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JARROD Croker has earned himself the title of the unluckiest centre in State of Origin history to not have pulled on the sky blue of New South Wales. Many would struggle to keep motivated and start to walk around kicking stones, but not the Canberra Raiders co-captain. "I just enjoy my footy; I don't go to training or go to (NRL) games thinking about Origin," Croker told the Port News during the week ahead of Saturday's trial match with Canterbury in Port Macquarie. "I go there to play for Canberra and try to play the best I can and lead the side the best I can because there's nothing really I can do football-wise that will help me make Origin. "I just want to play well for Canberra." And while the man himself is yet to have any discussions with Blues coach Brad Fittler about his prospects for the 2020 series, it hasn't dampened any spirits about one day making his debut. "I'll never stop having those dreams to play Origin, but it's not really up to me; I don't expect phone calls ... I don't expect anything like that," he said. "If you're playing good footy and the guys want to pick you, then I'm sure you will get a phone call and hopefully one day I do." When asked what he made of the discussion around the water cooler over the years that he should have made his Origin debut by now, Croker was happy to let everyone else do the talking. "That's everyone else's opinion; I certainly don't have that opinion myself," he said. "It's not really something that gets to me or gets me down, it's just the game and the way it is." He admits he is grateful to be able to play the game he loves at the top level for as long as he has. "The success (over the last few years) makes it even more enjoyable," he said. "Everyone likes success, everyone likes winning and last year was such a massive year for that and that's the drive that keeps me going. "If I do get a phone call one day down the track I'll jump at it with two hands." Another hurdle now in front of the 29-year-old comes in the form of selection stability with the Blues having claimed the last two series' in a row. "There are some pretty good players in that side and now they've got some pretty good combinations," he said. The ultimate success story for Croker and those in lime green will be come from going one step further than last year when they made the grand final. But he knows it will be even tougher this year after they flew under the radar for a large portion of 2019. "We're going to be targeted and we know that so we've got to be better," he said. "At the end of the day we didn't win anything last year, we ran second and we're like every other side that didn't beat the Roosters in the grand final. "We want to come out and win it this year so we've got to use that as fuel; we've got to be hungrier." Croker and the Raiders will line up against a near full-strength Canterbury side on Saturday at Regional Stadium with kick-off at 4.30pm. While you're with us, you can now receive updates straight to your inbox from the Port Macquarie News. To make sure you're up to date with all the news, SIGN UP HERE.

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