Fittler tells Blues to ‘keep egos in check’

Brad Fittler’s over-riding message to his players after Origin III was a simple one: check your egos at the door.

At about 10.45 last Wednesday night, Fittler gathered his players in a circle in the sheds at Suncorp Stadium. Damien Cook had carried the Origin shield into the sheds a few moments earlier. Fittler told his players they had made a difference to peoples’ lives and that they now owed their clubs.

‘‘We’ve shown a lot of people who we are,’’ he said to the team. ‘‘But if we don’t move forward, everyone passes us by. This has been a massive thrill. Work hard and keep digging in. Respect your club and respect each other. Let’s do this all again.’’

On Friday morning, Fittler had begun moving on. As only the Blues coach can.

‘‘I’ve done my breathing, been to the fruit and vege market, I’m minimising my wardrobe and I’ve just done a salt cleanse,’’ he said.

A salt cleanse?

‘‘Yeah, put Himalayan salt in around 700 millimetres of water and don’t go too far from a bathroom.’’

It was all about ‘‘normalising’’ and in tune with his warning.

‘‘We need to watch our egos – that goes from me to the coaching staff to the players,’’ he said.

‘‘It’s the easiest thing not to and I learnt that from my time as a young bloke. I think the big thing we did was make a lot of adults and kids happy but you have to remember what we are doing – we are playing football. It’s easy to get carried away and it’s important we don’t.’’

Fittler has had a broader aim.

‘‘They seem like they are better people now,’’ he said. ‘‘And that’s important. There are new challenges that they face now as winners of the shield.

‘‘They face their egos but I hope that they are better equipped to handle that.

‘‘The key is getting back to normal life. This has been an awesome experience and one I won’t forget.

‘‘Whatever I did, the payback I got from hanging out with these guys was worth it.’’