Background
He was the " hooker and captain and came of age in the 1992 semi-finals series as an aggressive, seasoned on-field leader.
He was the " hooker and captain and came of age in the 1992 semi-finals series as an aggressive, seasoned on-field leader.
Originally from Queensland, Schifilitti joined Illawarra in 1989 and took over the captaincy at the end of 1991. Schifilliti signed with the in anticipation of the club"s debut in 1995 and was one of the northerners most promising signings of all. But before heading to North Queensland he added what appeared to be another case of bad luck for the Cowboys, suffering a knee injury.
After his unfortunate knee injury in 1994 Dean looked to be recovering managing to take the field for the Cowboys inaugural game.
But while playing did further damage to his knee never fully recovering and missing the rest of season 1995. Dean never managed to get it together in season 1996 and was released from North Queensland for the new Super League He recovered from his woes of injuries and played two solid years at the new Adelaide franchise getting some fine form together becoming a key signing.
Schifilliti hit such great form that he was picked up by strong premiership contenders Parramatta after Adelaide folded. He had some success there after a very long career until finally retiring in 2000.