Croker re-signs with Raiders until 2012
Canberra Raiders star rookie Jarrod Croker will be in green until the end of 2012, after he extended for a further two years on his current deal today at Raiders HQ.
19-year-old Croker will play his 21st match this weekend in his debut NRL season when he lines up against the Brisbane Broncos at Suncorp Stadium, capping off a remarkable year for the Toyota Cup graduate.
After signing the new deal today Croker said he was thrilled to have an extension on his current contract and said being a local junior swayed his decision to stay in the nation’s capital.
“We’ve been trying to sort it out for a few weeks now and it’s good to get it out of the road and concentrate on the last game this weekend,” Croker said. “I’m only from about an hour down the road (Goulburn) and I’ve always wanted to stay here.
“I just had to concentrate on playing good footy and let my manager and the clubs sort it out and I’m glad it’s been done.”
Croker said he wasn’t sure if there was interest from other clubs in his services, but said there was only one choice when it came to his immediate future.
“It’s always been Canberra, I love playing for the Raiders and can’t wait to finish off this season and get into next year,” he said. “It’s a bit unfortunate we didn’t get to play semi-final football this year but we’ve got a couple of years to work on it and hopefully we can be there next year.”
When asked about his rapid rise to the NRL ranks this season Croker said he had mixed emotions about the season and said he looked forward to exciting times ahead for the Raiders young side.
“I’m shocked and surprised but I’m also keen and excited too. I’ve got another three years here now and it’s a good start to my career,” he said. “We have plenty of guys coming through with Josh Dugan and Daniel Vidot while there’s other guys like Drury Low and Mick Picker coming through from the 20’s and hopefully we can keep everyone together.”
Raiders CEO Don Furner said the Raiders had continued to focus on the policy of keeping their talented juniors at the club and Croker’s re-signing was an indication that the policy was working.
“We realised halfway through last year that we have a really good crop of young kids coming through and we want to keep them together,” Furner said. “Having Jarrod now signed up for a further two years is part of this plan.”
Furner said the Raiders would have a similar squad next season as they continue to focus on development and said the club would continue to back their local talent.
“The reality is for us is that we are focused on retention rather than recruitment,” he said. “We did have our eye on two players but the reality for us is if we think we have better players here already we’ll back them instead.”
http://www.raiders.com.au/default.aspx?s=article-display&id=19951
