced first grader, having played 336 games, scoring 122 tries.

He was selected for Kangaroo Tours in 1990, 1994 and 2001 and played in the World Cups of 1992, 1995 and 2000.

In 2000, Brad received the Golden Boot award as the world game’s best player.

He captained Australia in 20 Tests, winning 17 and losing 3, and in a further 5 victories in the 2000 World Cup. He also captained NSW in 14 State of Origin matches, winning 8 and losing 6. In club competition, he captained the Roosters to their first grand final appearance in twenty seasons in 2000, a Premiership in 2002 and successive grand final appearances in 2003 and 2004, before retiring at the end of 2004.

Two years after Brad announced his retirement from representative football, NSW coach Phil Gould brought him back to State of Origin for the second and third game. Both he and Gould were farewelled in the last game at Telstra Stadium after he scored the winning try that sealed the NSW victory.

In 2005, he launched his book, Freddy: The Brad Fittler Story. He also has a media career co-hosting The Sunday Footy Show program, and provides sideline commentary on all the big matches.

In 2007 he started coaching the Sydney Roosters, and in 2017 he became the coach of the NSW State of Origin team with wins in 2018 and 2019.

Brad 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. Brad played more total matches (409 combining club and representative games) than any other player.

After joining the Nine Network in 2010, Brad adds his knowledge and expert opinion to the Wide World of Sports NRL coverage weekly. Keeping NRL fans all over Australia up to date with key insights into coach news, team training and trades.