View source for Cec Fifield

{{short description|Australian RL coach and former Australia international rugby league footballer}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2023}}
{{Use Australian English|date=July 2013}}
{{Infobox rugby league biography
|name            = Cec Fifield
|fullname        = Cecil Richard Henry Fifield
|image           =
|imagesize       =
|height          =
|weight          =
|birth_date      = {{birth date|1903|09|23|df=y}}
|birth_place     = [[Adelong, New South Wales]], Australia
|death_date      = {{death date and age|1957|12|07|1903|09|23|df=y}}
|death_place     = [[Earlwood, New South Wales]], Australia
|position        = {{Rlp|CE}}
|club1           = [[Western Suburbs Magpies|Western Suburbs]]
|year1start      = 1923
|year1end        = 29
|appearances1    = 50
|tries1          = 18
|goals1          = 3
|fieldgoals1     = 0
|points1         = 60
|club2           = [[Balmain Tigers|Balmain]]
|year2start      = 1930
|year2end        =
|appearances2    = 14
|tries2          = 0
|goals2          = 0
|fieldgoals2     = 0
|points2         = 0
|club3           = [[Hull FC]]
|year3start      = 1930
|year3end        = 36
|appearances3    = 224
|tries3          = 80
|goals3          = 
|fieldgoals3     = 
|points3         = 
|club4           = {{nowrap|[[Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs|Canterbury-Bankstown]]}}
|year4start      = 1937
|year4end        = 
|appearances4    = 8
|tries4          = 0
|goals4          = 0
|fieldgoals4     = 0
|points4         = 0
|club5           = [[Western Suburbs Magpies|Western Suburbs]]
|year5start      = 1938
|year5end        = 
|appearances5    = 9
|tries5          = 2
|goals5          = 5
|fieldgoals5     = 0
|points5         = 16
|teamA           = [[New South Wales rugby league team|New South Wales]]
|yearAstart      = 1925
|yearAend        = 29
|appearancesA    = 10
|triesA          = 3
|goalsA          = 4
|fieldgoalsA     = 0
|pointsA         = 17
|teamB           = [[Australian Kangaroos|Australia]]
|yearBstart      = 1929
|yearBend        = 30
|appearancesB    = 4
|triesB          = 0
|goalsB          = 0
|fieldgoalsB     = 0
|pointsB         = 0
|teamC           = [[Dominion XIII rugby league team|Dominion XIII]]
|yearCstart      = 1937
|yearCend        = 
|appearancesC    = 
|triesC          = 
|goalsC          = 
|fieldgoalsC     = 
|pointsC         = 
|coachteam1      = [[Balmain Tigers|Balmain]]
|coachyear1start = 1930
|coachyear1end   =
|coachgames1     = 14
|coachwins1      = 5
|coachlosses1    = 7
|coachdraws1     = 2
|coachteam2      = [[Western Suburbs Magpies|Western Suburbs]]
|coachyear2start = 1938
|coachyear2end   = 
|coachgames2     = 14
|coachwins2      = 4
|coachlosses2    = 9
|coachdraws2     = 1
|coachteam3      = {{nowrap|[[Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs|Canterbury-Bankstown]]}}
|coachyear3start = 1944
|coachyear3end   =
|coachgames3     = 9
|coachwins3      = 3
|coachlosses3    = 5
|coachdraws3     = 1
|coachteam4      = [[Parramatta Eels|Parramatta]]
|coachyear4start = 1956
|coachyear4end   =
|coachgames4     = 18
|coachwins4      = 4
|coachlosses4    = 13
|coachdraws4     = 1
|source          = <ref name="rugbyleagueproject">[http://www.rugbyleagueproject.org/players/Cec_Fifield/summary.html Cec Fifield] Cec Fifield; ''rugbyleagueproject.org''</ref> 
}}

'''Cec "Dicky" Fifield''' (1903–1957)<ref name="rugbyleagueproject"/> was an Australian [[rugby league]] footballer who played in the 1920s and 1930s, and [[Coach (sport)|coach]]ed in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s. An [[Australia national rugby league team|Australian international]] and [[New South Wales rugby league team|New South Wales interstate]] representative centre, he played in the [[NSWRFL premiership]] for Sydney clubs, [[Western Suburbs Magpies|Western Suburbs]], [[Balmain Tigers|Balmain]] and [[Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs|Canterbury-Bankstown]], as well as in England for [[Hull FC]]. Following his playing career, Fifield returned to the NSWRFL premiership as coach, first with Canterbury-Bankstown then with Parramatta.

==Background==
Cecil Richard Henry Fifield was born to Sara Ann (née Compton) and George Fifield in [[Adelong, New South Wales]], Australia on 23 September 1903. He played for West Wyalong as a teenager in [[Group 9 Rugby League|Group 9]].

