Yesterday's Hero: Craig Polla-Mounter

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Wahesh

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Previous Yesterday's Hero threads:

Darren Smith: https://www.thekennel.net.au/forum/index.php?threads/yesterdays-hero-darren-smith.108562/

Craig Polla-Mounter

One of the very few players of the NRL who was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Craig moved to Ipswich, Queensland at a young age. While attending Ipswich Grammar School, he went on two tours with the Australian Schoolboys rugby union team.

A loyal, one-club player, Polla-Mounter switched to rugby league in 1991, joining the Canterbury Bulldogs and playing in their premiership winning Presidents Cup side. He played at halfback in three grand finals for the Bulldogs, for two losses in 1994 and 1998, and one win 1995. In 2001, he captained the Bulldogs six times.

In 2001, his final year in the NRL, Polla-Mounter was embroiled in a State of Origin eligibility tug-of-war. Despite being born in Victoria, Polla-Mounter grew up in Queensland, making him eligible for Queensland. Due to playing his first game of senior rugby league in Sydney for the Bulldogs, he was also eligible for New South Wales. In 1993, under the advice of then-Bulldogs boss, Peter Moore, Polla-Mounter played one game for City Origin. Although a push was made by Queensland to select Polla-Mounter in the 2001 series, he was never selected, with the NSWRL blocking the move Polla-Mounter later admitted he regretted playing for the City Origin side.

After his retirement from the NRL, Polla-Mounter returned to Queensland to play on the Sunshine Coast. Rumours of him re-joining the Bulldogs in 2004 were removed after an injury forced him to remain in retirement.

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Polla-Mounter and Bullfrog after the 1995 ARL Grand Final win.

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Wahesh

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Somethings I remember best about Polly:
  1. Tearing the Eels apart in the 1998 Semi final, scoring 2 tries and nailing 2 field goals, and his first attempt at field goal from 49 metres out falling just short
  2. In 1993, being sin binned against the Sharks with 2 minutes left on the clock (the Bulldogs still ending up winning the match)
  3. In 2001, switching to hooker and guiding the team around the park brilloai
 

NickT

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I didn't think much of his ability early on, and then in the late 90s he seemed to have a second wind.

Those of us at the 98 semi (or even watching it on TV) will likely never forget.
Loved 98.
Folkes managed to squeeze out more from that squad than I expected. That was the base the next half dozen years were built on.
 

DT

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Polly was a bloody great bulldog in my opinion.
His combinations with Hetherington, Relf, Reardo...really special times for mine when nobody expected much.
Polly was a super player with a heart as big as his small frame (he was all heart is what im trying to say..lol)

One of my all time favs
 

JayBee

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He actually did return in 2004 and played a few game of Reggies.

An ankle injury forced him to retire again.
 

Freakzilla

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Was an aggorant prick in real life though. Came to my high school with Rod Silva and a few other guys and acted like he didn't want to be there the whole time. He ended up leaving early and not signing any autographs. Was basically quiet the whole time. Rod Silva on the other hand was awesome.
 
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Kelpie03

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Tenacious player great clubman, was deliberately kneed in the back and badly injured in one of the worse dog acts I've ever seen by Mark Coyne playing against St George around ,95, 96 and from memory spent a few months out of the game, because of the SL war the incident was ignored.
Was also kneed in the back by Jason Crocker playing against Canberra about that time.
 
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Deathspell

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First time I saw Craig,a skinny small 5ft 7in kid was in 1991 the year the Dogs won the old Presidents Cup.Although he was green he played with heart (something our current mob could emulate)and displayed promise.He wore our colors 192 times with pride and without doubt proved to be a champion clubman we all loved.
 
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Was an aggorant prick in real life though. Came to my high school with Rod Silva and a few other guys and acted like he didn't want to be there the whole time. He ended up leaving early and not signing any autographs. Was basically quiet the whole time. Rod SIlva on the other hand was awesome.
I used to see Rocket around my work a fair bit. He is always pretty nice. Senior ranking cop from memory does the Cross and city.
 

Wahesh

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Was an aggorant prick in real life though. Came to my high school with Rod Silva and a few other guys and acted like he didn't want to be there the whole time. He ended up leaving early and not signing any autographs. Was basically quiet the whole time. Rod Silva on the other hand was awesome.
Some superstars don't like the limelight, they prefer to be humble. Doesn't make them arrogant pricks.
 

Freakzilla

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Some superstars don't like the limelight, they prefer to be humble. Doesn't make them arrogant pricks.
Bro we were all kids. Being humble is being good to the kids. He was a grouch that whole time. Evan Silva was pissed off with him that day.
 

Wahesh

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Bro we were all kids. Being humble is being good to the kids. He was a grouch that whole time. Evan Silva was pissed off with him that day.
If that's the case I shouldn't really judge. Darren Britt did the same thing to us. We were at BSG for the high school winter finals. We were standing there waiting for him as he was talking to someone in the car. He was talking and talking and talking and just didn't want to talk to us. He knew we were there waiting for him and he just kept making us wait. We eventually left, then he took off straight away. It's worse though because he was captain!
 

chisdog

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Didn't Polly have numberplates on his car of CPM 007?
 

Freakzilla

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If that's the case I shouldn't really judge. Darren Britt did the same thing to us. We were at BSG for the high school winter finals. We were standing there waiting for him as he was talking to someone in the car. He was talking and talking and talking and just didn't want to talk to us. He knew we were there waiting for him and he just kept making us wait. We eventually left, then he took off straight away. It's worse though because he was captain!
Yeah Britt was another prick. I saw him outside BSG when I was around 14 and he was looking straight at me and my mates so we said hi to him and he completely turned around and ignored us all.
 

Wahesh

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Didn't Polly have numberplates on his car of CPM 007?
Something like that. I remember seeing him driving his car in Campsie one day in the mid 90s down Beamish street.
 
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