Up until last weekend, Tom Croker had not played a match in 2020. Then, on Saturday, he pulled on the green and white of the Canberra Raiders Under 20 side to take on the Queanbeyan Blues.
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The 38-12 win was Croker's debut for the side, which came about in unusual circumstances.
Having been selected in late 2019, Croker subsequently suffered a series of injuries which limited his ability to train with the squad. This saw him cut from the final team, which then sat on the sidelines as the COVID-19 lockdowns came into place.
As the season has finally gotten underway, a number of the Jersey Flegg players have been drafted into NRL squads, which left room for Croker to be reintroduced.
"Credit to him, he went back to Goulburn and worked on his rehab," Under 20s coach Ash Barnes said.
"We've got a number of players who have gone into the NRL bubble, and it opened up the opportunity for us to bring a local player like Tom back in and get some development. It's going to be a huge benefit to him."
To get the call from Barnes was "surreal", Croker said, but also somewhat strange, as he had come to terms with being left out of the side.
"It's a second chance really, a new life," he said.
On Saturday, Croker did not play for long. He started the match on the bench, and played at centre for roughly ten minutes.
This, Barnes said, was to ease the 18-year-old back into competitive football without risking any further injuries.
"I didn't want to chuck him in there without much training, especially with his injury concerns," he said.
"There's going to be some good opportunities for him as the season goes."
Croker, a Crookwell native, is joined by Goulburn resident and fellow former Goulburn player, Joe Roberts, in the Under 20s side. Roberts, who has been with the Woden Rams in recent years but was set for a return to the Goulburn Bulldogs in 2020, is captaining the Raiders this season.
"Joe's been around the Raiders development since he was about 15," Barnes said. "He played in our final side last year and has been good for us."
The win over Queanbeyan was the Raiders' second from two games, following a 28-16 victory over the Woden Rams in round one.
Though both results look on paper to be relatively one-sided, Barnes said the truth was far from it.
"It was a tough game, the Blues put out some quality players and had a crack," he said.
"Our boys have been doing a little bit more training than most of the local teams, so they're maybe a little fitter.
"[Terry Campese, Blues captain and coach] really pulled the strings and put pressure on us."
As reigning premiers and frontrunners prior to the season starting, the Blues have a side stacked with talent under a proven leader in Campese.
Playing against such strong rugby league pedigree was, as Croker said, a "weird" experience.
"The Blues are a quality side with Campo leading them, with his NRL experience," Croker said.
"That was pretty weird coming up against him knowing he's played NRL and State of Origin. Especially playing at Seiffert Oval [in Queanbeyan], the Raiders' old home ground. That revved us up, being on the old Raiders ground and there we are playing."
This weekend, the Raiders take on the Gungahlin Bulls at Nicholls. Though the Bulls have had a poor record in the last few years, Barnes knows they pose a more potent threat in 2020.
"They'be got a new coach in Neil Bijorac, and they've recruited a large number of players, lots of new faces in their team," he said.
"They've got a couple of young guys who played for the Blues last year, and they've got some familiar faces who have been with the Bulls for a while, and some exciting attacking players.
"I'm sure they'll play a really exciting, attacking brand of footy."
The Raiders Under 20s will take on the Gungahlin Bulls from 3pm on Saturday, August 8, at Nicholls International.
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