sausagefingers wrote:It's not often a player will still have a grin on his face after being on the end of a 24-point hiding.But teenage Canberra Raiders centre Jarrod Croker couldn't help but keep smiling following his NRL debut yesterday.
While the result didn't go his team's way the Raiders losing 28-4 to the Sydney Roosters the 18-year-old was still on cloud nine after achieving a life-long ambition.
Drafted into the team late last week to cover for the injured Phil Graham, Croker looked at home during his debut and appears set for a long NRL career.
"I love it, I couldn't get the smile off my face," Croker said. "It was a disappointing end to the game, but I enjoyed every minute of it."
Croker was a member of the Raiders' under-20s premiership team last season, helping set up the winning try in extra-time against the Brisbane Broncos.
His impressive Toyota Cup season earned him a spot in the Raiders' top squad for the pre-season and he hasn't looked back since.
After playing in the club's three trial games, he finally got a taste of NRL and he loved it.
"It was definitely a lot quicker than anything I've played," he said. "I started to cramp up there for a bit, but fortunately I got through it.
"I was pretty comfortable going into it, I was excited, but I was just trying to keep a cool head about everything and I thought I went all right. It was an awesome experience."
Before the game Croker was handed his jersey by Mal Meninga the Raiders' greatest centre.
He had only met the club legend for the first time during a touch football game last Wednesday.
"That was awesome just meeting him and then to get my jersey from one of the club greats was amazing.
"After he watched me play touch he said 'how can this kid ever play first grade'.
"We had a bit of a joke about it, then he congratulated me and wished me all the best.
"He just told me to take pride in the lime green jersey."
Croker shares the same last name as club legend Jason Croker, who he believes is a distant relative
Whats this got to do with Hull?
