This is the third instalment of 2020 in review. As is the tradition, now the Raiders' season is over, we are reviewing all 32 players who pulled on a green jersey this year. So far, we've looked at Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad and Jordan Rapana.
This year, Canberra Raiders captain Jarrod Croker became the fifth highest point scorer in NRL history. In the Round 16 clash with the Bulldogs, he overtook Jason Taylor to take his place in the top five. He now has the point scoring records of Andrew Johns and Johnathan Thurston in his sights. He has to score just 18 points to match Johns and 64 points to match Thurston. There is every prospect that next season, he could become one of the three top point scorers in the code's history in Australia.
Croker broke through the 2,000 career points barrier in the Round 1 win over the Gold Coast Titans - becoming the youngest player to ever do so. Only seven players have ever surpassed that benchmark. He has now scored 2,158 points, 132 tries and 815 goals.
Croker only scored five tries this year - down from 13 in 2019, when he was the Raiders' top try scorer. It was his lowest season tally since 2010, when he also crossed the white stripe five times. He didn't score a try in the first seven rounds, meaning he equalled his longest ever try scoring drought of eight matches. His last eight game drought was way back in 2010. But his goal kicking improved in 2020. His success rate this year was 82 per cent, his best success rate since 2017 - and not far off his career best of 85 per cent in 2013. He ranked fifth for total goals this year, and only Adam Reynolds and Cameron Smith had a better success rate amongst the regular kickers in the NRL.
Croker's average metres per game (68) were down on 2019 (74), as were his metres per carry (eight, compared with 10 in 2019). His line breaks per match fell by half, compared with 2019... while his tackle breaks fell to just under one per game (1.7 per game in 2019). Overall, it is clear his attacking strike was down this season.
Croker's defence is the area of his game that has been often criticised. There was one missed tackle in the Preliminary Final which led to a try. As it turns out, he suffered a serious shoulder injury, five minutes into that game... and played for the whole game. No wonder he missed that one. His missed tackle count increased, to just over two per game (1.4 per match in 2019) and his tackle efficiency fell a bit (80 per cent, compared with 83 per cent in 2019). He ranked equal second at the club for missed tackles, along with Jack Wighton. But he only produced six ineffective tackles. And that record didn't translate into a lot of points. Croker was credited with 21 try causes in 2019, the highest at the club and ranking top six for most in the NRL. In 2020, his try causes halved (to 10) and he was outside the top 50 players in the NRL - and the top 25 centres - in that department. An area he'll want to watch is his error count, which was third highest at the club behind Jack Wighton and Jordan Rapana.
My average rating for Croker was 6.1/10 over his 22 appearances, down from his average of 6.5 points in 2019. His season rating reflects his contribution to the season, missing only the Round 20 clash with the Sharks. He was one of many rested from that match. I rated him an "8" in one game, the Round 2 win over the Warriors at the Gold Coast. That day he produced 10 runs for 105 metres, 27 post contact metres, two line break assists, two try assists and six tackle breaks. He only picked up one point in Fans' Choice Player of the Year voting, the Round 6 loss to the Sea Eagles.
Croker signed a four year deal with the Raiders back in March, keeping the skipper at the club until the end of 2024. He's already the second most capped Raider, with 279 appearances. He will now likely overtake Jason Croker's record of 318 games inside the next couple of years. 2020 has not been his best year, but there have been rumours of niggling injuries which may well have contributed to that. And while his strike rate in attack was down this year, I believe there have been some very premature conclusions reached about that by some fans. He will miss the first four to six weeks of the 2021 season, after having major shoulder surgery. But I'm looking forward to seeing him bounce back once he’s back on the field.
How did you rate Jarrod Croker's 2020? Tell us below.
Jarrod Croker's 2020: 7/10
2020 Statistics: (Stats from Fox Sports Lab)
Games: 22
Average minutes: 79
Points: 162
Tries: 5
Goals: 71/81
Goal kicking percentage: 82
Try assists: 4
Try contributions: 4
Total try involvements: 13
Total kicks: 14
Kick metres: 259
Total runs: 177
All run metres: 1493
Average metres per carry: 8
Average metres per game: 68
Tackle breaks: 21
Offloads: 11
Line breaks: 7
Line break assists: 2
Tackles: 222
Average tackles per game: 10
1 on 1 tackles: 34
Missed tackles: 48
Average missed tackles per game: 2
Ineffective tackles: 6
Tackle efficiency: 80 per cent
Try causes: 10
Errors: 22
Penalties conceded: 6
