Croker signs with Raiders until 2012

Canberra winger Jarrod Croker‘s performances so far this season persuaded Raiders bosses to offer him a two-year extension to his contract.

The 19-year-old Canberra junior has made 20 performances for the Raiders so far this season and has impressed with his speed and finishing ability.

Croker said his main intention was to stay with the Raiders.

“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.”
 
Raiders Chief Executive Don Furner said the Raiders’ policy on promoting and keeping local juniors was paying off for the club

“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.”