Denis Fitzgerald
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Denis William Fitzgerald, AM, (born 14 November 1949) is an Australian former professional
rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...
footballer who played in the 1970s for
Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...
,
New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...
and
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, and a former chief executive officer of the
Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL). The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and ...
and the Parramatta Leagues Club. As a player, Fitzgerald played mainly as a but was atypically tall and lean for his position. Though a strong scrummager and a tireless defender Fitzgerald preferred to run wide where he could be a dangerous attacking force. Remarkably he was Parramatta's leading pointscorer in 1974 from nine tries alone – proof of their weakness in goalkicking. Fitzgerald's great uncles were Australian
rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...
footballers; Bill Farnsworth and Viv Farnsworth.


Playing career

Fitzgerald first played first grade in 1970 and the following year his finely-contrasted partnership with
Bob O'Reilly Robert Edward O'Reilly (born 16 February 1949) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. An Australian international and New South Wales interstate representative prop forward, he p ...
saw them rise from last to the final four. Fitzgerald was rewarded with selection for New South Wales. In the following seasons, however, the Eels returned to the bottom of the table and Fitzgerald's form was erratic. Nonetheless, during Parramatta's surge to the finals late in 1975 his form was too good for Australian international selectors to ignore. After returning to the New South Wales side mid-season, Fitzgerald played in the World Cup that year and again in 1977. He had been a major force in Parramatta's rise to the grand final in 1976 and the minor premiership in 1977, but was recovering from injury by finals time and played only from the bench in the two 1977 grand finals. After that year, though only 27, he retired as a player.


Administrative career

Even while a prominent player, Fitzgerald had shown great interest in working in club administration. In 1973 he had led a reform group at the then-troubled club, and after retiring as a player he became CEO in the next year. Fitzgerald's work as an administrator is credited with building up the "golden years" of the early to middle 1980s, and he was an original member of the NSWRL Board from 1983 until a crisis in 1992. After a lean period beginning in 1987 he came under threat, notably from Ray Price. However, Fitzgerald's skill as a businessman was so well-honed that he could push aside this challenge, and when success returned in 1997 his position once again became solid. In 2003 he became one of the few rugby league players to receive the
Member of the Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...
(AM) medal. As a vigorous opponent of
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, Fitzgerald has become known for a number of prominent opinions about other football clubs including: * criticising the joint merger between the
Western Suburbs Magpies The Western Suburbs Magpies (legal name: Western Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club Ltd) is an Australian rugby league football club based in the western suburbs of Sydney, New South Wales. Formed in 1908, Wests, as the club is commonly ...
and the
Balmain Tigers The Balmain Tigers (also known as the Sydney Tigers from 1995 to 1996) are a rugby league club based in the inner-western Sydney suburb of Balmain, New South Wales, Balmain. They were a founding member of the New South Wales Rugby League and on ...
into the
Wests Tigers The Wests Tigers is an Australian professional rugby league football team, based in the Inner West of Sydney and South Western Sydney. The Tigers have competed in the National Rugby League (NRL) since being formed at the end of the 1999 N ...
in 2000. * trying to get a Super 12
rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...
club established in western
Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...
. * declaring that
rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...
had no place in
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after the Storm's record-breaking 2007 season. * refusing to honour Ray Price for his services to the Parramatta club. In 2007,
Melbourne Storm The Melbourne Storm is a rugby league football club based in Melbourne, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, Australia that participates in the National Rugby League (NRL). The club plays its home games at AAMI Park, and wears a purple and navy blu ...
defeated Parramatta in the grand final qualifier, drawing a larger crowd than the preliminary final held in Sydney. Fitzgerald was critical of the preferential treatment given to the Melbourne club by
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in recent years. In 2008, Fitzgerald was widely criticised for his views on reducing the NRL salary cap. Australian and New South Wales representative
Willie Mason William Marshall Mason (born 15 April 1980), also nicknamed "Big Willie", is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. An Australia and Tonga international and New South Wales State of Origin representa ...
was quoted, "It's the stupidest comment I’ve ever heard". Other media agencies have reported that if such a move was implemented at
Parramatta Parramatta (; ) is a suburb (Australia), suburb and major commercial centre in Greater Western Sydney. Parramatta is located approximately west of the Sydney central business district, Sydney CBD, on the banks of the Parramatta River. It is co ...
, a player revolt would have been likely. Midway through the
2009 NRL season The 2009 NRL season was the 102nd season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the twelfth run by the National Rugby League. For the third consecutive year, sixteen teams competed for the 2009 Telstra Premiersh ...
the troubled Parramatta Eels club removed Fitzgerald, then the longest-serving club CEO in the competition's history, replacing him with Paul Osborne. In the wake of the 2016 salary cap scandal, Fitzgerald declared he would be willing to help Parramatta in any capacity. He went on to say "If there was something that I could do to ensure that the club was back on its feet, and really employing good governance rather than just talking about it, well I would only be too pleased to given that I’ve been involved with Parramatta as a player and as an administrator since 1969". Fitzgerald also said it would take Parramatta years to recover from the scandal, he said "I feel sorry for the players, coaching staff and fans"


References


External links

* Whiticker, Alan and Hudson, Glen; ''The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players''; {{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzgerald, Denis 1949 births Living people Australia national rugby league team players Australian chief executives Australian rugby league administrators Australian rugby league players Members of the Order of Australia City New South Wales rugby league team players Parramatta Eels players Place of birth missing (living people) Rugby articles needing expert attention Rugby league players from Sydney Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows New South Wales rugby league team players 20th-century Australian sportsmen