Fri, 11 Sept, 7:50 pm, Final score, Rabbitohs 10, Knights 20
Sat, 12 Sept, 4:05 pm, Final score, Warriors 16, Dolphins 26
16 26 →Sat, 12 Sept, 7:50 pm, Final score, Sharks 26, Cowboys 16
26 16 →Sun, 13 Sept, 4:05 pm, Final score, Panthers 19, Roosters 12
19 12 →Sat, 19 Sept, 7:50 pm, Game not started, Roosters versus Sharks
- - →Sun, 20 Sept, 4:05 pm, Game not started, Warriors versus Knights
- - →
In the modern rugby league landscape it's hard for any NRL player to be truly underrated.
Coverage of the game is more granular and intense than ever before and the rise of fantasy sports means every statistical contribution comes into focus, which makes it difficult for anyone to slide under the radar.
But Mat Croker, the man who explains how Newcastle have managed to find themselves in a sudden-death final against the Warriors on Sunday, has managed it after putting together a season of low-key excellence that makes him worthy of the title.
The lock forward is the only Knight to have played every game this year and his ball-playing in the middle of the field is the straw that stirs the drink for their dynamic attack.
"I'm the link man to our halves and making sure our weapons out wide, guys like KP [Kalyn Ponga] and Braddy [Bradman Best] and Gags [Dane Gagai] get the ball if the cues are there in the defender," Croker said.
"If they're not, just go through the middle."
The 27-year-old makes his job sound simple, and maybe it is, but that's not the same as easy. If it was, someone else would be doing it.
Croker is a microcosm of Newcastle's turnaround from wooden spooners to the brink of the club's first preliminary final since 2013 because, like his team, he knows his strengths and has been empowered to play to them.
There are more explosive and dazzling players at the Knights but Croker's passing, communication and structure helps give them the opportunity to explode and dazzle. He is the rock on which you can build a church that worships attacking football.
Newcastle lead the league in tries from their own half with 31. More than a quarter of those begin with Croker at first receiver, setting shape and creating time for the men outside him.
Like the other things Croker does well — chasing kicks, leading line speed in defence, slowing down the ruck — his impact in attack is a hard thing to quantify with numbers. But if you know what you're looking for, it becomes impossible to miss.
Sidelined halfback Dylan Brown believes it's invaluable and that Croker is part of the reason the Knights have been able to stay on their feet and make it to the second week of the finals despite a heavy injury toll.
"He understands the game really well. His footy smarts, when to play it out the back and when to run — he knows he's not the biggest player on the field but he knows how to find a gap and he knows when the spine needs the ball," said Brown.
"We've had all these new players come in but we still have the core. We still have Mat Croker and Phoenix Crossland, they haven't changed all year, and the more the ball goes through their hands the easier it's going to be for the rest of the team.
"You need that. Every team needs those guys."
It's been a season of great improvement for Croker, who notched his 100th NRL game earlier this year.
Since his debut in 2021 he has been a solid contributor for the Knights and a good clubman who mainly came off the bench, starting just 13 of his 82 appearances prior to this year.
But after working closely with new coach Justin Holbrook and attack coach Steven Hales over the summer, Croker was given a chance to start in the club's trip to Las Vegas in Round 1.
He has since transformed from honest toiler to a genuine ball-playing lock, a coalfields remix of the sophisticated passing middle that every decent team needs.
"Ever since day one they've put a lot of responsibility on my shoulders and I'm really grateful they've done that because I think it's brought out the best football of my career," Croker said.
"Back in Vegas they backed a hunch and took a bit of a punt of me to start and I've had the luxury of starting every game since. That's a lot of faith and I try to repay it."
The greatest compliment you can pay a middle forward is to say "he's got a bit of footy in him" and Croker has proven he's got more than most.
The skills were always there, he just needed the chance to unlock them.
"Without being arrogant, I always felt like I had some skills with passing and I'm not a barnstorming forward, so I had to work around that and find other ways to improve," said Croker.
"The ability to pass and show and go was part of that — the cues, I've worked really hard with Halesy and Justo to see those.
"He's said the same thing to me for 28 games — if they're tight, move it, and if they're not go through it."
In sticking to that mantra, Croker has become to Newcastle what his opposite number on Sunday, reigning Dally M Lock of the Year Erin Clark, is to the Warriors or what Cameron Murray is to last week's vanquished foes, South Sydney.
Croker had a strong game in that one, leading the way for Newcastle's depleted pack by holding the middle together and making 42 tackles without a miss, and says he was inspired by the prospect of taking on Murray.
"I was coming up against a good 13 in Cameron Murray, who's one of the best players in the whole competition," Croker said.
"I'm not saying I played over him but I knew I had a big challenge because we play similar roles and I tried to embrace that challenge without the two front-rowers I've beside me all year.
"I had to use my leadership a bit more and I'm proud of how I did it."
Repeating the dose against Clark and the Warriors in front of 50,000 fans at Eden Park is a tall order but few dare write the Knights off.
They're dangerous because they've had a whole season of learning how to play to their strengths, like they did against South Sydney and like Croker has all year to become the NRL's hidden gem.
If they pull off the upset, look for Croker at the heart of it and if he is he sure won't stay underrated for long.
