Reflections on Dogs v Parra 98

[All Hail Mitch]

Ahhh memories, I was at the game with a bunch of Parramatta supporters. Not a day soon to be forgotten.

 

[billy beane]

Standing behind the goal for that game when Harrigan kicked it to make it equal..unbelievable feeling. Best game I've ever been privileged to have witnessed. So emotional

Thought his kick was hooking to the left, and then it magically straightened. A truly unforgettable moment. Still get a tingle whenever i see it.

 

[dogluva]

Have not forgotten that game and how we made the comeback......

I could not get to the game that day and instead listened on radio. Pretty depressed, behind by 12 with around ten to go and had given up the ghost; then Polly scored a nice try but the usually reliable Daryl Halligan missed the conversion because he tried to take it too quickly. We had a bit of a chance from the kickoff but lost the ball and then Parra had a chance to kick a field goal to kill the game a few minutes later but missed.

We got the ball and moved down field the forwards went to work and Relfy got away an absolutely magic pass to Rocket Rod who took off and scored near touch, a conversion that Halligan kicked put us only a converted try behind.

With about five minutes left we were still trying hard and we got a penalty and ended up about 25 metres out and then Talau scored....it was not an easy kick but the goal went over and it was looking a lot like extra time after we were pretty much dead. Then the "Carige effect" took hold and he made an error which meant a goal line drop out and a chance for us. Relfy tried a field goal but it spewed away and Carige after fielding the ball for some reason known only to himself kicked the ball down field and Polly took a shot from about half way which looked good but dropped under the post.

Into extra time and we got in front with a field goal to Polla Mounter and Carige made another blue, Polly scored a try and Halligan converted to get ahead 25-18 at end of the first ten minutes of time. second ten minutes Carige another error and Polly kicked another field goal, Parramatta kicked a penalty to get within 6, but the game was put to bed with a Travis Norton try which was converted.

 

[enoughsaid]

remembering a great game doesn't mean you are hung up on it --> eg. I will watch a Ben Barba 2012 compilation on YouTube every once in a while when bored

Totally missed the point

 

[Tassie Devil]

For me, the best part of that game was when Relf put Silva through, and the footage of McCracken on the ground looking all puzzled because he didn't slide in defence. Fucking loved it. Dirty rat

 

[alchemist]

Totally missed the point

I'll do better next time

 

[enoughsaid]

I'll do better next time

i was at that game in 1998 and it was a great day for the club
but since its been dry
Winning in 2004 and beating St George 0-38 that's about it for the last 23 years

 

[alchemist]

i was at that game in 1998 and it was a great day for the club
but since its been dry
Winning in 2004 and beating St George 0-38 that's about it for the last 23 years

just off the top of my head -

* beating the highly fancied, Gus coached, Fittler captained Roosters in the 1999 finals
* Anasta's 'Rookie of the Year' efforts in 2001
* our 2001 Jersey Flegg team with the likes of Thurston, Asotasi, Myles, Elsom, Utai, Oliver etc. coached by Ricky Stuart... in hindsight, most did not work out but it was fun to watch at the time believing we would dominate for years
* 17 in a row in 2002
* Willie Mason's emergence and the 'Big Willie' wigs at games
* El Magic's conversion on the bell vs the Knights in 2002 a point down and the look on Joey's face under the posts as the ball went over
* Vagana's 5 tries vs the Rabbits
* our final round victory vs the Broncos (chock full of talent) in 2002 after the salary cap scandal when there was absolutely NOTHING to play for
* beating the Roosters in 2003 in our first match after the 2002 GF with scores tied and Utai busting three tackles to score and win the match
* opening round smashing of the Eels in 2004 which was SBW's debut
* smashing the Roosters 40-12 in the second regular season game in 2004 when Willie Tonga wiped the floor with hair dyed Justin Hodges
* smashing the Broncos in 2004 at Suncorp 46-18 with a man in the bin... one greatest ever performances
etc.

this is going to take too long but make no mistake, up till about 2014, nobody took us lightly

 

