Game 300 in sight: Croker “ready and raring” ahead of long-waited NRL comeback

Here comes the big three-oh-oh: NRL veteran Jarrod Croker has been named to make his return for the Canberra Raiders after spending much of the 2022 season so far playing reserve grade, and he’s confident it’s going to be a big return.

“The body feels good,” the 291-game star said ahead of his round 9 comeback.

Croker was felled by an injury last year that nearly led to a medical retirement for the veteran. It would have been a cruel blow for the Raiders hero, who currently sits just nine games away from 300 first-grade appearances and boasts the third-highest points tally of any player to ever compete in the national league.

Ricky Stuart originally kept Croker in reserve ahead of round 1 to help with his recovery, but a fresh blow cruelled the 31-year-old’s chances to play in the opening month. Now, with the Raiders dropping into a scrap to avoid the wooden spoon, it’s time for Croker’s return.

The only question is, will his half-broken body keep together in the NRL arena these days?

“It’s good to be out there playing footy,  moving well, feeling well. Winning helps. It’s way better than what it was the past 18 months. If it wasn’t I probably wouldn’t be playing,” the Raiders captain-come-‘comeback kid’ admitted. “I’m enjoying my footy. Just being able to train and play and move freely and enjoy myself is the main thing.

“[Right now] my body’s holding up really well.”

Croker’s long wait in reserve grade—his longest stint in reggies since his debut season in 2009—was all the more painful for the man that bleeds pale green and white considering Stuart’s men have flopped to a horrible 2–6 start to the year.

That includes a five-game slide over the past month and change.

The 31-year-old believes it’s not time to hit the panic button behind the scenes yet. Ricky has done that a little, shuffling Croker back into his famed three-jersey in the centres, among other tweaks to the lineup, but Croker says there’s still time to turn things around on the field before the chopping block is wheeled out in the capital.

“It’s frustrating for the whole club at the moment,” the green machine skipper said.

No one like losing, so we’ve just got to hang tight and stick together as a whole club. It was good to see Jersey Flegg get a win [on Sunday]. They were really strong [and beat Parramatta 30–6). That’s all we can keep doing. We’ve got a good crew, and that’s from the top to player No.30.

“We’re all good mates, we get along really well.

“There’s nothing internal to worry about. The boys are strong together.

“We’ve got good mateship and played a lot of footy together,” he added ahead of game 292. “And once you get a win you build momentum. We’ve just got to turn it all around and keep chipping away.”

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