Jarrod Croker's NRL finals experience is punctuated by heartbreak, shattered bones and horror luck, but the Canberra Raiders skipper says the rise of a new era overshadows any lingering demons.
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The Raiders play their last regular season game against the Wests Tigers at Leichhardt Oval on Sunday and Croker delivered an ominous warning, declaring "we won't take our foot off the pedal" after nine straight wins.
Melbourne's win over Cronulla on Saturday night means the Storm claim the minor premiership. The Raiders will now play the Sharks in week one of the finals. A Raiders win on Sunday will see them host the Sharks in the qualifying final, while a loss will mean a trip to Sydney next weekend.
Croker is one of only five Raiders with finals experience, having made his play-off debut in 2010, suffering goal-kicking devastation and injury frustration in two of his four finals
You could forgive Croker for feeling apprehensive on the eve of the finals after a missed kick against the Tigers in 2010 ended Canberra's season and shattering his jaw in seven places two years later.
But Croker, now the highest point scorer in Raiders history, said the 2016 campaign was about making new memories and setting up Canberra's future.
"It's not about unfinished business, it just feels like the start of a new era and a new trend for us," Croker said.
"Hopefully this is our first finals series for the next five or six years and beyond for the club. That's what I'm hoping for, I'm thinking this is the start of something good for the club.
"I'm not looking at it as those ones from a couple of years ago ... and we'd certainly like to go a lot further.
"It's been a long time between drinks, those were a long time ago now. I'm excited to get back out there and get amongst it again."
The Raiders have won their past nine games in a row but will run into a desperate and unpredictable Tigers side in Sydney.
They can set a club record of 10 wins in a row if they beat the Tigers, eclipsing the nine-match mark set in 1989, 1994 and 1995.
Croker said the players were unfazed by records or the finals hype as they narrow their focus to the Tigers before setting their sights on the opening week of the play-offs.
Coach Ricky Stuart could still tinker with his line-up before kick-off and Blake Austin travelled to Sydney with the team, but the playmaker won't make a surprise return after breaking his hand last week.
Many are starting to compare Stuart's team to champion Raiders sides of the past and Croker said acknowledging Green Machine legends was a driving force to create a bright future.
"We speak about the history a lot and the family of the club," he said.
"I didn't know about that record [of 10 wins in a row] and it's nice to be a part of that all. I've been here when we lost 10 or 11 in a row in 2011.
"So I've ridden the highs and the lows of it all and it's nice to be a part of the good side. Win, lose or draw on Sunday, we have to start fresh on Monday.
"There's no taking the foot off the pedal, we want to win on Sunday and we want to hit the ground running with momentum.
"There's no comparing us to teams of the past or anything like that, we won't know how we stack up until 10 years' time. It's a ride at the moment and we'll stay on that wave."
The Raiders will return to Canberra on Sunday night but the club has organised a dinner for the players and the "forgotten members" of their regular season success – wives, partners and families.
"The players have committed and bought into [spending more time away from home] and that does take a toll on partners and kids," Croker said.
"They all support us no matter what and the job they do goes unnoticed. But it doesn't go unnoticed in the inner sanctum. Hopefully there's that big reward at the end of it that makes it all worthwhile."
