Brad Fittler's son Zach 'not lost to league' as NRL legend responds to rugby union signing
Zach Fittler has signed a development contract with the NSW Waratahs in a huge coup for Rugby Australia.
Brad Fittler has revealed son Zach spoke to Nick Politis and the Sydney Roosters before agreeing to a deal with the NSW Waratahs on Wednesday. Although Fittler reckons his son is "not lost to league totally", holding out hope he'll still follow in his footsteps by playing NRL one day.
Rugby Australia scored a massive coup over the NRL on Wednesday when the Waratahs announced the 18-year-old Zach Fittler had signed a development contract with the 15-aside code. Zach had been viewed as a prospect in both rugby league and union, and had played in the Roosters' junior system.
He played union at Scots College and represented NSW and Australia at Under-16 level. But he also played league for the Roosters in Harold Matthews Cup and was picked for the NSW Under-17 team.
However the 18-year-old committed his immediate future to union on Wednesday by agreeing to a two-year deal with the Waratahs. According to reports, the attempts to snare Fittler's signature went right to the top of Rugby Australia, with the top brass desperate to score a win over the NRL.
It comes after Joseph Suaalii agreed to switch from league to union earlier this year, however the Roosters responded by poaching Mark Nawaqanitawase from the Wallabies. Discussing his son's decision on Wednesday, Brad Fittler revealed they spoke to the Roosters before making the call.
"He's following his dreams," the Roosters and Panthers legend said on Channel 9. "He just likes union at the moment. But I don't think he's lost to league totally."
Brad Fittler had revealed toll of NSW coaching job on family
It comes after Fittler previously revealed the toll that his role as NSW State of Origin coach took on his wife and kids. The 52-year-old was Blues coach for six seasons before deciding not to re-apply for the job for this year's series.
He won three of his first four series in charge of NSW, but the knives came out when he lost two on the trot to the Billy Slater-led Maroons. When his future was still up in the air he revealed: "I've got my methods and strategies [to deal with criticism] in place for this job. I've worked it out, but for the first time, all this talk has affected my partner and my kids."
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Fittler has since been unveiled as the new coach of the Prime Minster's XIII, who will take on Papua New Guinea in October. And Andrew Johns reckons he'd be the ideal candidate to replace Mal Meninga if the Kangaroos coach decides to call it quits.
Fittler has previously revealed how he tries not to sway Zach's thinking too much and lets him be his own person. "I'm very aware he has his own coaches," he said. "There are a lot of times where I want to say something, and most probably the hardest part of my day is not."
NSW Rugby talent identification manager Andrew Cleverley said in a statement on Wednesday: “Given Zach’s character, attitude and ability, we are very excited for him to continue developing in the NSW Waratahs pathways system for the next two years."
