Round 8
Broncos 30 d. Raiders 28

2006 NRL Telstra Premiership Index [Table] [Draw] [Player Stats] [Club Headlines]

Location: Aus_NZ > National > First Grade Competition: NRL Telstra Premiership

Broncos comeback to spoil Croker's 300th
Sun April 30, 2006
Jason Croker scored a trademark determined try in his 300th first grade game but it wasn't enough to help Canberra as they fell just short losing 30-28 to Brisbane at Suncorp Stadium in front of 23,582 fans.

Croker became just the 8th player after Geoff Gerard (303), Terry Lamb (349), Paul Langmack (315), Cliff Lyons (332), Andrew Ettingshausen (327), Brad Fittler (336) and Luke Ricketson (301) to reach the 300 landmark with Darren Smith and Steve Menzies trapped in the 290's brigade. Croker made his debut for the Raiders in 1991 and has been the rock of the club since playing in 300 out of 373 games since his top grade debut. He played State of Origin for NSW in 1996 and 2001 and achieved Australian honours in 2000 where he was selected in a one-off Test against Papua New Guinea and was a member of the 2000 World Cup squad. Croker's Test selection came six years too late where he should have been on the plane for the 1994 Kangaroo Tour.

Canberra raced out to an 18-0 lead with tries to Adam Mogg, Croker and Alan Tongue and could have led by more as the Broncos simply weren't there in the opening 40 minutes.

The second half was a different story as Brisbane clicked into gear with Darren Lockyer playing a leading role for the home side as he slowly regains form. The Broncos scored four tries in the opening 13 minutes of the second half with Karmichael Hunt scoring two in three minutes with Lockyer and David Stagg scoring the other tries.

Mogg scored his second try in the 58th minute to get Canberra within two points but Clinton Schifcofske wasn't able to convert. However, the Raiders captain wasn't to be denied when he scored a determined try to regain Canberra's lead.

Justin Hodges continued his great season when he charged onto Shane Perry's pass to level up the scores. Lockyer tookover the goal kicking duties from Corey Parker who was off the field and landed the goal for his 1,000th Premiership point. Lockyer has become just the 5th player in Premiership history to score 100 tries and 1,000 points following in the footsteps of Terry Lamb, Greg Alexander, Ryan Girdler and Hazem El Masri. Even though Lamb, Alexander and Girdler played for Wests, Auckland and Illawarra respectively, all five players achieved the 1000-100 double for the one club.

Brisbane now have an equal share of the lead as Wayne Bennett's men are creeping up on the table without much fuss or fanfare. Hodges on form deserves to be selected and the loyalty card shouldn't be used against him as his main rival for a Test spot won't be playing Rugby League next year.

Advanced Search