[enoughsaid]

just off the top of my head -

* beating the highly fancied, Gus coached, Fittler captained Roosters in the 1999 finals
* Anasta's 'Rookie of the Year' efforts in 2001
* our 2001 Jersey Flegg team with the likes of Thurston, Asotasi, Myles, Elsom, Utai, Oliver etc. coached by Ricky Stuart... in hindsight, most did not work out but it was fun to watch at the time believing we would dominate for years
* 17 in a row in 2002
* Willie Mason's emergence and the 'Big Willie' wigs at games
* El Magic's conversion on the bell vs the Knights in 2002 a point down and the look on Joey's face under the posts as the ball went over
* Vagana's 5 tries vs the Rabbits
* our final round victory vs the Broncos (chock full of talent) in 2002 after the salary cap scandal when there was absolutely NOTHING to play for
* beating the Roosters in 2003 in our first match after the 2002 GF with scores tied and Utai busting three tackles to score and win the match
* opening round smashing of the Eels in 2004 which was SBW's debut
* smashing the Roosters 40-12 in the second regular season game in 2004 when Willie Tonga wiped the floor with hair dyed Justin Hodges
* smashing the Broncos in 2004 at Suncorp 46-18 with a man in the bin... one greatest ever performances
etc.

this is going to take too long but make no mistake, up till about 2014, nobody took us lightly

Those are your personal Memories


btw who is Elsom?

 

[alchemist]

Those are your personal Memories


btw who is Elsom?

no... I will give you a personal memory of mine... in 2001, we played the Eels towards the end of the regular season with Jason Taylor on the cusp of breaking Halligan's all time points scoring record... it was our home game played at the Sydney Showground at Olympic Park before they added seating everywhere... we are general admission, sitting on the grass at the north end and a fan painted his face all blue with two white V's and "DIE TAYLOR, DIE!" written on his forehead... and every time Taylor touched the ball - a halfback remember - the fan screamed "DIE TAYLOR DIE!!!"... we were all killing ourselves laughing

BTW, former Wallabies Captain Rocky Elsom was a prop in our 2001 Jersey Flegg team, which would have also included Anasta if he hadn't already progressed to FG... when we actually gave a f*+# about developing players

 

[Fully Sik Drop kick]

Was a great run i was there too and for the previous comeback win against Newcastle.Had forgotten it was a 20 team comp and a 10 team finals series that year and we finished 9th!! Beat the Dragons(8th), North Sydney Bears(5th), Knights(2nd) and Eels(4th) on the way to that GF where in the second half we sadly ran completely out of gas.
Was the first year of the NRL also.

Well said. We we're effectively playing sudden death football in our final round 24 regular season game and beat Illawarra Steelers 25-24 by a Polla-Mounter field goal just to scrape into the top 10, which gave us momentum and belief heading into the finals and then we ended the dragons season in week 1 of the finals at Kogarah the next game.


Both clubs seasons ended by us before they went on to become a merged entity the following year.


Luke Patten scored 2 tries and Trent Barrett scored a try against us in that final game for Illawarra Steelers against us in Rd 24 1998. Ironically Patten became one of our longest serving and most reliable players and Trent Barrett is now our coach...

 

[Hansta]

Was at that game as a 13 yr old. 10 to go everyone wanting to leave around us. Staying was the best thing we've ever done

 

[TwinTurbo]

I’ll keep this short, I have had the privilege of talking to Rod Silva several times and what he says about this game is interesting. He saw signs that Parrramatta were going into protect the lead mode, they stopped throwing the ball around, taking one off runs etc. That lifted the whole Bulldogs team, they could feel that Parramatta were on the back foot, had real fear of losing. That shifted the momentum and once we had it we never let it go.

To this day I swear Polly’s field goal went over the cross bar

Always a Bulldog

 

[Bulldogz82]

One of the best bulldog wins of all time. I was there with my dad we left with about 16 min left by the time we got to the car it was 18-12 And we froze lol. We listened to the remainder of the game on the radio and could hear the dogs supporters going nuts inside the stadium. It was funny that alot of dogs fans left early and copping it from eels fans but then watching eels fans leave halfway through extra time was gold

 

[Dogs Of War]

Have not forgotten that game and how we made the comeback......

I could not get to the game that day and instead listened on radio. Pretty depressed, behind by 12 with around ten to go and had given up the ghost; then Polly scored a nice try but the usually reliable Daryl Halligan missed the conversion because he tried to take it too quickly. We had a bit of a chance from the kickoff but lost the ball and then Parra had a chance to kick a field goal to kill the game a few minutes later but missed.

