Raiders skipper Jarrod Croker confesses he won’t relive grand final pain
Canberra Raiders skipper Jarrod Croker says the controversial 2019 grand final loss to the Roosters will haunt him for some time, and he doesn’t plan on watching how it all unfolded.
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The recording is still on the TV in his Canberra lounge room, clogging up space but preventing further pain.
Raiders co-skipper Jarrod Croker has told The Daily Telegraph he is yet to watch a replay on his club’s heartbreaking 2019 grand final loss — and never will.
A horror late try to Sydney Roosters fullback James Tedesco through a refereeing blunder inflicted agony on Croker’s courageous Raiders.
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Speaking at Tuesday’s launch of next season’s Magic Round in Brisbane, Croker said: “I haven’t watched the game and probably won’t. It’s just going to hurt you more and make you angry. I recorded it on the TV but haven’t watched it.
“I’ve seen it on at a pub walking past but kept going. I went somewhere else. I haven’t seen it and don’t really want to.
“The only time I would ever think about watching it would be if we won one. You could watch the losing one and then follow it up with the winning one. It was a tough one to lose.
“It just sits in the back of your mind. You get away from it for a bit and then you see a game of footy on TV or someone comes up to you down the street or at a pub and tells you their thoughts on the game.
“You can’t really get away from it but that’s the way it’s going to be for a while, it’s part of life. But we put up a hell of a fight and gave ourselves a chance to win it.”
Croker can still remember hearing the raucous Viking Clap start up when he and his team waited inside the ANZ Stadium player’s tunnel pre-game on grand final day.
“We couldn’t see it but we could hear it shaking — it was pretty special. It sends shivers up your spine,” he said.
“Running out, see a sea of green, and knowing all your mates and family are there — it was special. It’s the one thing I might look back on if I get the footage but not much more after that.
“Whether the game comes up in a video session, I’m not too sure. If it does, we will deal with it then. We have to use this for next year and try and go one better, to move forward.
“It was a big game and there were probably a few big moments we couldn’t learn from.”
Canberra players remain on an off-season break before returning to training later this month for another tilt at grand final success.
And losing the grand final will only fuel motivation to improve just one position.
“It was a massive couple of weeks,” Croker said. “The entire grand final build-up — I really wanted to enjoy it and not let it go too far. I think I did although I didn’t enjoy the end result. Every player in our squad enjoyed the week,” he said.
“It was a pretty special time and they don’t come around too often. It took me 11 years to get there. It was a disappointing result but, looking back, it was a really strong year.”
And part of Canberra’ campaign will be a game against Canterbury during Magic Round, to be played over three days at Suncorp Stadium between May 1-3.
“I had hopes about it last year and it didn’t let me down,” Croker said. “Until some of the big games last year, a couple of the boys hadn’t played in front of crowd that big. We had 40-odd thousand there for the Roosters game. I am sure it will take off from here on in and I am already looking forward to it.”