Fitzsimmons was officially named the Central West Blue Bulls captain on Wednesday for the representative side’s Caldwell Cup campaign at Port Macquarie this weekend.

It’s a huge moment for the Bathurst Bulldogs forward who is aiming to lead his team to cup glory one year after their promotion back to the top-tier competition.

“It was a bit of a surprise. I’ve played with these guys for a while now but there’s a lot who have more experience at this level,” Fitzsimmons said of his captaincy.

“I’m really proud to be captaining these boys up there. Hopefully we can bring back the Caldwell Cup.

“We’re looking really strong right across the park. We’ve got a large forward pack this year and a lot of strike force in the backs. If we do our jobs up front there’s a lot of guys there who can finish it off.

“We have a good core group of players back. Israel Symington adds a bit of size and experience to the team. Then there’s strong players like Filisone Pauta out wide.”

Fitzsimmons is no stranger to being at the helm of a Blue Bulls side having captained the Blue Bulls colts side in 2012.

The Bulldogs man then went on to win the Richardson Shield the following year with the opens side, and then the Caldwell Cup in 2014.

Standing in the way of Fitzsimmons and the Bulls this Saturday is a familiar foe – Newcastle Hunter.

Hunter were the side the Bulls overcame in their 2014 cup triumph, where they produced a stunning 36-14 victory at Mudgee.

Fitzsimmons said he’s confident they can get through Hunter once again and repeat their Richardson Shield and Caldwell Cup back-to-back successes of 2013 and 2014.

“It’s about building on from last year. We had a goal last year that we wouldn’t be happy with just a win in the Richardson Shield,” he said.

“I think we’ve got what it takes for us to win the Caldwell Cup if we get things right this weekend.

“We played Newcastle the year last time we won the cup. They had a very strong pack with a few Country players in there. It will be interesting to see what their team will be like this time.”

If the Bulls can best Hunter then they will face the winner of the Illawarra and Central North clash.

Bulls face Hunter at 11.30am this Saturday, with the final 2.40pm Sunday.