We got the ball and moved down field the forwards went to work and Relfy got away an absolutely magic pass to Rocket Rod who took off and scored near touch, a conversion that Halligan kicked put us only a converted try behind.

With about five minutes left we were still trying hard and we got a penalty and ended up about 25 metres out and then Talau scored....it was not an easy kick but the goal went over and it was looking a lot like extra time after we were pretty much dead. Then the "Carige effect" took hold and he made an error which meant a goal line drop out and a chance for us. Relfy tried a field goal but it spewed away and Carige after fielding the ball for some reason known only to himself kicked the ball down field and Polly took a shot from about half way which looked good but dropped under the post.

Into extra time and we got in front with a field goal to Polla Mounter and Carige made another blue, Polly scored a try and Halligan converted to get ahead 25-18 at end of the first ten minutes of time. second ten minutes Carige another error and Polly kicked another field goal, Parramatta kicked a penalty to get within 6, but the game was put to bed with a Travis Norton try which was converted.

I remember this game. Was at Wests Ashfield League club. Half half dogs and parra supporters. Most of my dog supporting mates had given up around the 65th minute. Watching that come back, and when Polly had that field goal attempt, I thought it went over and I did a lap of the club.

It wasn't to be, sat down and enjoyed that extra time period. Especially when the in the post match interview Steve Folkes was asked if that was the best comeback he had ever seen, and he replied, best I've seen since last week (We were down vs the Knights and beat them in extra time as well).

But that's not the end of the story, really the below is something I wrote on another forum about the 1998 season, a touch dry but I was much younger then....

1998. A season to remember.

What a year 1998 was for me. Bulldogs in the grand final, tickets to the grand final, but I really should start this story from the beginning.

Saturday Night, 23rd May 1998. Watching Balmain vs. Wests on Fox 8. It was one of the most boring matches I have ever witnessed, dropped balls and sloppy defence dominated proceedings, and I was surprised I was even awake. At half time, Andrew Ettinghausen come on and told us about this new competition they were having which you had to jot down the dollar amount they displayed and you could win the cash and 2 grand final tickets, and a chance to win a car. I jotted down the number and thought nothing more of it.

Cleaning up the house the next day, I came across the phone number I thought what the hell, Ill give it a ring. Come Monday morning I get a phone call from Foxtel telling me I had won! You beauty I thought, I won $700 and 2 tickets to the Grand Final, but as the Bulldogs had been travelling poorly, I thought it was extremely unlikely that I would be able to see them in action (5-6 Record). Luckily for me both the Lower Grade Teams were red hot, and I figured Id get to see some Bulldogs in action on the day.

As the season progressed, the Bulldogs seemed to go from strength to strength. Nearing the end of season though, the Bulldogs needed to win their last 4 games to qualify, and hope some other results went their way. What occurred on that run home to the semis was amazing stuff! The highlight was Craig Polla-Mounters last minute field goal against Illawarra, which put the Bulldogs into 9th Position at the end of the regular season.

The first semi final was against St George, St George were up 12 nil early, and should have been even more, but self-proclaimed The Man Mundine dropped the ball over the line with not a Bulldog in sight! The Bulldogs rallied and came home all over the Dragons to win the match 20-12. It was marvellous stuff.

The next week we were up against the ARL Champions Newcastle, who had only lost 5 games all season, and up 16 nil against the Bulldogs, it seemed a sure bet that they would continue their winning run. But never underestimate the Bulldogs, they rallied and before you knew it was 16 all and the game went into extra time, with the Bulldogs proving too strong finishing 28-16. It was one of the games of the season, nothing could top that.or so I thought at the time.

Bulldogs vs. Parramatta the week after, a game that has gone down in history as one of the best comebacks by a team under pressure. Down 16-2, with 10 minutes to play it seemed that we were gone, I was with some Parramatta supporting friends who were already offering to buy my grand final tickets from me when the miracle occurred. 3 quick tries, and Darryl "The Rock" Halligan potted over a sideline conversion to equal the scores, and when Polla-Mounter got to attempt a field goal which looked so good that I ran around Wests Leagues Club shouting "The Bulldogs are in the Grand Final" only to be disappointed when I found it went under the bar! But it didn't matter as the Bulldogs once again proved too strong. I think Steve Folkes summed it up best when asked what he thought of the game, It was the best game I have seen since last week.

