Canberra Raiders backs 'in the same boat'

He was talking about Canberra Raiders teammate Harley Smith-Shields, who will miss Sunday's pre-season trial against the Canterbury Bulldogs due to a plantar fascia issue.

As revealed by The Canberra Times last week, Smith-Shields has re-signed for another year with the Raiders announcing it on Wednesday - keeping him in lime green until at least the end of 2024.

Croker will play against the Bulldogs in Moruya on Sunday - his first game back from a shoulder reconstruction.

He played just one NRL game last year, while Smith-Shields missed the whole season due to a knee reconstruction.

But Croker was confident the 23-year-old's latest setback was just a minor one, with his re-signing a positive for the Green Machine.

"It's good for Harls. He's a really good kid. He's a local junior. He's had a lot of tough times with injury," Croker said.

"He's had a minor setback now but that's nothing for him to be worried about.

"Harley's probably 10 years apart and in the same boat as me - just wanting to get back out there and play a bit of footy."

Croker had his sights set on returning to the NRL ranks as well.

His shoulder and knee injuries over the past two seasons have allowed young centres Matt Timoko and Sebastian Kris to establish themselves as NRL players.

Not only that, they were both in the mix for New Zealand's World Cup squad - with Kris part of the final squad that went to England and Timoko part of the extended squad before that.

"That just showed how good a back-end of the season they had," Croker said.

"It's good for the depth we have ... in the outside backs. It's tough for me - I've got to get back in that team with all those players there, but it's a good position for the club."

And getting back to the NRL level's what's driving Croker.

After 14 seasons at the top flight, the 32-year-old's still determined to make it back.

He's just eight games short of 300 and has scored the third most points in NRL history.

That road starts in Moruya on Sunday.

"That's the goal. You obviously want to play first grade and play NRL," Croker said.

"For me I've just got to worry about this weekend. Then get back out there and start feeling good about playing footy again.

"Hopefully get another trial next weekend and then worry about round one when we get to it.

"I love playing for this club. I've been very fortunate over my career that I've managed to play a lot of footy for 'em. It's something I still want to do and get excited for."

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Croker was also looking forward to seeing how young forward Trey Mooney went against the Bulldogs.

Mooney made his NRL debut last year and Croker played with him in the NSW Cup.

With Ryan Sutton joining the Bulldogs and Adam Elliott moving to Newcastle, there's a couple of spots up for grabs in the Raiders pack.

The likes of Corey Horsburgh and Emre Guler have the chance to take their games to another level and Croker challenged the pair to take Mooney with them.

"We lost 'Sutto' and Adam Elliott, but seeing guys like Corey and Emre, the way they've been training and applying themselves - they're the leaders of that pack this weekend," he said.

"They need to take guys like Trey up to their level with them."

NRL PRE-SEASON TRIAL

Sunday: Canberra Raiders v Canterbury Bulldogs at Moruya, 3.55pm.

Raiders squad: 1. Xavier Savage, 2. Albert Hopoate, 3. Jarrod Croker (c), 4. Brad Morkos, 5. Elijah Anderson, 6. Matt Frawley, 7. Brad Schneider, 8. Ata Mariota, 9. Danny Levi, 10. Emre Guler, 11. Clay Webb, 12. Trey Mooney, 13. Corey Horsburgh; Interchange: 14. Zac Woolford, 15. Pasami Saulo, 16. Jordan Martin, 17. James Schiller, 18. Hohepa Puru, 19. Jed Stuart, 20. Josh Allen, 21. Michael Asomua, 22. Peter Hola, 23. Ethan Strange, 24. Loghan Lewis, 25. Mitchell Spencer, 26. Josh James, 27. Lachlan Lewis, 28. Ray Burns.

Bulldogs squad: 1. Braidon Burns, 2. Jacob Kiraz, 3. Jake Averillo, 4. Paul Alamoti, 21. Jayden Okunbor, 6. Josh Reynolds, 7. Kyle Flanagan, 8. Luke Thompson, 9. Reed Mahoney, 10. Max King, 11. Jacob Preston, 12. Raymond Faitala-Mariner, 13. Ryan Sutton; Interchange: 14. Fa'amanu Brown, 15. Chris Patolo, 16. Andrew Davey, 17. Corey Waddell, 19. Jeral Skelton, 20. Jackson Topine, 22. Bailey Hayward, 23. Harrison Edwards, 24. Khaled Rajab, 25. Jayden Tanner, 26. Kurtis Morrin, 27. Blake Wilson, 28. Joash Papalii, 29. Ryan Gray, 30. Franklin Pele.

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