Canberra Raiders juniors keep up a strong family tradition

When he tells them no, but his uncle is Jason Croker, the 318-game record-holder with the Raiders, they usually respond ''who?''.

Two of Jason Croker's nephews, Lachlan Croker and Morgan Boyle, will line up in Canberra's under-18s SG Ball team next season. They'll be joined by Lachlan Lewis, nephew of Immortal Wally Lewis, and Zac Woolford, son of former skipper Simon Woolford.

But when it comes to following in the footsteps of their famous relatives, maybe there's not as much pressure as you'd think.

''They're all wanting to make a mark for themselves, it's not about following in footsteps,'' says Raiders under-18s coach Peter Marrapodi.

''It's really consistent across everyone you talk to. They're their own person, everyone's unique.''

Woolford remembers the period, around 1996, when there were a lot of births in the Raiders team. But he couldn't forecast that 17 years later their boys would be running around for the Green Machine too.

Raiders officials say Zac Woolford is a chip off the old block, a hooker with a competitive drive and motor mouth. He's even been branded with his dad's nickname, Germ, by some. ''I joked with Zac the other day to stop living off my name,'' Simon Woolford said.

''He's had to work pretty hard, as a 14-year-old he was giving the game away because he was so small. He had a bit of a growth spurt, got some confidence and hasn't looked back. He's got the same sort of temperament as me, he's 100-mile an hour and a competitor.

''We often joke about it at home, I think that's half his drive, to be a better player than I was. Little does he know, I hope he is. But he'll make his own name, if he's good enough he'll go on with it. If not then so be it, there's no pressure from my point of view.''

Raiders development and recruitment manager David Hamilton said rugby league wasn't horse racing, and that players were chosen on proven ability, not bloodlines.

''I never pick a player because of their name,'' he said.

''But maybe having that name toughens them up mentally, they've got to get out of that shadow.''

Few players could cast a bigger shadow than Wally Lewis.

But Hamilton said he was excited by the current generation of juniors, highlighting Lewis and Woolford as two of the best young communicators he'd seen in his time at the Raiders.

''What Zac and Lachy Lewis do really well is that they get teams around the park, that's hard to do and at a young age.

''[Former Raiders halfback] Sammy Williams was the best I've seen do that at such a young age. They've all got work to do, but that ability is hard to teach.''

Like his uncle, Croker comes from Crookwell and still commutes the three-hour return journey to Canberra for training three times a week.

Croker was the players' player for the Raiders under-18s last season, despite being a year younger.

''Towards the end of next season I'd like to kick on the 20s, but I'm not taking anything for granted,'' Croker said.

Jason Croker's other nephew, Morgan Boyle, son of former Raiders centre David Boyle, is also in the under-18s squad.

Asked if the boys could live up to the legacy of his 318 NRL games with the Raiders, Croker said: ''They've both got a real good chance. Hopefully they push each other.

''I muck around with them here or there, only at Christmas time when we get the footy out … obviously I run over the top of them all.''