An unbelievable run into the semis had occurred, and my dream to see my team in the grand final had eventuated! But not only that, the Bulldogs had qualified in all 3 grades! It was going to be an early start on Grand Final day to take it all in.

But first there was the unfinished business with the key to the car. I had to go the day before the Grand Final to Miranda Mall. 15 other winners and myself all had to have a go a picking a key, and hopefully having it start the car. As I won the first week, I got to select my key first

We got to meet Andrew Ettinghausen, as he was the face of the competition. They introduced us all to the crowd, and as I had won the first week of the competition, I got to select my key first. All the keys had been placed in envelopes, which has had then been placed in a barrel. The barrel was spun and I was herded up to select a key from the Barrel. Maybe God was smiling down on me that day, I don't know why, but when I looked in the barrel, all bar one envelope was on one side. I selected the odd one out. All the other contestants then selected their key while the anticipation of the chance to try the key grew in my mind. By this time hundreds of people had stopped to take a stickybeak at what was happening.

And then the big moment came, I was called out to try and start the car, Andrew Ettinghausen wished me luck, I hopped in the car and placed the key in the ignition. I turned the key and the reds came on, I had won. So I started the car and beeped the horn. The crowd went wild! I won a Nissan Pulsar.

But for me, the best part was yet to come. The Bulldogs had qualified in all 3 grades on grand final day. A Bulldog-fest!

We arrived at the ground early to make sure didn't miss any of the action, but somehow had managed to still miss the first 10 minutes of Jersey Flegg. But it didn't matter as the Bulldogs romped home.

By this point not many had turned up, but we were making a day of it, our tickets were right on halfway and we were surrounded by Parramatta Supporters. Lucky for us the reserve grade game was Parramatta vs. Bulldogs, and after last weeks efforts in First Grade we were excited about the match, well were until Parramatta raced to a 22-2 lead, but then my Mate started a chant. 70 Minutes to which I turned around to him and remind him that reserve grade only goes for 70 minutes. It was soon amended to 60 Minutes Parra!. And then it happened! On the 60-minute mark, the Bulldogs start their comeback. 22-2 soon became 24-22 to the Bulldogs. I thought I'd seen the best comeback from behind in the finals the week before in first grade. But this topped it by far. The Parramatta Supporters who had been so vocal during the game had fell silenced, we were crazed Bulldogs supporters who believed that this was our day, nothing could go wrong! We downed another couple of beers, geez, at this point it must have been about 10 each, but as the sun beat down upon us, it felt like a million.

Anyway, the Main Event started, and the Bulldogs played great from the outset, it was great stuff. Those Broncos who had been so dominant all year were being outplayed, and out muscled by the Bulldogs who never say die. The Bulldogs went to the break leading 12-10.

The second half was a blur, I don't know if it was because of all the alcohol we had consumed, maybe it was just our minds not wanting to accept what was happening on the field as the Broncos laid on try after try. There would be no great comeback this week, but there was one thing that we could lay claim to. So we started to chant as we left the ground, "We are the best in New South Wales, Do Dah, Do Dah!" (repeat for ages)

Nothing could take this moment away, watching the Bulldogs win 2 grand finals and lose one all in one day, winning the car, the money, the grand final tickets and most importantly, the memories I will always keep of that great 1998 season.

Oh and their are plenty more stories of what happened that night. But I will stick to the footy at this point.

I will note, I had a car accident a couple years before hand. Really needed the money to get going again, and this car was the change in my life that I needed. Got myself a career etc by selling that car.

TL : DR = Won a car and tickets to the grand final and had a cracking day.

 

[Janice]

yeh i watched it again fox the other day when it was on, i was there also, my spot in the crowd was directly behind Halligans last kick, what a game.
had parra supporters all around us and they were giving it to us before our comeback.

I still remember the names of the 2 parramatta supporters sitting behind us Pam and Sue. They wanted to buy their GF tickets before the game even started. Kept saying we’ve waited 13years for this, when the game finished I turned around and said looks like you’ll be waiting another 13years.