==Club career==
Fifield was recruited to play in the NSWRFL premiership with the [[Western Suburbs Magpies|Western Suburbs]] club, playing there during the 1923, 1925–26, 1929 and 1936 seasons. He played over 100 first grade games with the Magpies. He was selected to play for the [[New South Wales rugby league team]] in 1925 and 1929. After the latter season Fifield was selected to play on the [[1929–30 Kangaroo tour of Great Britain]]. The team sailed on the ''Orsova'' via the [[Panama Canal]] and played an exhibition game in New York before arriving in England, with Fifield becoming Kangaroo number 152. The first Test was played at Hull, Yorkshire, the second at Wembley and the third at Swinton, during which there was an infamous controversy over a disallowed try. After much deliberation it was decided to play a fourth Test at Rochdale. This was the first and only time that a fourth test has been played on any Kangaroo tour. In this match Fifield broke his ankle and was unable to play the remainder of the tour.
[[File:Kangaroos 1st Test 1929.jpg|left|thumb|175px|Kangaroos 1st Test 1929.]]
On returning to Australia in 1930 Fifield played for and captained [[Balmain Tigers|Balmain]], and in 1931 he returned to England to play football for Hull, Boulevard. Owing to the difference in seasons, he played there until it was time to depart England and returned to Australia to play for Junee. Fifield continued to play for Hull, playing 224 games and scoring 80 tries, gaining England Championship honours in 1936 and in 1937 he returned to Australia. He played one season with [[Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs|Canterbury-Bankstown]] in 1937 before returning to [[Western Suburbs Magpies|Western Suburbs]] as captain-coach for the [[1938 NSWRFL season]].<ref>Whiticker, Alan; ''Encyclopedia of Rugby League Players'', p. 154 {{ISBN|1875169768}}</ref>

==Coaching career==
After a couple of years' involvement with Canterbury-Bankstown, during which he coached the team in 1944, Fifield returned to England. In 1950 he was approached by English club [[Rochdale Hornets]] to be Manager-Coach and to select several young players to help strengthen their team. He selected [[Tom Duffy (rugby league)|Tom Duffy]], [[Wally Elliot]], [[Cec Kelly|Cec "Babe" Kelly]], [[Reg Stanford]] and [[Ron Stanford]]. They arrived in Rochdale in September 1950 and commenced training. The [[Australian Rugby League]] lodged a complaint against the five boys playing for Rochdale owing to the then current "poaching" ban being in place. The Rugby League case was lost because these boys were junior rugby union players not affiliated to any Rugby League Club, although they had played Rugby League as teenagers. The boys had a successful career before returning to Australia. Fifield's last appointment was as coach of [[Parramatta Eels|Parramatta]] for one year in the [[1956 NSWRFL season]].<ref>'Rugby League News: From the District Club'; ''[[The Broadcaster]]'', 25 January 1956, p. 3</ref> The blue and golds had struggled massively in their first nine years in the competition, and under Fifield they could not avoid the wooden spoon although his record of four wins and a draw was superior to anything Parramatta would achieve between [[1957 NSWRFL season|1957]] and [[1961 NSWRFL season|1961]].

==Death==
Cec "Dick" Fifield died suddenly at his Earlwood home on 7 December 1957 at the age of 54. After a largely attended funeral, he was cremated at [[Rookwood Cemetery|Rookwood]] on 11 December 1957.<ref>'Death of R.L. International'; ''Sydney Morning Herald'', 9 December 1957, p. 12</ref>

==Accolades==
In 2008 he was named as one of the Australian Rugby League's 100 Greatest Players of all Time.

Cec never had any sons. [[Jack Fifield (rugby league)|Jack]] and [[George Fifield]] were his nephews born to Norman. They both started playing rugby league in Sydney in the late 1940s.

His Epitaph reads: ''"He was the most marked man on the field but the most respected off"''

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{S-start}}
{{S-sport}}
{{Succession box
| before = [[Johnny Slade]]<br>1955
| after  = [[Ken Slattery]]<br>1957
| title  = [[List of Parramatta Eels coaches|Coach]]<br>{{leagueicon|parramatta|size=18}}<br>[[Parramatta Eels|Parramatta]]
| years  = 1956
}}
{{Succession box
| before = [[Roy Kirkaldy]]<br>1943
| after  = [[Ron Bailey (rugby league)|Ron Bailey]]<br>1944
| title  = [[List of Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs coaches|Coach]]<br>{{leagueicon|canterbury|size=18}}<br>[[Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs|Canterbury-Bankstown]]
| years  = 1944
}}
{{Succession box
| before = [[Jerry Brien]]<br>1937
| after  = [[Jim Craig (rugby league)|Jim Craig]]<br>1939
| title  = [[Western Suburbs Magpies#Coaching register|Coach]]<br>{{leagueicon|western suburbs|size=18}}<br>[[Western Suburbs Magpies|Western Suburbs]]
| years  = 1938
}}
{{S-end}}

{{Navboxes
|title= Coaching positions
|list1=  
{{Balmain Tigers head coaches}}
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fifield, Cec}}
[[Category:1903 births]]
[[Category:1957 deaths]]
[[Category:Australia national rugby league team players]]
[[Category:Australian rugby league coaches]]
[[Category:Australian rugby league players]]
[[Category:Balmain Tigers coaches]]
[[Category:Balmain Tigers players]]
[[Category:Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs coaches]]
[[Category:Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs players]]
[[Category:Dominion XIII rugby league team players]]
[[Category:Hull F.C. players]]
[[Category:New South Wales rugby league team players]]
[[Category:Parramatta Eels coaches]]
[[Category:Rugby league centres]]
[[Category:Rugby league players from New South Wales]]
[[Category:Western Suburbs Magpies coaches]]
[[Category:Western Suburbs Magpies players]]
[[Category:20th-century Australian sportsmen]]