Sam Williams couldn't think of a better way to celebrate his 100th NRL game - playing alongside one of his best mates in Jarrod Croker.
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The Canberra Raiders co-captain will make his long awaited return from injury - just in time to play in the milestone against the Gold Coast Titans at Canberra Stadium on Saturday.
Croker's been there for all-but four games of Williams' NRL career, which started with his debut against Cronulla in 2011.
Since then he's spent half a season with St George Illawarra, where he played those four games, before joining Catalans in the English Super League for the rest of the year.
He also had another stint in England with Wakefield Trinity for the 2017 season.
While Williams has taken 10 years to bring up his century, Croker's closing in on his 300th and has racked up almost every Green Machine record on offer.
But Croker's been out for the past nine weeks - first re-injuring his shoulder and then picking up an ongoing knee problem.
He'll return to left centre, with Sebastian Kris switching to the right edge and Matthew Timoko named 18th man.
It's the only change to the Raiders team that lost 22-20 to the Dragons last round.
Williams wasn't the only milestone man, with winger Jordan Rapana to play his 150th and Ryan Sutton his 50th.
"I knew exactly how many games I've played for the last two years," Williams said.
"I've been stranded a little bit there for a while. In a squad that's had quite a few injuries we haven't seemed to have too much in the halves until I've had my chance recently.
"It's a milestone I've always been fairly conscious of. I'm extremely proud to achieve the hundred games.
"[Croker's] been a mainstay of my career and one of the best mates I've had within rugby league.
"I hope he's back there - leading this side and kicking the goals.
"We've shared a lot of special moments together and a lot of special wins, and I'd love to be out there when he makes his 300th."
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Croker hasn't played since round seven against North Queensland - more than nine weeks ago.
He initially re-injured his shoulder, before picking up a knee injury that's kept him on the sidelines.
The 30-year-old had a platelet-rich plasma injection that's helped him return to full training.
Stuart was full of praise for the way Timoko has helped cover Croker's absence, having slotted into the centres for the Raiders' past two games.
"We've had Jarrod in a rehabilitation training program for the last six or seven weeks," Stuart said.
"He's probably been right to go for two of those weeks, but we've just abided by our medical advice and stuck to the program.
"We had to overcome his shoulder injury and get that through rehabilitation and then he had an ongoing knee issue.
"We've used this period to get some PRP injections for the knee to recuperate."
The NRL has returned to their strict, level-four protocols, which meant Williams will only be allowed to leave his house to play, train, for medical treatment and essential shopping.
That's despite there being zero active coronavirus cases currently in Canberra.
But Williams said the Raiders players were happy to go back into their bubble for the good of the NRL.
At least this year he's playing. With the NSW Cup cancelled last year, he spent most of the season training.
"It's never easy when you're sitting at home and seeing walking past and off to uni and work, but it's just a small sacrifice that we're going to have to make and if it's only for a few weeks then that's great," Williams said.
NRL ROUND 16
Saturday: Canberra Raiders v Gold Coast Titans at Canberra Stadium, 5.30pm.
Raiders squad: 1. Bailey Simonsson, 2. Semi Valemei, 3. Jarrod Croker (c), 4. Sebastian Kris, 5. Jordan Rapana, 6. Jack Wighton, 7. Sam Williams, 8. Josh Papalii, 9. Josh Hodgson, 10. Dunamis Lui, 11. Corey Harawira-Naera, 12. Elliott Whitehead (c), 13. Ryan Sutton. Interchange: 14. Tom Starling, 15. Emre Guler, 16. Sia Soliola, 17. Joe Tapine. Reserves: 18. Matt Timoko, 19. Hudson Young, 20. Matt Frawley, 21. Ryan James.
Titans squad: 1. Alexander Brimson, 2. Phillip Sami, 3. Brian Kelly, 4. Patrick Herbert, 5. Corey Thompson, 6. Ashley Taylor, 7. Jamal Fogarty, 8. Jarrod Wallace, 9. Erin Clark, 10. Tino Fa'asuamaleaui, 11. Kevin Proctor, 12. David Fifita, 13. Tyrone Peachey. Interchange: 14. Beau Fermor, 15. Sam Lisone, 16. Moeaki Fotuaika, 17. Jaimin Jolliffe. Reserves: 18. Sam Stone, 19. Sam McIntyre, 20. Mitch Rein, 21. Jayden Campbell.