 

[dogluva]

I remember this game. Was at Wests Ashfield League club. Half half dogs and parra supporters. Most of my dog supporting mates had given up around the 65th minute. Watching that come back, and when Polly had that field goal attempt, I thought it went over and I did a lap of the club.

It wasn't to be, sat down and enjoyed that extra time period. Especially when the in the post match interview Steve Folkes was asked if that was the best comeback he had ever seen, and he replied, best I've seen since last week (We were down vs the Knights and beat them in extra time as well).

But that's not the end of the story, really the below is something I wrote on another forum about the 1998 season, a touch dry but I was much younger then....

1998. A season to remember.

What a year 1998 was for me. Bulldogs in the grand final, tickets to the grand final, but I really should start this story from the beginning.

Saturday Night, 23rd May 1998. Watching Balmain vs. Wests on Fox 8. It was one of the most boring matches I have ever witnessed, dropped balls and sloppy defence dominated proceedings, and I was surprised I was even awake. At half time, Andrew Ettinghausen come on and told us about this new competition they were having which you had to jot down the dollar amount they displayed and you could win the cash and 2 grand final tickets, and a chance to win a car. I jotted down the number and thought nothing more of it.

Cleaning up the house the next day, I came across the phone number I thought what the hell, Ill give it a ring. Come Monday morning I get a phone call from Foxtel telling me I had won! You beauty I thought, I won $700 and 2 tickets to the Grand Final, but as the Bulldogs had been travelling poorly, I thought it was extremely unlikely that I would be able to see them in action (5-6 Record). Luckily for me both the Lower Grade Teams were red hot, and I figured Id get to see some Bulldogs in action on the day.

As the season progressed, the Bulldogs seemed to go from strength to strength. Nearing the end of season though, the Bulldogs needed to win their last 4 games to qualify, and hope some other results went their way. What occurred on that run home to the semis was amazing stuff! The highlight was Craig Polla-Mounters last minute field goal against Illawarra, which put the Bulldogs into 9th Position at the end of the regular season.

The first semi final was against St George, St George were up 12 nil early, and should have been even more, but self-proclaimed The Man Mundine dropped the ball over the line with not a Bulldog in sight! The Bulldogs rallied and came home all over the Dragons to win the match 20-12. It was marvellous stuff.

The next week we were up against the ARL Champions Newcastle, who had only lost 5 games all season, and up 16 nil against the Bulldogs, it seemed a sure bet that they would continue their winning run. But never underestimate the Bulldogs, they rallied and before you knew it was 16 all and the game went into extra time, with the Bulldogs proving too strong finishing 28-16. It was one of the games of the season, nothing could top that.or so I thought at the time.

Bulldogs vs. Parramatta the week after, a game that has gone down in history as one of the best comebacks by a team under pressure. Down 16-2, with 10 minutes to play it seemed that we were gone, I was with some Parramatta supporting friends who were already offering to buy my grand final tickets from me when the miracle occurred. 3 quick tries, and Darryl "The Rock" Halligan potted over a sideline conversion to equal the scores, and when Polla-Mounter got to attempt a field goal which looked so good that I ran around Wests Leagues Club shouting "The Bulldogs are in the Grand Final" only to be disappointed when I found it went under the bar! But it didn't matter as the Bulldogs once again proved too strong. I think Steve Folkes summed it up best when asked what he thought of the game, It was the best game I have seen since last week.

An unbelievable run into the semis had occurred, and my dream to see my team in the grand final had eventuated! But not only that, the Bulldogs had qualified in all 3 grades! It was going to be an early start on Grand Final day to take it all in.

But first there was the unfinished business with the key to the car. I had to go the day before the Grand Final to Miranda Mall. 15 other winners and myself all had to have a go a picking a key, and hopefully having it start the car. As I won the first week, I got to select my key first

We got to meet Andrew Ettinghausen, as he was the face of the competition. They introduced us all to the crowd, and as I had won the first week of the competition, I got to select my key first. All the keys had been placed in envelopes, which has had then been placed in a barrel. The barrel was spun and I was herded up to select a key from the Barrel. Maybe God was smiling down on me that day, I don't know why, but when I looked in the barrel, all bar one envelope was on one side. I selected the odd one out. All the other contestants then selected their key while the anticipation of the chance to try the key grew in my mind. By this time hundreds of people had stopped to take a stickybeak at what was happening.

