‘I won’t be picking him’: NRL great slams Jarrod Croker’s 300th game plan

League greats have bristled at plans to bench Raiders captain Jarrod Croker for what would have been his 300th match.

Cooper Cronk hit out over the call. Photo: Fox Sports

Canberra Raiders stalwart Jarrod Croker will play his 300th game in front of his home crowd after coach Ricky Stuart revealed he will be sat for next week’s match against the Wests Tigers.

Croker will become the 48th player in rugby league history to reach the milestone and the 18th for just one club.

But he will have a fortnight to wait to bring it up against the Warriors on Friday June 9 at 6pm.

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However, four-time premiership winning halfback Cooper Cronk, who played 323 matches for the Storm before finishing his career with the Roosters on 372 matches, and Canberra legend Mal Meninga questioned the idea.

Croker deserves a party for his 300th. Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images

Speaking after his side’s 33-26 win over the South Sydney Rabbitohs on Saturday night, which was rocked by the scary scenes of Corey Harawira-Naera’s on-field seizure, Stuart confirmed that Croker would not be selected for next Friday’s clash against the Tigers.

“With Jarrod now reaching 299, Don (Furner) and I have been talking to our board about the situation of Jarrod, who I think he deserves and I believe all our fans, our loyal supporters in Canberra, to see Jarrod play live for his 300th game,” Stuart said. “So I won’t be picking Jarrod next week against the Tigers, I’m going to sit him out for a week.

“It’s not Jarrod’s call, he’s happy to do whatever’s best for the team but I believe Jarrod deserves it and I believe all our fans who are so loyal to us, they deserve to be at GIO and see him play live.

“It’s definitely not disrespectful to the Tigers. I’d love to see Jarrod there for (Wests Tigers senior assistant coach) David Furner and (Wests Tigers head coach) Tim Sheens, who was my coach, David Furner who had such a massive role in Jarrod’s career. I’d love to have them there.

“It’s no disrespect to the Tigers, especially after their last performance, I know how well they’ve been going over the last month. We’re certainly not taking our foot off the pedal but I’m putting respect before our game next week in regards to this bloke here because he totally deserves it and so do our fans down in Canberra.”

Jarrod Croker is the ultimate club man. Photo: Fox Sports

Stuart encouraged the fans to buy tickets and break the ground record for the special occasion.

Croker said he would do whatever the team wanted him to do.

“Everyone knows what this club and this jersey mean to me,” Croker said. “I’ve spent more than half my life here. I wear this jersey with so much pride.

“I try to do the best thing I can for the team and the club and now I’ve got a young family, I just want to make them proud. I’ve got mum and dad, they’ve been there a long time.

“I said to Stick I’ll play anywhere, wherever you need me, whenever, and I’ve said that since day one and that’s how I feel about this club.

“I appreciate the fact that I’m able to do it at home in a couple of weeks time. It wouldn’t have bothered a lot of the players or my family where it was, they would have flown to New Zealand if they had to. I’m sure they’ll appreciate only having to go up the road.

“Even talking about it now, I don’t think you understand how much it means to me. I don’t want to keep talking about it because I keep getting more emotional about it. I love it.”

Meninga said it was a “noble” idea that wouldn’t have been taken lightly.

But he added: “I would have picked him and stick it up Sheensy and Furnsy. That would have been my take on it.”

Cronk and Meninga weren't so sure. Photo: Fox Sports

Cronk however said he didn’t agree with the decision to sit Croker out.

“You scrap, you claw, you fight, and the Raiders have done that to get their season back on track, winning the big bulk of games when Jarrod’s been there,” Cronk said.

“And that whole character, we are in it together mantra I believe runs through no matter what game you play.

“A wise old man once said ‘don’t count your games, make your games count’, and for me, he should be playing against the Tigers, he should win that, he should celebrate that, and then he should go back to Canberra and celebrate that one. Because 301, 302, 305, they’ll continue on until he finishes up.”

Meninga said it was ironic that it was Croker’s return to first grade in round 6 was when the Raiders turned their season around, having won six of their last seven matches.