Meeting of the Canberra Raiders minds brings back superboot Jarrod Croker for 300th game

He brought his super boot as well.

But without their meeting with Raiders coach Ricky Stuart, Jarrod Croker might not be playing his 300^th NRL game on Friday.

But they met and he is. And it's shaping as a blockbuster at Canberra Stadium on Friday night against the New Zealand Warriors.

Croker's co-captain Elliott Whitehead lifted the lid on how Croker returned to his beloved Green Machine following calls from the leadership group to bolster their backline with the then 292 games of experience.

Stuart meets with the leaders who played and the rest of the spine the day after every game, whether it's for breakfast or a coffee, to discuss ideas.

In the wake of the Raiders' heavy 53-12 drubbing from the Penrith Panthers the leaders felt they needed Croker back.

The 32-year-old had been playing NSW Cup until then as he continued his comeback from knee and shoulder injuries.

Croker was brought back in to face the Brisbane Broncos at Lang Park, and that ending of Brisbane's unbeaten start to the season began a run of seven wins from the Raiders' past eight games.

They've climbed to sixth on the NRL ladder - and just one win off top spot - after being second last after five rounds.

"As a leadership group we felt like we needed Jarrod back for his experience, his calmness, how he leads the boys and how much we all love playing with him," Whitehead said.

"We spoke to a few of the boys and we took it to 'Sticky' and obviously he considered it.

"I don't know if he changed it that week or we might've played one more game ... and then he brought him back in.

"You know what he brings to our team - he's done it for so many years.

"He's very calm and composed in situations where I might find myself a bit frantic and people can't understand me because of my accent.

"But he just came back in, he's been away for quite awhile playing NSW Cup and he's never moaned once about doing that he just got on with his job.

"He came back in and fitted in perfectly, brought a lot of calmness down that left edge.

"You see week-in, week-out that he's been playing we've improved as a team."

It's not the first time Stuart's taken on board the leaders' suggestions - he trusts them and their ideas.

But it'd be hard to find one that's had as big an impact on the Green Machine, with Croker solidifying the struggling backline to turn the team around.

"He's always open to listening to our suggestions," Whitehead said.

"We sat down as a whole group and we spoke about it and we gave our reasons why we thought this change was needed and why 'Toots' should come back in.

"He's been playing well for Cup and he deserved to get recalled.

"He's finally going to make his 300^th at the weekend and for him personally it's a massive achievement.

"I'm sure he's very proud - as is all of us here that play with him.

"Hopefully I'll be out there to pull the jersey on and run out alongside him for that moment. It'll be pretty special."

But it was more than just Croker's leadership that Whitehead said had made an impact. It was also his goal-kicking.

He's kicking at 84 per cent this season - above his career average of 81 - but more importantly his kicking has been the difference in many of their wins.

MORE RAIDERS NEWS

The Raiders scored the same number of tries as Brisbane, St George Illawarra and South Sydney, with Croker's boot getting them home in all three of those games.

It's something that wasn't lost on his teammates.

"We knew what he'd bring to the team - we knew he'd bring leadership and that calmness," Whitehead said.

"Even his goal-kicking. I think that's been one of the main reasons we've won some of these games.

"Especially some of these games that have been close, his goal-kicking has been the difference.

"He's a very good goal-kicker and he's proven that for many years."

JARROD CROKER ROUND

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

Raiders squad: 1. Sebastian Kris, 2. Albert Hopoate, 3. Jarrod Croker (c), 4. Matt Timoko, 5. Jordan Rapana, 6. Jack Wighton, 7. Jamal Fogarty, 8. Josh Papali'i, 9. Zac Woolford, 10. Joe Tapine, 11. Hudson Young, 12. Elliott Whitehead (c), 13. Corey Horsburgh. Interchange: 14. Tom Starling, 15. Emre Guler, 16. Nick Cotric, 17. Pasami Saulo. Reserves: 18. Matt Frawley, 19. Danny Levi, 20. Ata Mariota, 21. Xavier Savage, 22. Peter Hola.

Warriors squad: 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 2. Dallin Watene-Zelezniak, 3. Ali Leiataua, 4. Adam Pompey, 5. Marcelo Montoya, 6. Luke Metcalf, 7. Shaun Johnson, 8. Addin Fonua-Blake, 9. Wayde Egan, 10. Bunty Afoa, 11. Jackson Ford, 12. Marata Niukore, 13. Tohu Harris. Interchange: 14. Bayley Sironen, 15. Josh Curran, 16. Mitchell Barnett, 17. Tom Ale. Reserves: 18. Ronald Volkman, 20. Taine Tuaupiki, 21. Freddy Lussick, 22. Brayden Wiliame, 23. Zyon Maiu'u.

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