Monday Milestone: Love and Carige

In the spirit of the finals, during September the Monday Milestone will examine some of the great moments in NRL finals history.

This Week in History:
1998, NRL Grand Final qualifier
On the back of fullback Paul Carige's efforts, Parramatta relinquish an 18-2 lead, ultimately going down to Canterbury in extra time.

"Look, I was just trying my best for the team, sometimes those things come off and you come up with a win. We gave it our best shot, I suppose it was an exciting game, good for the fans."
– Paul Carige after his horrendous Parramatta finals match and final match in the NRL

By the Grand Final qualifier in 1998,  the Parramatta Eels were flying. A week after knocking off the premiership benchmark Brisbane Broncos, with eleven minutes remaining they led the Canterbury Bulldogs
18-2. There was a lot of love for the Eels.

 But the rugby league world was about to witness something truly extraordinary.

First Craig Polla-Mounter breathed life into Canterbury with a try to bring the score back to 18-6. Then, when a few minutes later a flying Rod Silva found space, and Daryl Halligan converted it was incredibly
18-12. Momentum had swung noticeably to the Bulldogs. Five minutes remained. 

They kept coming. Parramatta began to panic. Canterbury threw the ball around, finding great field position again. Three minutes left. Through the hands. Right to left, the Bulldogs pushed it, eventually to the waiting Willie Talau who stretched the defence and remarkably scored in the corner. Sharp shooter Daryl Halligan incredibly tied the scores with one of the all time great sideline conversions. Try-less all day, now three in eight minutes.

Enter Paul Carige.

An unsuccesful Bulldogs field goal attempt had fullback Paul Carige waiting with a foot in touch as the ball trickled towards him for a twenty metre restart. But he waited too long. The ball stopped. That foot over the line instead meant another drop out.

Fortunately for Parramatta (and Carige) as the siren sounded, the Bulldogs were unsuccessful with another field goal attempt pushing the ball wide into the waiting arms of Carige.

But then madness.

On the very first tackle, he attempted a poorly executed chip and chase, which acheived nothing except giving the ball back to Canterbury for a Craig Polla Mounter 49m drop out attempt which needed video referee adjudication to rule it was agonisingly short, and extra time was required.

Why, Paul? Why?

Into extra time Polla-Mounter gave Canterbury the lead with an early field goal, but Carige wasn’t finished yet. Three minutes later he unneccessarily leapt for a Polla-Mounter bomb putting his foot on the sideline affording the Bulldogs yet another set of six in their attacking zone. Why didn’t he let it bounce? The next set the Bulldogs scored again and this match was over.  The unthinkable had occurred. Canterbury had won.

Rugby league fans can be unforgiving, but the torment Carige endured in the aftermath of that 32-20 loss was incredible. The scapegoat for this extraordinary defeat, meant he fled Parramatta, run out of town, leaving Australia, to play in England. Anything to escape the Australian press, and worse, the Parramatta faithful. There was still a year on his contract.

The vilification was so intense, to this day he refuses to speak about that day back in 1998. How one unfortunate afternoon ended the NRL career of a promising fullback. I’m sure Canterbury fans loved him for it.

Not so much Parramatta.

 

The Milestone Five:  Five Paul Carige moments in that 1998 preliminary final

5. Paul Carige loses a ball in a regulation tackle gifting Canterbury possession which would build greater field position.

4. Already down 25-18, Paul Carige unneccesarily puts a foot over the sideline without a player near him.

3.  Carige unnecessarily catches a Bulldogs kick and falls into touch gifting Canterbury possesion. There was no need to catch the ball.

2. Paul Carige waits for a rolling ball to stop with one foot in touch before picking it up conceding a goal line drop out instead of a twenty metre restart as were the rules of the day.

1. The most infamous moment, when with seconds remaining, Paul Carige makes an awful attempt at a chip and chase which merely gives Craig Polla-Mounter a 49 metre shot at field goal. It fell short by mere inches.