The 27-year-old endured the Broncos' lowest ebb in 2020 when the NRL powerhouse club received its one and only wooden spoon.
Fans, in disgust, hurled the spoons on the field at Broncos HQ, so plentiful that they filled a rubbish bin.
How times have changed.
Carrigan was integral in the 26-22 win over the Storm on Sunday to secure the club's first title in 19 years.
He recalled the day club stalwart and team gear steward Matt Middleton collected the dreaded spoons, and how he got his hands on one as a driving force.
"I have kept one of those. I have kept my receipts," Carrigan grinned.
"Our gear guy Matty Middleton means a lot to us. He collected all those spoons off the field, and I was really embarrassed for him because he started with Wayne Bennett and had seen the highs of this place.
"I always kept one and I said to him, 'we are going to get back there one day'. I am keeping it just to remind me if you keep working hard you will get there in the end."
Carrigan said the premiership was "more special" for him after coming through the Broncos with fellow title winners Payne Haas and Kotoni Staggs, who were there for the bad times in 2020.
The Broncos also lost the 2015 and 2023 grand finals in late drama, and Carrigan was determined it would not happen again.
"Our members have had two of the worst heartbreaks in the last two of these," he said.
"They ride the waves with us and pay their hard-earned dollars and that's why we do this.
"I had a giggle to myself with six minutes to go and thought, 'we've got to get this done because we have shattered these guys the last two times'. I was confident. We are a different team that believe in our footy."
The Broncos came back from 16 points down to beat Canberra in the first final, recovered from a 14-point deficit to topple Penrith last week, and trailed 22-12 against the Storm.
Carrigan, who was suspended for the win over the Panthers, credited coach Michael Maguire's tough training program in pre-season for the resilience the side showed.
"We had two auditions in the last two finals of falling behind and fighting our way back," Carrigan said.
"There's the adversity we have gone through as a group and the willingness to compete.
"Madge (Maguire) has been flogging us as everyone knows the past 12 months. Earlier on in the year it was questioned, but the back-end has shown our willingness to turn up for each other.
"Something about our fitness must have worked because we showed we could hang in until the end."
He said the floggings the team received from Maguire at training were "worse" than reported.
"He is tough but fair. We all come to work each day and sign up to get better. He is a big part of why we are here," Carrigan said.
"That foundation that you build in conditioning and all the days we had sore bodies and he was throwing us in the wrestle room took some time to gel, and people were critical of that. Deep down we knew that once we got into a bit of a flow of footy we would be a chance."
