as Penrith, under the coaching of Phil Gould won their first ever premiership. At the end of the season he was selected for the Kangaroos five game tour of Papua New Guinea and made his test debut for Australia, playing at lock in Australia's two test series victory over the Papua New Guinea Kumuls, scoring two tries on debut at the Danny Leahy Oval in Goroka. Fittler played in all five games during the two-week tour and scored 4 tries. During the 1992 Great Britain Lions tour of Australia and New Zealand, he helped Australia retain The Ashes. Fittler, like the rest of the Penrith club, endured a tough 1992 season due to the death of his best mate, up-and-coming halfback/hooker Ben Alexander, the younger brother of Penrith captain Greg Alexander. Following Alexander's death in a car accident, Penrith's form dropped off in the second half of the season with the defending premiers finishing out of the finals in 9th place. As a result of Alexander's death which happened between the first and second Ashes tests, Fittler was left out of the second test team by his own request, but returned to the team in the deciding match in Brisbane which Australia won 16-10 to retain The Ashes. At the end of the 1992 season, Fittler was selected in Australia's World Cup Final team to play Great Britain at Wembley Stadium. In front of a then international record attendance of 73,631 the Australians retained the Rugby League World Cup with a hard fought 10-6 win. During the first half, Fittler suffered a fractured cheekbone after being hit with an elbow from Lions hooker Martin Dermott who had gone into tackle the Australian with his elbow cocked. After being checked by team doctor Nathan Gibbs, Fittler continued playing. The 1993 NSWRL season again saw the Panthers struggle, finishing 12th with a 7-15 record for the year. Fittler played all three games for NSW in their 2-1 Origin series win over Queensland, before playing in all three mid-year tests against New Zealand with Australia winning the series 2-0 after the first test at the Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland ended in a 14-all draw thanks to a late field goal by stand in Australian captain Laurie Daley. Penrith improved to a 10-10-2 record and an 8th-place finish in the 1994 NSWRL season, despite the late season walk-out of Phil Gould (who was