Allan Fitzgibbon

Allan Fitzgibbon is an Australian former rugby league footballer and coach. He played for the Balmain Tigers between 1968 and 1970, and appeared in the 1969 Grand Final where the Tigers won in an upset against the South Sydney Rabbitohs, and for Hull Kingston Rovers during the 1972–73 season. His son, Craig Fitzgibbon, became an international representative rugby league player, and will be head coach of the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks from 2022, the same role Allan held in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Allan Fitzgibbon

Personal information
Full name	Allan Fitzgibbon
Born	Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia
Playing information
Position	Lock, Five-eighth
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1968–70 Balmain Tigers 42 7 0 0 21 1972–73 Hull Kingston Rovers 20 3 0 0 9 Total 62 10 0 0 30 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1968 New South Wales 1 0 0 0 0 1971 NSW Country 1 0 0 0 0
Coaching information
Club Years Team Gms W D L W% 1982–83 Illawarra Steelers 52 14 0 38 27 1988–91 Cronulla Sharks 92 50 5 37 54 1995 Illawarra Steelers 18 8 1 9 44 Total 162 72 6 84 44
Source: [1]

Following his playing career with Balmain, Fitzgibbon coached Dapto between 1971 and 1981, from which he represented Country in 1973. In 1982, he became the first coach of the Illawarra Steelers and guided the team through their first two seasons in the New South Wales Rugby League premiership.^[2] He would later coach the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks between 1988 and 1991, taking the club to its inaugural minor premiership in his first year at the helm, although consecutive post-season losses left the Sharks unable to advance beyond the semi-finals. In 1995, he took charge of the Steelers once again, becoming their caretaker coach following the mid-season sacking of Graham Murray.

References

1. "Statistics at rugbyleagueproject.org". Rugby League Project. 31 December 2017. Retrieved 1 January 2018.
2. Lester, Gary, ed. (1984). Rugby League: Action '85. Sydney: Fairfax Publishing. p. 30. ISBN 0-909558-83-3.

Sporting positions
Preceded by Graham Murray 1991-1995	Coach (caretaker) Illawarra Steelers 1995	Succeeded by Allan McMahon 1996
Preceded by Jack Gibson 1985−1987	Coach Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 1988–1991	Succeeded by Arthur Beetson 1992−1993
Preceded by team created	Coach Illawarra Steelers 1982–1983	Succeeded by Brian Smith 1984-1987