Injured Raiders champion Jarrod Croker has detailed the mixture of anguish and pride he feels in watching his team’s charge to the finals from Canberra’s casualty ward.
Croker was ruled out for the season with a shoulder injury, but has watched his beloved ‘Green Machine’ rise from 15th early in the season to grab the final spot in the top eight.
Speaking with The Fox League podcast, Croker admitted the toll being on the sidelines has taken on him and his family, but he has tried to channel his energy into supporting his team’s title ambitions.
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LISTEN TO EPISODE 24 OF THE FOX LEAGUE PODCAST WITH JARROD CROKER
“It is frustrating and emotional,” Croker said on the Fox League podcast.
“I feel sorry for my wife, she has to put up with the most of it.
“I hate it. I don’t like putting up with it. I don’t think anyone does.
“Game day is the worst. Through the week you get by and the boys are training and you are just doing your rehab and having a laugh.
“There is no pressure in playing the game each weekend when you are injured long-term.
“But once you get to captain’s run and game day I don’t handle it very well.
“It is part of the game and I just have to count my blessings. I went my first 12 or 13 years without really having to do it much.
“Now the last 18 months it has all hit me at once. But I still sit there and cheer like a diehard fan and wear my heart on my sleeve.
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“I can understand why Ricky (Stuart) gets himself into trouble on the sideline because I just sit there and do it myself without even being the coach.
“I definitely hate not playing and not being able to run out with the boys, but I’m also their No.1 supporter and ride the rollercoaster of being a fan.”
The Storm have a formidable record at AAMI park, particularly in finals, but the Raiders will be buoyed by a strong recent record against Melbourne ahead of the elimination final on Saturday.
Croker explained the Raiders’ success is down to a desire to prove themselves as a club against the competition benchmark in the Storm over the last two decades.
“I guess going back even when we used to play down there 10 years ago in 2011 to 2013, Melbourne were always the pinnacle and the team to beat,” Croker said.
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“And they still are down there. I guess they have always been a team we enjoy going down there and playing and taking on the best, which is what they have been for 10 years.
“That’s the mindset I have always had going down to Melbourne, if you want to be the best you have got to beat the best.
“I think every team goes down there thinking that same thing about Melbourne.
“When you start winning down there or having a decent enough record it starts to get talked about more often.
“But it is week one of the finals and it is do or die for both teams, so I think it will be a fairly different story this week, but I’m confident the boys can go down there and hopefully get the chocolates again.”
The battle between the forward packs is a mouth-watering prospect, which will go a long way towards deciding the result on Saturday.
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Arguably the form forward from both teams has been Raiders prop Joe Tapine and Croker revealed the key to his career-best season for the Raiders.
“It has probably been a couple of years coming for Taps (Tapine),” Croker said.
“While he has been great for us a number of years now, it is just like he exploded out of the blocks this year.
“He has really taken ownership of his own game and his leadership and you can tell he really wants to be a leader around the club.
“He was rewarded last weekend when Elliott (Whitehead) and Jack (Wighton) were not playing.
“I think that extra bit of leadership has really urged him along to do as much as he can on and off the field for the club for them to play good footy.
“There is some really good front-rowers out there, but if you can name one better than Taps at the moment you are doing a pretty good job.”
The Raiders will have no shortage of support from their green army back home in Canberra and Croker revealed the belief within the Canberra team and the community that is driving them in September.
“It is nice there at the moment,” Croker said.
“It is always nice coming to the back end of the year and getting rid of a bit of the cold weather and playing finals footy and the town has a bit of a buzz about it.
“It is obviously very exciting and I think the way we have had to do it as well probably makes it a little bit more special.
“We always said once we get into finals it is a new game and the boys are ready to roll again.”
