Marcus Carbone. Photo: PL6 Photography

by Brendan Bradford –

Marcus Carbone has never played in a Grand Final.

The versatile forward has been a revelation for Southern Districts this season and earned an NRC contract with the Rams but this Saturday will be his first appearance in the big dance in five seasons with the Rebels.

“I was injured the entire season in 2012 when the boys made the final and I was in Colts when Second Grade won in 2011,” said Carbone, whose dad played for Port Hacking back in the day.

“Dad used to play before they joined with St George and made Southern Districts – I think he was a bit before Jed Holloway’s dad, but they might have played together a bit. He tells me it’s the highlight of his week coming down to watch, so it’s good to keep that history going. I love it.”

His dad would have loved what he saw last week from his old club too. The Rebels met the might of Sydney University head on, starting at the scrum, and edged a last second win courtesy of a Ben Volavola penalty.

“The kick was 45 out and close to the sideline and I was just saying my prayers,” said Marcus.

“I didn’t think it was possible because he’d missed three and I didn’t think he could do it so I just closed my eyes and hoped for the best. When everyone started jumping around, I didn’t know what to do – the feeling was surreal.”

It was an emotional victory for Southern Districts. In their debut Grand Final two years ago, they were beaten 15-14 by Sydney University who scored a try from a pass that, on another day, might have been ruled forward.

It still angers the Forshaw faithful.

But last Sunday’s win went some way to alleviating the pain as Carbone, Duncan Chubb, Andrew Leota and Co. bested their more established opponents who boasted a few Super Rugby players in their ranks.

Carbone and teammates celebrate after beating Uni last weekend. Photo: Karen Watson.

“You have to treat them like any other pack – they’re just normal people,” says Carbone.

“You come up against Super Rugby players all the time and you just have to do your best. You back your structures and no one’s undefeatable, so when you step onto the pitch, anything’s possible.”

Carbone’s mindset is something coach Matt Barr has attempted to nurture in the side this season as a relatively inexperienced outfit lurched from one loss to another at the start of the year, to a remarkable run into the finals in June.

“These young blokes have so much confidence and they back themselves and I’ll just back them as well,” Barr said after the win last week.

“That’s what you want from your big players. Jed and Benny are two of our rep guys and you hope they can come up with the big plays in these games. Over the last couple of weeks that’s what it has come down to. Having said that, we certainly don’t rely on it, it’s a whole team effort and everyone is contributing.”

While they’ve have been on song in recent weeks, Barr says it didn’t happen overnight.

“The position we’re in doesn’t come about on the back of the last eight weeks – it’s been years in the making,” he said.

“You can go back to 2011, we had Jed, Ben Volavola, Rohan Saifoloi, Jono Hayes and Luke Smart in the side that won the Second Grade premiership and the next year some of those guys were involved in the Grand Final loss, so we do have a lot of big game experience and I think it’s showed over the last couple of weeks.

Holloway in particular has been the heartbeat of the side this year. He leads by example and his presence has rubbed off on Carbone.

“It’s been unbelievable playing alongside Jed and he’s really taken me under his wing,” says Carbone.

“He’s a great bloke and a great person to play with on the field and I owe all my successes to him. But the coaching has been unbelievable too and it’s easy to play well in a team like this. Halfway through the year we didn’t know if we’d be here but the boys backed themselves. We’re a close group and have a great attitude, so it’s the best bunch of blokes.”