Denis William Fitzgerald (born 1950), OAM is the CEO of and a former player for the Parramatta Eels. Year 1950 ( MCML) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Order of Australia is an order of chivalry established by Elizabeth II, Queen of Australia on 14 February 1975 "for the purpose of according recognition A chief executive officer ( CEO) or chief executive is typically the highest-ranking corporate officer ( executive) or administrator The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional Rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta.
As a player, he played mainly as a prop but was atypically tall and lean for his position. A typical Rugby league team consists of thirteen players on the field plus four substitutes on the bench 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 first played first grade in 1970 and the following year his finely-contrasted partnership with Bob O'Reilly saw them rise from last to the final four. Fitzgerald was rewarded with selection for New South Wales. In the following years, however, the Eels returned to the bottom of the table and Fitzgerald's form was erratic, but during the Eels' surge to the finals late in 1975 his form was too good for the international selectors to ignore. After returning to the New South Wales side earlier, Fitzgerald played in the World Cup that year and again in 1977. He had been a major force in the Eels' rise to the grand final in 1976 and the minor premiership in 1977, but was out of form by finals time and played only on the bench in the two 1977 grand finals. After that year, though only 27, he retired as a player.
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 immediately. 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. The New South Wales Rugby League (NSWRL is the governing body for the Sport of Rugby league in New South Wales and is a member of the Australian Rugby 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 Order of Australia medal.
As a vigorous opponent of Super League, Fitzgerald, as the longest-serving club official today, has become known for a number of prominent opinions about other football clubs including:
- criticising the joint merger between the Western Suburbs Magpies and the Balmain Tigers into the West Tigers in 2000
- trying to get a Super 12 rugby union club established in western Sydney
- declaring that rugby league football had no place in Melbourne after the Storm's record-breaking 2007 season
- refusing to honour Ray Price for his services to the Eels
In 2007 Melbourne Storm defeated Paramatta in the grand final qualifier, drawing a larger crowd than the preliminary final held in Sydney. This article details the year of rugby league run by Super League (Australia. The Western Suburbs Magpies are a Rugby league football club in Sydney Australia The Balmain Tigers (also known as the Sydney Tigers from 1995-96 were one of the founding rugby league football clubs of the New South Wales Rugby League premiership The Wests Tigers are a professional Rugby league football club in the National Rugby League (NRL the premier Rugby league competition in Australasia The Super 14 is the largest Rugby union football club championship in the Southern hemisphere, consisting of four state teams from Australia (Queensland/Reds Overview See also Playing rugby union A rugby union match lasts for 80 minutes (plus stoppage time with a short Sydney (ˈsɪdniː is the most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 4 History See also History of rugby league The grass roots of rugby league can be traced to early football history, through the playing of ball games Melbourne ( is the second most populous city in Australia, with a Metropolitan area population of approximately 3 The Melbourne Storm is a professional Rugby league football club based in the city of Melbourne, Australia The Melbourne Storm is a professional Rugby league football club based in the city of Melbourne, Australia Fitzgerald is critical of the preferential treatment given to the Storm by television in recent years. Television ( TV) is a widely used Telecommunication medium for sending ( Broadcasting) and receiving moving Images, either monochromatic
In 2008 Dennis Fitzgerald was widely criticised for his views on reducing the NRL salary cap. Australian and New South Wales representative Willie Mason was quoted,"It's the stupidest comment I've ever heard". William Marshall Mason (born 15 April 1980 in Toronto New South Wales) is a professional Rugby league player in the Australian National Other media agencies have reported that if such a move was implemented at the Parramatta Eels, a player revolt would be likely.
References
- Whiticker, Alan and Hudson, Glen; The Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players; ISBN 1875169768
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