"I just want to get as much game time as I can ... and then see what happens."
Next up for the Chiefs are the Hurricanes in Taupo on Friday, and then the war begins in earnest with the Highlanders again in the Super 15 opener.
Fitzgerald, now based in Hamilton after playing for Manawatu Turbos last season, is desperate to be in the line-up for that first match.
"But there's a few good locks here and a lot of competition for places - it will be all about putting in the performances on the pitch and in training."
Fitzgerald joined his new teammates five weeks before Christmas for the start of an intensive pre-season programme.
"I am really enjoying it - they are a good bunch of guys and very welcoming, and it's a great chance to step up to the next level."
He was coached by Dave Rennie at Manawatu and played in the ITM Championship final in September when they went down 35-30 to Hawke's Bay. When Rennie got the Chiefs job, there was always a good chance that Fitzgerald would follow.
Rennie described him as one of the best locks in the national provincial championship. "He's a very good athlete, has an outstanding work ethic and is prepared to do a lot of the grunt work," said the coach.
For his part, Fitzgerald says Rennie "knows how to get the best out of me".
With World Cup-winning coach Wayne Smith now also part of the Chiefs set-up, Fitzgerald has no doubts he'll be learning plenty.
A former player with the Marist club, he was in the Wanganui side that lost the 2006 Meads Cup final before bouncing back with the cup-winning side of 2008 in a season when he scored six tries.
"I was keen to have a crack at the next level and Wanganui coach Guy Lennox suggested Dave Rennie have a look at me," he said.
He has been a Manawatu rep for the past three years while playing for the Te Kawau club where younger brother Daniel - Wanganui's outstanding player of origin last season - is captain.
Another Wanganui player, winger Aseli Tikoirotuma, is also part of the Chiefs squad, getting game time against both the Rebels and the Highlanders.