Paul Carige (born 5 August 1973) is an Australian former

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

footballer who played in the 1990s. He played for the

Illawarra Steelers The Illawarra Steelers are an Australian rugby league football club based in the city of Wollongong, New South Wales. The club competed in Australia's top-level rugby league competition from 1982 until 1998. On the 13th of December 1980, they ...

Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and their ...

, and the

Salford City Reds The Salford Red Devils are a professional rugby league club in Salford, Greater Manchester, England, who play in the Super League. Formed in 1873, they have won six Championships and one Challenge Cup. Their home ground since 2012 has been t ...

. He mostly played at centre, but occasionally he played the odd game at fullback or wing.

Playing career

Carige made his first-grade début for the

in round 2 of the 1996 season, an 18–10 loss to the

Auckland Warriors The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...

at Ericsson Stadium. He played 16 games and scored one try in his début season. In 1997, Carige joined the

. The 1997 season also saw the recruitment of a new coach, former

and

St. George Dragons The St. George Dragons is an Australian rugby league football club from St George District in Sydney, New South Wales that played in the top level New South Wales competition and Australian Rugby League competitions from the 1921 until th ...

mentor Brian Smith. Smith's appointment saw a reversal in the club's fortunes, taking the Parramatta club from being perennial easybeats (not having made a finals appearance since their last premiership win in 1986) to title contenders, although the club lost both of their finals matches that year to the

Newcastle Knights The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, th ...

and the

North Sydney Bears The North Sydney Bears is an Australian rugby league football club based in North Sydney, New South Wales. The club competes in the New South Wales Cup, having exited the National Rugby League following the 1999 NRL season after 90 years in t ...

in weeks 1 and 2 of the finals series respectively. In 1998, the Parramatta side went even closer to breaking their premiership drought, going within one game of making their first Grand Final appearance since 1986. Carige is probably best remembered for his poor performance in Parramatta's 32–20 extra-time loss to arch-rivals the

Bulldogs The Bulldog is a British breed of dog of mastiff type. It may also be known as the English Bulldog or British Bulldog. It is of medium size, a muscular, hefty dog with a wrinkled face and a distinctive pushed-in nose.Sydney Football Stadium. With just 11 minutes remaining, Parramatta had a commanding 18–2 lead, and looked like inevitable victors, but three quick tries to

Craig Polla-Mounter Craig Polla-Mounter (born 7 March 1972) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s for the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs. He primarily played at . Background Polla-Mounter was born in Melbour ...

, Rod Silva and

Willie Talau Viliamu "Willie" Talau (born 25 January 1976) is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. A Samoa and New Zealand international representative , he played in the National Rugby League (NRL) for the Canterb ...

saw the Bulldogs side draw level at 18-all. With only seconds remaining in regular time, Carige inexplicably kicked the ball on the first tackle from deep within his own half straight to Bulldogs' five-eighth

. Polla-Mounter immediately made an attempt at kicking a field goal and almost stole the match in regular time, with the ball only narrowly missing by passing under the crossbar. In extra-time, Carige then caught a ball from a kick return, once again deep in his own territory, only to inadvertently run over the sideline, further hampering his side’s chances. The Bulldogs went on to win the match 32–20, and would subsequently qualify for the 1998 NRL Grand Final against the

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite c ...

the following week. Despite being contracted with the Parramatta club until the end of the 1999 season, Carige's stint with the club ended after this match. In his two seasons with the Eels, he had played 45 games and scored 13 tries, but after the preliminary final loss, Carige was forced to flee Sydney for Coffs Harbour after receiving abuse from people wherever he went and further bullying from disgruntled fans over the internet. In 1999, Carige joined an English Super League side, the

. After playing 27 games and scoring seven tries for the Reds, Carige left Salford at the end of the 1999 Super League season. In 2000, Carige played for the

Newtown Jets The Newtown Jets are an Australian rugby league football club based in Newtown, a suburb of Sydney's inner west. They currently compete in the NSW Cup competition, having left the top grade after the 1983 NSWRFL season. The Jets' home ground ...

in the

NSW Cup The NSW Cup, currently known as the Knock-On Effect NSW Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a rugby league competition for clubs in New South Wales. The competition has a history dating back to the NSWRFL's origins in 1908, starting off as a reserv ...

competition. Carige then returned to Queensland, where he went on to play for the

Wynnum-Manly Seagulls The Wynnum-Manly Seagulls are an Australian rugby league football club based at Kougari Oval, in Brisbane's bayside suburb of Manly West, which neighbours the suburb of Wynnum. They competed in the Brisbane Rugby League from 1951 to 1997. Sin ...

in the Queensland Cup and then captain/coached the Fassifern Bombers in the Ipswich local competition in 2005. In November 2018, Carige unexpectedly made a comeback after several years in hiding, taking to the field for Parramatta in the Legends of League tournament.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Carige, Paul 1973 births Living people Australian rugby league players Illawarra Steelers players Parramatta Eels players Salford Red Devils players Rugby league fullbacks Rugby league wingers Rugby league centres Toowoomba Clydesdales players Wynnum Manly Seagulls players Place of birth missing (living people)