This was published 8 years ago
Canberra Raiders captain embraces 'unreal' atmosphere in PNG for PM's XIII clash
By Lee Gaskin
He'd rather be playing finals football in September, but the "unreal" atmosphere in Port Moresby is a close second for Raiders captain Jarrod Croker.
The Canberra skipper and the NRL's leading point scorer rounded out his fantastic season with a try and a couple of goals in the PM's XIII's 40-12 win against PNG on Saturday night.
Jarrod Croker scores a try against PNG on Saturday night.Credit: Dave Buller (NRL)
Croker's Raiders teammate Jack Wighton scored the final try of the game in another impressive performance to cap off his first full season at fullback.
The match was played in front of a crowd of more than 18,000 despite the stadium having a capacity of 15,000 with supporters taking up every possible bit of space.
It was the second straight trip to PNG for Croker after he debuted for the PM's XIII off the bench when the game was played in Kokopo in front of a crowd of about 7000.
Croker was blown away by the reception and what he experienced from the rugby league-mad nation.
"It was unreal. The atmosphere is always great over here, but last night was something pretty different," Croker said.
"It was a brand new stadium and it was actually unbelievable when we pulled up there, they just went absolutely berserk.
"We really enjoyed it mate, they were a very vocal crowd and they cheered just about every tackle so it was awesome.
"This game is massive not only for Papua New Guinea, but for Australia as well. You only have to witness it first-hand to see how much they love the game. It's also a good stepping stone for rep games for young guys, so it works well both ends."
Wighton looked assured in his first appearance for the PM's XIII after having previous representative experience with the Indigenous All Stars and Country Origin.
He has played in every position in the backline in his short NRL career. He started on the wing, moved into the centres, was tried at five-eighth and even played one game at halfback. But it's clear to see that fullback is where he is the most comfortable and where his long-term future with the Raiders is going to be.
"He had a really strong game as he's done all year," Croker said.
"He was a bit worried about how he was going to handle it all after having a couple of weeks off, but he was fine.
"I think fullback is his best position for now. He can obviously cover a lot of positions, but I think it's good for Jack to be able to have a position nailed down where he can concentrate on that one spot on the field."
Croker and Wighton will now start their pre-season break before resuming full-time training in November.
"I'll put my feet up, but at the same keep ticking over and stay in a bit of shape so I'm not struggling come November," Croker said.
"You don't want to be training 100 miles an hour in the off-season, but you've got to stay in reasonable shape."