NRL: Canberra Raiders co-captain Jarrod Croker's 300th starting to hit home

There was even cheeky young winger Jordan Rapana jumping in with a question of his own about who's the best flyer the Raiders centre has played alongside.

It was the moment Jarrod Croker's 300^th game started to seem real - the press conference that was all about Croker becoming just the second player in Green Machine history to make it to the massive milestone. And just the 18^th in history to reach it at the one club.

He'll join his "father" Jason Croker, a distant relation, in that illustrious Canberra club.

Now it's all systems go for Friday night. When Croker will lead the team out against the New Zealand Warriors at Canberra Stadium, in front of what's shaping to be a 20,000-strong crowd.

Adding to the excitement was the fact it looked like it might never happen, with injury cruelling Croker's past two seasons as game No.300 loomed agonisingly within reach.

Raiders coach Ricky Stuart even asked him to retire at one point, when Croker's knee looked like it was completely bunged.

It was a chat Stuart revealed was the hardest of his coaching career.

Having been stuck on 292 games since May 6 last year it has finally come around. And he was looking forward to embracing all the hype and extra commitments that came along with it.

"[Josh Papali'i] asked me on the way in, 'Does it feel real'? And I said, 'No, not really, all we've done is come in and do some video and train'," Croker said.

"But this makes it feel very real. Just seeing already what the club's done for me and what's happening this week, and how special they're making the occasion, it's starting to sink in a little bit."

It's such a big game Stuart only ever wanted to have it at home, so he could play in front of the loyal Raiders fans. Much better than forcing them to trudge up the highway to Campbelltown.

A game in Canberra, for Canberra.

It's why he rested Croker last week, with the star centre now feeling refreshed and raring to go.

But it almost never happened, Stuart revealing how hard it was to broach retirement with a fellow legend of the club.

It was when Croker's knee was at its worst, in the COVID bubble in Queensland in 2021, and he was struggling to train.

Stuart didn't want to have to play him in reserve grade - Croker deserved better than that. It was one of the hardest conversations he's ever had.

But Croker's response caught him off guard and highlighted just how dedicated the Raiders co-captain was to the club.

"It was probably one of my hardest coaching days. That's hard," Stuart said.

"It's also a business and that's the part I don't like about it, but the way he was training and his body was failing him I didn't want to be the one to say, 'You've got to play second grade'.

"I didn't think he deserved that. I'm probably happier than him that he's got here.

"When he said he was happy to play second grade I had no answer to that ... I had a lot of admiration for him in the way he loves the club."

Croker admitted there were times when he thought 300 would never come. When he might be stuck on 292 for the rest of time.

But thankfully that wasn't to be.

He's fought his way back from a chronic knee injury that eventually stem-cell surgery was able to fix.

Just as he'd put that behind him and worked his way back into the NRL side - against Canterbury in round nine last year - he dislocated his shoulder.

To exemplify the sort of clubman he is, he did it saving a try.

When it popped out again as he reached for the TV remote having been named to return that weekend, he was back on the surgeon's table with retirement again on the cards.

But he kept going, starting this season in NSW Cup. It wasn't until the Raiders leadership group asked Stuart to pick him that he returned to the NRL.

Now he's helped inspire seven wins in eight games, the Green Machine climbing from second last to sixth on the ladder.

"There was definitely some tough moments and probably a few moments where I didn't think I'd get to this," Croker said.

"But as soon as I got back onto Suncorp Stadium that night [two months ago] there was nothing else I wanted more."

MORE CANBERRA RAIDERS NEWS:

And now he's back there's one last frontier to conquer - a Raiders premiership.

He came close in 2019, when a dodgy six-again call denied the Green Machine, and would love to get back there again.

Croker has done just about everything else in the NRL, having climbed to third on the all-time point-scoring table. Only the legendary Cameron Smith and Hazem El Masri have more.

He's not only the Raiders' all-time leading point-scorer, but their all-time leading try-scorer as well.

"That'd be the cherry on top [a premiership]. At the end of the day that's the goal, that's what we're all here for," Croker said.

"We've got Jackie [Wighton] leaving as well. He deserves that as much as the other senior boys in this room. That's the goal."

Oh, and the best winger he's played alongside? Sorry Jordan, it was Nick Cotric.

JARROD CROKER ROUND

Friday: Canberra Raiders v New Zealand Warriors, Canberra Stadium, 6pm.

We've made it a whole lot easier for you to have your say. Our new comment platform requires only one log-in to access articles and to join the discussion on The Canberra Times website. Find out how to register so you can enjoy civil, friendly and engaging discussions. See our moderation policy here.

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can continue to access our trusted content: