Darren Fritz (born 13 March 1969) is an Australian former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...

footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s. He played at representative level for

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

, and at club level for

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 ...

( Heritage № 102),

Wakefield Trinity Wakefield Trinity is a professional rugby league club in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, that plays in the Super League. One of the original twenty-two clubs that formed the Northern Rugby Football Union in 1895, between 1999 and 2016 the ...

( Heritage № 1035),

Illawarra 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 until 1998. On the 13th of December 1980, th ...

( Heritage № 165), North Sydney ( Heritage № 892) and Western Suburbs ( Heritage № 1016), as a , or , i.e. number 8 or 10, or, 11 or 12.

Playing career

A Rockhampton junior, Fritz was a reserve in Canberra's 1991 Grand Final loss to the

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith that competes in the NRL. The team is based west of the centre of Sydney, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Penrit ...

at the

Sydney Football Stadium The Sydney Football Stadium, commercially known as Allianz Stadium and previously Aussie Stadium, was a football stadium in Moore Park, Sydney, Australia. Built in 1988 next to the Sydney Cricket Ground, the stadium was Sydney's premier recta ...

. Fritz played for

in the 1992-93 English season. Darren Fritz played right-, i.e. number 12, in

's 29-16 victory over

Sheffield Eagles The Sheffield Eagles are a professional rugby league club that play in the Betfred Championship. The club play their home games at the Olympic Legacy Park (OLP) on the former site of Don Valley Stadium, their former ground. The original club w ...

in the

1992–93 Year 199 ( CXCIX) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was sometimes known as year 952 '' Ab urbe condita''. The denomination 199 for this year has been used since t ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

County Cup The county football associations are the local governing bodies of association football in England and the Crown dependencies. County FAs exist to govern all aspects of football in England. They are responsible for administering club and playe ...

Final during the 1992–93 season at

Elland Road Elland Road is a football stadium in Beeston, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, which has been the home of Premier League club Leeds United since the club's formation in 1919. The stadium is the 14th largest football stadium in England. The ...

Leeds Leeds () is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Leeds district in West Yorkshire, England. It is built around the River Aire and is in the eastern foothills of the Pennines. It is also the third-largest settlement (by popul ...

on Sunday 18 October 1992.Hoole, Les (2004). ''Wakefield Trinity RLFC - FIFTY GREAT GAMES''. Breedon Books. Fritz joined the

in the 1994 season. One of the biggest players in the premiership, he played in all 3 matches for Queensland in the 1994 State of Origin series. Fritz's stint with the Steelers ended at the conclusion of the 1996 season. In 1997, Fritz joined the

North Sydney Bears The North Sydney Bears is an Australian rugby league football club based in North Sydney, New South Wales. The club competes in the New South Wales Cup, having exited the National Rugby League following the 1999 NRL season after 90 years in t ...

. Chronic back injuries saw him released from his contract with Norths.

Retirement

In 1998, Fritz joined Western Suburbs. He played his final two seasons of rugby league with Wests before announcing his retirement at the end of the 1999 season.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fritz, Darren 1969 births Living people Australian rugby league players Canberra Raiders players Illawarra Steelers players North Sydney Bears players Queensland Rugby League State of Origin players Rugby league players from Rockhampton, Queensland Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows Wakefield Trinity players Western Suburbs Magpies players