Aaron Raper

AARON RAPER
Eels hooker 1996-1998

It's the game Canterbury fans gush about
and gives Parramatta fans nightmares
still to this day. Aaron Raper relives his
memories of when Canterbury cruelled their
arch rivals to qualify for the 1998 Grand
Final. Interview by NICHOLAS JANZEN

The Eels team was a side that was brought together and a side
that had nine new players. I left Cronulla because I wanted to
stay strong with the ARL. I thought it was the right thing to do at
the time. I have no regrets about the move.

The next couple of years under Brian Smith, we had some success
once we gelled. Brian's one of the smartest coaches I've ever
played under - he made me think about the game very differently -
but there are definitely aspects of his game and coaching style that
no-one really liked. You can probably see why he's left the teams
that he's left, basically because of disharmony, I suppose.

I remember the Bulldogs' comeback being a surreal experience
- it is the only out-of-body experience I've ever had. The last 10
to 15 minutes of that second half, I felt like for the first time I had
no ability to change what the Bulldogs were doing. I remember
Halligan kicking those goals from the sideline was just...I wanted
to break his legs [laughs]. I felt we just couldn't stop what was
happening. They lifted too many levels.

We knew we had to beat the Bulldogs but I knew the team that had
qualified for the Grand Final, the Broncos, didn't want us in there.
I believe we would have got the Broncos - we were the only team to
get them twice that year.

I remember saying to myself 'Oh f*** when Paul Carige kicked
the ball downfield and Craig Polla-Mounter launched a field goal
attempt from near halfway with the scores level. I was still down
near Polla-Mounter and Silva, and I was running back to Carige
thinking he wasn't going to do anything here. He's kicked it, and I
remember thinking, 'That's it', seeing Polla-Mounter jumping in the
air with his team-mates. Everyone on the field thought it was over.

In a way this game was the worst day of my life, but the following
week I ended up meeting my wife. I've now got two kids to her, so
how can I say it was the worst day of my life when I've got two kids
and a wife? I met her Grand Final night, when I would of otherwise
have been playing. I ended up meeting her at a party and she
ended up coming over to England with me a few months later and
we've been together for 12 or 13 years now.

We bought a couple of childcare centres and sold them. I'm on the
wharves now, I'm a stevedore at Port Botany. Les Davidson and
Corey Hughes are out there too, and Corey played in that game!

If I had to support a team now, it is the Sharks. Unfortunately
they're going through some real crap now, and this year it finally
seemed like we were going places with the signings of some great
players and the development approval. Sometimes it's just not fair,
but hopefully the club can pull through.