Jarrod Croker, a legend of the Canberra Raiders who played more than 300 games for the Green Machine, will retire at the conclusion of the 2023 NRL season.
The co-captain of the Raiders informed his teammates on Thursday that he would not be looking to play in 2024 since he did not fulfill the requirements in his contract to be eligible for a one-year extension.
The 32-year-old played 305 NRL games and scored 135 tries during his 15 seasons with the Raiders.
As the top point scorer for the Raiders and third on the NRL all-time points scoring record, behind only Melbourne great Cameron Smith and former Canterbury star Hazem El Masri, he will hang up his boots.
After overcoming injuries to his knee and shoulder in recent years, Croker celebrated his 300th game in June, making club history as only the second player to accomplish the feat.
Raiders in the fifth and eighth Croker is regarded as “an absolute legend, loved by many” by Jack Wighton.
Jarrod Croker is a Raider, if you can put it that way,” he declared.
“He is well-respected here because, as everyone knows, he is a modest man who has conducted business for many years without raising any unnecessary commotion.
“It’s sad, but also awesome to see him be content and make that final move.”
After playing 150 games for the Raiders himself, Melbourne coach Craig Bellamy paid respect to Croker, describing him as “a terrific guy” who had done tremendous work for Canberra “and the game in general”.
Bellamy remarked, “He plays the game in a really good spirit.”
“He was an excellent center who could score tries from any location and was silky on the ground.
“But one of the things the Raiders might miss with him is how dependable he was with his goal kicking, and he’s done that for years.”
Croker did not play in today’s Raiders game against the Melbourne Storm due to a hamstring injury that he is currently healing from.
Why Jarrod Croker, a 300-gamer, is still Goulburn’s pride
In the process of playing in his 300th NRL game, Jarrod Croker has gone from being a 16-year-old premiership winner with the Goulburn Stockmen to a legend with the Canberra Raiders.
Men celebrate taking first place in the grand final.
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At the final siren, the score was 48-2 for the Storm after the Raiders were unable to cross the line even once in the first and second halves.
In a harsh evaluation of the Raiders’ performance, coach Ricky Stuart stated he “wasn’t in the mood for talking” about Croker’s retirement, but he did promise to address the matter on Monday.
“It was a really, really embarrassing performance, we went away after 20 minutes,” he stated.
“They were ready to battle for eighty minutes, and we weren’t.
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