And then the big moment came, I was called out to try and start the car, Andrew Ettinghausen wished me luck, I hopped in the car and placed the key in the ignition. I turned the key and the reds came on, I had won. So I started the car and beeped the horn. The crowd went wild! I won a Nissan Pulsar.

But for me, the best part was yet to come. The Bulldogs had qualified in all 3 grades on grand final day. A Bulldog-fest!

We arrived at the ground early to make sure didn't miss any of the action, but somehow had managed to still miss the first 10 minutes of Jersey Flegg. But it didn't matter as the Bulldogs romped home.

By this point not many had turned up, but we were making a day of it, our tickets were right on halfway and we were surrounded by Parramatta Supporters. Lucky for us the reserve grade game was Parramatta vs. Bulldogs, and after last weeks efforts in First Grade we were excited about the match, well were until Parramatta raced to a 22-2 lead, but then my Mate started a chant. 70 Minutes to which I turned around to him and remind him that reserve grade only goes for 70 minutes. It was soon amended to 60 Minutes Parra!. And then it happened! On the 60-minute mark, the Bulldogs start their comeback. 22-2 soon became 24-22 to the Bulldogs. I thought I'd seen the best comeback from behind in the finals the week before in first grade. But this topped it by far. The Parramatta Supporters who had been so vocal during the game had fell silenced, we were crazed Bulldogs supporters who believed that this was our day, nothing could go wrong! We downed another couple of beers, geez, at this point it must have been about 10 each, but as the sun beat down upon us, it felt like a million.

Anyway, the Main Event started, and the Bulldogs played great from the outset, it was great stuff. Those Broncos who had been so dominant all year were being outplayed, and out muscled by the Bulldogs who never say die. The Bulldogs went to the break leading 12-10.

The second half was a blur, I don't know if it was because of all the alcohol we had consumed, maybe it was just our minds not wanting to accept what was happening on the field as the Broncos laid on try after try. There would be no great comeback this week, but there was one thing that we could lay claim to. So we started to chant as we left the ground, "We are the best in New South Wales, Do Dah, Do Dah!" (repeat for ages)

Nothing could take this moment away, watching the Bulldogs win 2 grand finals and lose one all in one day, winning the car, the money, the grand final tickets and most importantly, the memories I will always keep of that great 1998 season.

Oh and their are plenty more stories of what happened that night. But I will stick to the footy at this point.

I will note, I had a car accident a couple years before hand. Really needed the money to get going again, and this car was the change in my life that I needed. Got myself a career etc by selling that car.

TL : DR = Won a car and tickets to the grand final and had a cracking day.

Great read. Was a win win for you!

Yeah it was certainly a big reality check when we lost the GF but nothing beat the whirlwind of the weeks prior to it. Great effort for the boys to do what they did and although disappointed that in the end we could not win at the big dance nonetheless some great memories....

 

[Dogs Of War]

Great read. Was a win win for you!

Yeah it was certainly a big reality check when we lost the GF but nothing beat the whirlwind of the weeks prior to it. Great effort for the boys to do what they did and although disappointed that in the end we could not win at the big dance nonetheless some great memories....

1995 is when I had the accident. The dogs run then for me was just as important. Really helped me recover.

 

[dogluva]

1995 is when I had the accident. The dogs run then for me was just as important. Really helped me recover.

Glad that they had that run then.

 

[Extra-time-polla-mounter]

Must admit I completely lost my mind that day - I was sitting in the row of seats directly in front of Ray Hadley's commentary box and when we thought Polly's field goal went over I literally nearly burst through the front of the box - Ray looked me in the eye and you could see the fear on his face!!

I was at this game too as a young kid, and it's still the best game I've ever seen live.

Everyone in the stadium thought the field goal went over and it was just crazy. The TV replay doesn't really reflect it because in commentary Sterlo says straight away that it missed (buzzkill ) but at the ground we thought it was game over. The amount of energy in the ground and that the team had when the game entered extra time was incredible.