'Best feeling in the world': Meet Canberra Raiders captain Jarrod Croker and wife Brittney's baby boy

Has the Canberra Raiders captain got a lump in his throat or tears welling in his eyes? Not quite. "Sorry mate," Croker says, "I got hit in the throat this morning at training".

The Raiders skipper was back on the training track on Thursday morning to prepare for a clash with a gritty Manly Warringah outfit at Campbelltown Stadium on Sunday.

But as soon as the session finished he raced away from the club's Braddon headquarters and back to hospital to be with his wife Brittney and their newborn son Rory Jay Croker, who arrived on Tuesday, June 16.

"It's something you never forget mate, it was the best feeling in the world to be honest," Croker said.

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"It all happens so quickly, by the time he gets out you've got to rush over and cut the cord, wrap him up and do all the tests, make sure mum is alright. It's a whirlwind.

"To get him back in the room once the dust has settled and you've got some peace and quiet, and you're just laying there with him, that's probably the most pleasing part. It's a bit of a wait until you get to that part, but once you get that, it's very rewarding.

"It has been the best couple of days of my life really. On Tuesday morning we flew in here at about 6am and got him out pretty early. It's all been really good, everything has been really smooth.

"It's been a bit of a whirlwind couple of days but very excited."

So too were the weeks prior, when Croker sought clearance from the NRL to be there for the birth of the baby as the game grapples with strict COVID-19 biosecurity measures.

The 29-year-old Goulburn product needed to keep NRL officials in the loop with dates and locations of obstetrician appointments, and again they needed to know which hospital they were in and if he would stay overnight when the baby arrived.

That's just about where the updates end. But for the record, Croker says "we reckon he looks a little bit like me as a baby".

Canberra's leading point scorer thinks the bub has his mum's nose - and while there have been some mixed opinions on some features, "we've locked in Croker eyes".

Now the family is counting down the minutes until they can come home, where Rory might find himself stationed near a television to catch a glimpse of his dad playing football on Sunday.

"We're just playing it by ear and day by day as to when we get to go home. They're both going really well so it could be [Friday], it could be over the weekend," Croker said.

"I went into training and did [Thursday] morning's session, it was pretty lucky we had Wednesday off and we've got Friday off anyway.

"I'm sleeping in here with Brittney and the baby anyway. I'll sleep here as long as I need to, and when it's time to get on the bus then I'll get on the bus. We hope we'll be home before that, it's all sweet."

NRL ROUND SIX

Sunday: Canberra Raiders v Manly Warringah Sea Eagles at Campbelltown Stadium, 4.05pm.

Raiders squad: 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 2. Jordan Rapana, 3. Jarrod Croker (c), 4. Curtis Scott, 5. Nick Cotric, 6. Jack Wighton, 7. George Williams, 8. Josh Papali'i, 9. Josh Hodgson (c), 10. Sia Soliola, 11. Joe Tapine, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Corey Horsburgh. Interchange: 14. Siliva Havili, 15. Emre Guler, 16. Ryan Sutton, 17. Hudson Young. Reserves: 18. Dunamis Lui, 19. Bailey Simonsson, 20. Matt Frawley, 21. Tom Starling.

Sea Eagles squad: 1. Tom Trbojevic, 2. Tevita Funa, 3. Brad Parker, 4. Brendan Elliot, 5. Reuben Garrick, 6. Dylan Walker, 7. Daly Cherry-Evans, 8. Addin Fonua-Blake, 9. Danny Levi, 10. Taniela Paseka, 11. Joel Thompson, 12. Curtis Sironen, 13. Jake Trbojevic. Interchange: 14. Lachlan Croker, 15. Jack Gosiewski, 16. Sean Keppie, 17. Morgan Boyle. Reserves: 18. Toafofoa Sipley, 19. Abbas Miski, 20. Haumole Olakau'atu, 21. Cade Cust.