Dean Schifilliti (born 30 March 1968) 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, 1990s and 2000s.
[ Primarily a , Schifilliti played for 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 ...
, South Sydney Rabbitohs
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a professional Australian 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 pla ...
, North Queensland Cowboys
The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest town in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL).
Sinc ...
, Adelaide Rams
The Adelaide Rams were an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Adelaide, South Australia. The team was formed in 1995 for the planned rebel Super League competition. The Rams lasted two seasons, the first in the Super Le ...
and 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.
The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and their ...
throughout his career.
Background
Born and raised in Ingham, Queensland
Ingham is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Hinchinbrook, Queensland, Australia. In the , the locality of Ingham had a population of 4,426 people. It is named after William Bairstow Ingham and is the administrative centre for the Shire o ...
, Schifilliti is of Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
descent and played his junior rugby league for Herbert River. While playing for Herbert River's Foley Shield
The Foley Shield is a rugby league competition in North Queensland administered by the Queensland Rugby League.
Prior to 1948 an inter-town competition known as the Carlton Cup was contested in North Queensland. This was revamped, and renamed in ...
side, he was signed by 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 ...
.
Playing career
Illawarra Steelers
In Round 1 of the 1989 NSWRL season
The 1989 NSWRL season was the 82nd season of professional rugby league football in Australia. Sixteen clubs competed for the New South Wales Rugby League's J.J. Giltinan Shield and Winfield Cup Premiership during the season, which culminated i ...
, Schifilliti made his first grade debut in Illawarra's 18–22 loss to the St George Dragons
The St. George Dragons is an Australian rugby league football club from St George District in Sydney, New South Wales that played in the top level New South Wales competition and Australian Rugby League competitions from the 1921 until th ...
, scoring two tries. In his rookie season for the Steelers, he played 21 games, starting 14 at hooker, scoring five tries.[ In 1990, he started all 22 of Illawarra's games at hooker, scoring six tries, and in 1991, took over as captain of the club. In 1992, he captained the Steelers' to their first finals appearances, with the club coming within one game of the Grand Final.
In 1993, Schifilliti signed with the ]North Queensland Cowboys
The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest town in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL).
Sinc ...
, who were set to enter the competition in 1995, becoming the club's first major signing. He played 16 games for the Steelers that year but after signing with the Cowboys, would lose the captaincy and finish the season in reserve grade.
South Sydney Rabbitohs
In 1994, Schifilliti joined the South Sydney Rabbitohs
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are a professional Australian 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 pla ...
in the interim and achieved success early, captaining the side in their pre-season Tooheys Challenge Cup
The Tooheys Challenge Cup (subsequently known by various other sponsors' names including the Network 10, Channel Ten Challenge Cup, Lotteries in Australia, Lotto Challenge Cup and Tooheys Brewery, Tooheys Challenge Cup) was a Pre-season knockout r ...
final win over the Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite com ...
. Schifilliti played just six games for the Rabbitohs after suffering a knee injury.
North Queensland Cowboys
In 1995, Schifilliti recovered from his knee injury, passing a late fitness test to start at hooker in the Cowboys inaugural game against the Sydney Bulldogs
The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilita ...
. Unfortunately, 24 minutes into the game, he re-injured his knee and would be ruled out for the rest of the 1995 season. In January 1996, Schifilliti represented Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
at the Super League World Nines
The Super League World Nines (known as the ''Gatorade Super League World Nines'' due to sponsorship), was a pre-season rugby league nines tournament between national sides. Set up in the midst of the Super League war and created in opposition to t ...
in Suva
Suva () is the capital and largest city of Fiji. It is the home of the country's largest metropolitan area and serves as its major port. The city is located on the southeast coast of the island of Viti Levu, in Rewa Province, Central Divi ...
, Fiji. Later that year, he returned to first grade for the Cowboys, playing 10 games, mostly at .
Adelaide Rams
In 1997, Schifilliti joined the Adelaide Rams
The Adelaide Rams were an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Adelaide, South Australia. The team was formed in 1995 for the planned rebel Super League competition. The Rams lasted two seasons, the first in the Super Le ...
after being granted a release by the Cowboys.[ After two injury riddled seasons, he played two full seasons with the Rams, playing 35 games for the club. In 1998, he played 21 games, playing mostly at lock, and scoring a try in the club's final game, a 20–34 loss to the ]Newcastle Knights
The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, th ...
.
Parramatta Eels
In 1999, Schifilliti's return to form saw him sign with 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.
The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and their ...
after the Rams had folded. He played 20 games for the Eels that season, starting all at hooker, including their two finals games. In 2000, he played 10 games before retiring at the end of the season.
Achievements and accolades
Individual
*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 ...
25th Anniversary Team of Steel
Statistics
NSWRL/ARL/Super League/NRL
Post-playing career
In 2006, Schifilliti was named at lock in 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 ...
25th Anniversary Team of Steel. Since 2018, the Dean Schifilliti Shield has been played in Ingham, featuring under-8's sides from around north Queensland
North Queensland or the Northern Region is the northern part of the Australian state of Queensland that lies just south of Far North Queensland. Queensland is a massive state, larger than many countries, and its tropical northern part has been ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schifilitti, Dean
1968 births
Living people
Australian people of Italian descent
Australian rugby league players
Illawarra Steelers players
South Sydney Rabbitohs players
North Queensland Cowboys players
Adelaide Rams players
Parramatta Eels players
South Sydney Rabbitohs captains
Rugby league halfbacks
Rugby league hookers
Rugby league players from Queensland
People from Ingham, Queensland