Canberra veteran Jarrod Croker remembers the day Ricky Stuart sat him down and told him he needed to retire from the NRL.
It was late 2021, the Raiders were in the league's COVID-enforced biosecurity bubble and Croker's body was failing him.
The Raiders captain had been battling a string of knee injuries since the 2020 pre-season and, by his own admission, was losing his way on the field.