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
, established_ ...
, 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 c ...
(
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, the ...
(
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. Penrith ...
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 rect ...
. Fritz played for
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 c ...
in the
1992-93 English season. Darren Fritz played right-, i.e. number 12, in
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 c ...
's 29-16 victory over
Sheffield Eagles
The Sheffield Eagles are a professional rugby league club that play in the Championship (rugby league), Betfred Championship. The club play their home games at the Olympic Legacy Park (OLP) on the former site of Don Valley Stadium, their forme ...
in the
1992–93 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 player ...
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 g ...
,
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 populati ...
on Sunday 18 October 1992.
[Hoole, Les (2004). ''Wakefield Trinity RLFC - FIFTY GREAT GAMES''. Breedon Books. ] Fritz joined the
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, 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 the ...
. 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