Brad Fittler is one of the greats of the game. As a player, he won 3 World Cups (2 as Captain), played in 31 State of Origin games for the NSW Blues (14 as Captain) and in 38 Tests for Australia (20 as Captain). He won two NRL Premierships – one with the Penrith Panthers in 1991 and the other with the Sydney Roosters in 2002 (as Captain). In 2000, Brad was awarded the Golden Boot for best player in the world. These days, Brad is the current NSW Blues State of Origin Coach and a Nine Network Footy personality.

Brad’s first grade career started in 1989 at the Penrith Panthers under master coach Phil Gould 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, Brad joined the Sydney Roosters where he played nine seasons, captaining them to their first grand final appearance in twenty seasons in 2000, to their famous 2002 Grand Final victory and then successive Grand Final appearances in 2003 and 2004. In total Brad played 336 games, scoring 122 tries.

In State of Origin, Brad played in 31 games for the NSW Blues and was the Captain on 14 occasions. He remains the youngest NSW State of Origin player (18 years 114 days) to debut. He retired with many Series wins under his belt and as the most capped NSW Blues player of all time. Two years after he announced his retirement from representative football, NSW coach Phil Gould brought Brad 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. As a tribute to Brad’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.