If fear of letting his mates down drove Jason Croker, it certainly worked.
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The 1994 NRL premiership, a Canberra Raiders record 318 games, 120 tries, five Tests for Australia and five State of Origins for New South Wales later and now he's one of the three latest inductees into the Raiders hall of fame, which were announced at the National Convention Centre on Friday night.
Along with Croker was the Green Machine's inaugural coach Don Furner snr and inaugural captain David Grant.
Furner laid the foundations for the Raiders' golden era through the late 80s to mid 90s.
Croker came into first grade after Furner handed the Canberra reins over to Tim Sheens.
He debuted against Brisbane in 1991, the year after the Raiders won back-to-back premierships and he had established himself as a versatile member of the team for their '94 grand final triumph over Canterbury.
That saw him play alongside Mal Meninga, Ricky Stuart, Laurie Daley, Steve Walters and Bradley Clyde.
Croker said it was daunting running out alongside those names as a young fella, but they always made him feel at home.
But it also helped create his drive.
"Playing with the guys I did when I came through, that team we had was pretty impressive. I learnt a lot from the older guys there, the leaders, and I just didn't want to let the guys down," Croker said.
"It was pretty daunting, but they made me feel welcome. My biggest fear was letting them down, but I don't think I let them down too many times."
He said being named alongside them in the hall of the fame was a tremendous honour.
One of those players felt Croker probably didn't receive the representative honours he deserved.
Croker played all five of his Tests in 2000, when he was named the Dally M lock of the year.
He played in all three Origins in '96, but his other appearances came in '93 and 2001.
"What a great player 'Toots' was. He should've played more rep footy ... he was an extraordinary talent. I enjoyed playing footy with 'Toots'," Meninga said.
"He was an extremely competitive player and that's what you want in your group. He's been a great stalwart for the club."
While Croker didn't play under Furner at the Raiders, he did know him through his sons Don jnr and David.
Croker played alongside David Furner in Canberra's second row in the '94 decider.
He praised his father's efforts in laying the foundations for the Green Machine.
Furner was the inaugural coach when the Raiders entered the competition in 1982 and guided them through to the '87 grand final - the first time a non-NSW team had made the decider.
While they went down to Manly, it prepared Canberra to go one step further two years later.
"I know Donny snr because I'm good friends with Dave and Donny. He's such a nice bloke and he pretty much started the club back in the day," Croker said.
"He was the coach of the Australian side as well so he knew his stuff."
Grant was Furner's captain when the Raiders played their maiden game against South Sydney in '82.
He went on to play 77 games for the Green Machine, having spent time at Souths, Easts and Balmain, and was known for his courage in the front row.
Tragically, Grant died of a heart attack aged 38 in 1994.
"I knew of him. He was such a fearsome player. He ran the ball hard and tackled hard, and was a good leader. He was obviously gone way too early as well," Croker said.
NRL ROUND 18
Saturday: Canberra Raiders v Wests Tigers at Canberra Stadium, 5.30pm.
Raiders squad: 1. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 2. Bailey Simonsson, 3. Jarrod Croker (c), 4. Michael Oldfield, 5. Jordan Rapana, 6. Jack Wighton, 7. Aidan Sezer, 8. Josh Papalii, 9. Josh Hodgson (c), 10. Dunamis Lui, 11. John Bateman, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Joe Tapine. Interchange: 14. Siliva Havili, 15. Corey Horsburgh, 16. Sia Soliola, 17. Emre Guler. Reserves: 18. Sam Williams, 21. JJ Collins.
Tigers squad: 3. Moses Mbye, 2. Paul Momirovski, 17. Michael Chee-Kam, 4. Esan Marsters, 5. David Nofoaluma, 6. Benji Marshall, 7. Luke Brooks, 8. Josh Aloiai, 9. Robbie Farah, 10. Alex Twal, 11. Ryan Matterson, 12. Chris Lawrence, 13. Matt Eisenhuth. Interchange: 14. Jacob Liddle, 15. Thomas Mikaele, 16. Elijah Taylor, 20. Luke Garner. Reserves: 18. Tommy Talau, 19. Chris McQueen.