Canberra Raiders have Don Furner snr close to their hearts for 2020 NRL season

"Don Furner snr" will be emblazoned on the Raiders jersey for every game this year to honour the main who helped build the foundations of the club.

The players will also wear black armbands and Furner will be acknowledged before kick off of their season opener against the Gold Coast Titans at Canberra Stadium on Friday.

He died, aged 88, 2.5 weeks ago, having guided the Green Machine to their maiden grand final appearance in 1987 as their inaugural coach.

The Raiders board wanted to honour Furner in the same way they'd honoured foundation chairman Les McIntyre when he died.

Croker was proud to have the Furner name on his chest - not least because of everything Furner's son, Don jnr, had done for him.

Don jnr has been Raiders chief executive throughout Croker's career.

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"It's massive. He's the heart and soul of the club Donny snr and so is Donny [jnr] to be honest," Croker said.

"He's been there for me over the last 10-12 years. It's only a minor thing we can do for Don and his family."

Croker will also go down as a Raiders legend at the end of his career, which he wants to finish as a one-club player - which might not be hard after he said no other club had ever come knocking for him.

As revealed by The Canberra Times, he re-signed for another four years on Thursday.

He'll be 33 going into the final year of that deal and potentially within reach of 400 NRL games.

Croker needs just four points to become the seventh player in NRL history to amass 2000 points.

But there's only one prize he's interested in adding to his already impressive resume - a premiership.

"That's the No.1 priority. That's the focus. Especially after getting so close last year," Croker said.

"Having that taste of the grand final week and the big stage - and the way the boys handled it all - was very exciting last year.

"That's the No.1 goal of hopefully this year and the next couple of years."

Don jnr will now turn his sites on re-signing the Raiders' other off-contract stars.

He'll meet with Nick Cotric's manager in the next couple of weeks, while The Canberra Times also revealed Sia Soliola was keen to play beyond 2020.

The Raiders chief executive said they also wanted Croker to be a one-club player.

"We never want him to see him leave the club," Don jnr said.

"Hopefully he'll finish his career here, and likewise the Nick Cotrics and the Jack Wightons."

NRL ROUND ONE

Friday: Canberra Raiders v Gold Coast Titans at Canberra Stadium, 6pm. Tickets available at Ticketek.