This isn't how Jarrod Croker thought his career would end. A three-minute cameo against the Brisbane Broncos in round 26.
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But if you'd offered that to the Canberra Raiders co-captain at the start of the season he would've bitten your arm off to get it.
Not that he's "packed up shop" just yet. He'll continue to prepare to play the Newcastle Knights in the NRL elimination final at Newcastle on Sunday.
He'll continue to do whatever he can for the club he's called home for the past 15 NRL seasons.
You wouldn't expect anything less from the man who bleeds lime green - so much so his son Rory's clearly got Raiders fever in his blood.
But you can tell by the way Croker talks about his great mate Jack Wighton's shift to the centres that he's not overly confident of a recall when Raiders coach Ricky Stuart names the team on Tuesday.
Wighton's spent the past two weeks in the spot where Croker's called home for basically his whole 307-game career.
![Raiders co-captain Jarrod Croker, left, at Monday's finals launch with James Tedesco (Rooster), Christian Welch (Storm), Tyson Frizell (Knights), Adam Reynolds (Broncos), Wade Graham (Sharks), Luke Metcalf (Warriors) and Nathan Cleary (Panthers). Picture NRL Images Raiders co-captain Jarrod Croker, left, at Monday's finals launch with James Tedesco (Rooster), Christian Welch (Storm), Tyson Frizell (Knights), Adam Reynolds (Broncos), Wade Graham (Sharks), Luke Metcalf (Warriors) and Nathan Cleary (Panthers). Picture NRL Images](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/reqbnGrLXyZFax2TwSi3Na/d95caf60-3eda-4b3e-9892-6fa2338a29ca.jpg/r0_244_6099_3673_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
It's meant Croker played three minutes off the bench against the Broncos, before dropping out of the side that lost to Cronulla on Sunday.
"Strong isn't he. He's been really strong there. Blind Freddy can see how good he's been playing there," Croker said of Wighton.
"His yardage carries have been really, really strong. Defensively he's always strong. He's playing with plenty of energy and enthusiasm.
"He's been great there. We know he can play there. He's played really well there for NSW and Australia so there's no surprise to see how well he was going to go there."
Fellow Raiders veteran Jordan Rapana would love to have Croker back to face the Knights.
It's more than just the points and tries he's brought to the Raiders, as the club's all-time leader in both.
It's also the leadership the co-captain brought to the Green Machine.
Croker was a key factor in the Raiders turning their season around when they were languishing near the bottom of the ladder at the start of the year.
"I'd love that mate, I'd love that. He's a legend of the club and if he comes back in I know he'll absolutely kill it," Rapana said.
"We need his leadership too I think. His leadership's been outstanding for us throughout my whole career here."
Croker admitted it was a big shock when he was picked on the bench for the Broncos game.
But he expected he wouldn't play Cronulla when he saw the Sharks bench.
![Croker has been replaced at left centre by his good mate Jack Wighton. Picture by Keegan Carroll Croker has been replaced at left centre by his good mate Jack Wighton. Picture by Keegan Carroll](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/reqbnGrLXyZFax2TwSi3Na/cf8b7dc6-5a43-4be1-a04b-5c9f04b93362.jpg/r0_0_5003_2824_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
If he has played his last game, Croker was grateful for the games he's played this year.
He's battled back from a chronic knee condition and a shoulder reconstruction that limited him to just 13 games over the previous two seasons.
Both injuries threatened to end his career.
"It's made it a different way [to finish my career] to what I'd anticipated, but in saying that if you told me at the start of the year what I've achieved this year I would've taken that as well," Croker said of the possibility he's played his last game.
"You can't have your cake and eat it too unfortunately sometimes.
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"It was a big shock to me too. It was tough. The Brisbane game was tough - I'd never been on the bench in my life so it was obviously hard.
"[Sunday] made sense - they had four front-rowers on the bench.
"Having a 32-year-old outside back on the bench wasn't going to be the smart option so commonsense prevailed there in bringing Trey [Mooney] in.
"I don't think anyone likes playing on the bench, but if it's best for the team I'm happy to do it."
Even if he's not named on Tuesday, Croker will still be doing everything he can for his beloved Green Machine.
"I've got to prepare like I need to [play] because if something does happen to someone I might be there again," he said.
"I haven't just packed up shop. I'm certainly around preparing if I'm needed to play.
"It's just going to come down to who gets picked [on Tuesday] and where I am. Not much has changed in the last couple of weeks."
NRL ELIMINATION FINAL
Sunday: Canberra Raiders v Newcastle Knights at Newcastle, 4.05pm.
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