Jarrod Croker can laugh about it now.
The times he wandered to the fence and tried to hand his sweat-soaked headgear to a kid jostling for a glimpse of their heroes, only for the youngster to turn away.
"A few kids get shy," the Canberra Raiders centre grins ahead of his 300th NRL game, which comes against the New Zealand Warriors at Canberra Stadium on Friday night.