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| Born | (1977-06-16)16 June 1977 (age 48) Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 191 cm (6 ft 3 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 104 kg (16 st 5 lb)[1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Position | Second-row, Lock, Prop | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Father | Allan Fitzgibbon | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Craig Fitzgibbon (born 16 June 1977) is an Australian professionalrugby league coach who is the head coach ofCronulla-Sutherland Sharks in theNRL and a former professionalrugby league footballer who played in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s.
ANew South WalesState of Origin andAustralia international representative goal-kicking forward, he played in theNRL for theIllawarra Steelers andSt. George Illawarra Dragons as well as for theSydney Roosters, with whom he won the2002 NRL Premiership. Fitzgibbon then played in theSuper League forHull FC. He was also the last coach of theCountry New South Wales rugby league team.
The son of former professionalrugby league footballer and coachAllan Fitzgibbon, Craig Fitzgibbon played his first game of junior football with the Dapto under-9Bs. His heroes as a child wereGavin Miller,Bradley Clyde andAndrew Ettingshausen.[6]
Fitzgibbon began his playing career for theIllawarra Steelers in 1998. In his first season, he was the Steelers' top point-scorer and was named rookie of the year. Following the Steelers' joint-venture withSt. George, he played for the joint-venture clubSt. George Illawarra Dragons. Fitzgibbon played from the bench in the1999 NRL Grand Final, scoring the first try in St. George Illawarra's 20–18 loss.[citation needed]
Fitzgibbon subsequently transferred to theSydney Roosters in 2000. He played at second-row forward and scored a try in the Roosters'2000 NRL Grand Final loss to theBrisbane Broncos. Eventually, Fitzgibbon won a premiership with the Roosters, playing at second-row forward in their2002 NRL grand final victory over theNew Zealand Warriors and winning theClive Churchill Medal for his best-on-ground performance.[citation needed]
Having won the2002 NRL Premiership, theSydney Roosters travelled to England to play the2003 World Club Challenge againstSuper League champions,St Helens R.F.C. Fitzgibbon played at second-row forward, scoring atry and kicking nine goals in Sydney's victory. In the2003 NRL grand final Fitzgibbon played in the second row and was the Roosters' goal-kicker in their loss to thePenrith Panthers. After that he was selected to go on the2003 Kangaroo tour. Fitzgibbon played for the Roosters at second-row forward in their2004 NRL grand final loss to cross-Sydney rivals,Canterbury-Bankstown. Fitzgibbon was selected in the Australian team to go and compete in the end of season2004 Rugby League Tri-Nations tournament. In the final againstGreat Britain he played from the interchange bench and kicked two goals in the Kangaroos' 44–4 victory.
In 2006, Fitzgibbon succeededLuke Ricketson as captain of theSydney Roosters. On 12 August 2006, he became the highest scoring forward in premiership history, surpassing ex-Canberra Raiders back-rowerDavid Furner. Fitzgibbon passed the previous record of 1218 points by converting winger Sam Perrett's third try in the 64th minute after beginning the match four points behind the Canberra forward. In August 2008, Fitzgibbon was named in thepreliminary 46-man Kangaroos squad for the2008 Rugby League World Cup,[7][8] and in October 2008 he was selected in the final 24-manAustralia squad.[9] On 16 May 2009 it was announced that Craig had signed a one-year deal, with the option of a second year, withSuper League sideHull F.C. for the 2010 season.Fitzgibbon agrees to join Hull FC
Craig Fitzgibbon was selected for theExiles squad for theRugby League International Origin Match againstEngland atHeadingley on 10 June 2011.[10] On 3 September 2011 Fitzgibbon suffered a fracture and ligament damage to his ankle and announced his retirement at the age of 34. On the 26 September announced he would return to theSydney Roosters in 2012 as a part of its Coaching StaffHull FC's Craig Fitzgibbon retires early with injury
On 24 August 2015, Fitzgibbon was named as coach for theCountry New South Wales rugby league team, replacingTrent Barrett for 2016.[11]Fitzgibbon announced in April 2021 that he had signed a three-year contract to coach theCronulla-Sutherland Sharks from 2022 onwards. Fitzgibbon was forced to miss coaching the Sharks' first game of the2022 NRL season as he was in isolation due to contractingCOVID-19.[12] Assistant coachSteve Price deputized for him, with Fitzgibbon working remotely. In Fitzgibbon's first year as Cronulla head coach, he guided the club to a second place finish on the table which qualified the club for the finals. However, Cronulla would exit the finals series in disappointing fashion, going out in straight sets after losing toNorth Queensland in extra-time and then toSouth Sydney the following week.[13]
On 14 February 2023, Fitzgibbon signed a five-year contract extension to remain as Cronulla's head coach until the end of the 2027 season.[14]Fitzgibbon guided Cronulla to a sixth place finish in the2023 NRL season. Cronulla would go on to be eliminated in the first week of the finals being upset by the Sydney Roosters 13-12.[15]Fitzgibbon would lead Cronulla to a 4th place finish in the2024 NRL season. Cronulla would lose the Qualifying Final against theMelbourne Storm 37-10.[16] They would later win their semi final match against theNorth Queensland Cowboys 26-18.[17] Cronulla would progress to the preliminary finals before losing to thePenrith Panthers 26-6.[18]In the2025 NRL season, Fitzgibbon guided Cronulla to 5th place on the table. Cronulla would then defeat the Sydney Roosters in week one of the finals before upsetting minor premiers Canberra to set up a preliminary final match against Melbourne. Cronulla would lose the game 22-14 falling short of the grand final for a second consecutive season.[19]
| Preceded by | Clive Churchill Medallist 2002 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Sydney Roosters Captain 2006–2008 | Succeeded by |