Now Harry Croker from Nabiac has had some further good news. He’s been signed by the Newcastle Knights for the next three years. Harry will be part of the club’s development program, playing Harold Matthews Shield (under 16s) next year and SG Ball (under 18s) for two seasons after that. From there he hopes to progress to the club’s Holden Cup (under 20s) squad.

Harry was a member of the NSW Combined High Schools side beaten by Queensland Maroons 16-12 in the final played at Port Macquarie. He is also the Manning River Times-Iguana Sportstar of the Week, earning a $50 open order at Iguana.

Harry, who attends Taree High, was named in the second row for NSW after playing strongly for Northern NSW in the State championships held at Wollongong. He played off the bench in the Australian final and was generally happy with his form throughout the championship. He also got to play against his cousin,. Mitch Black, who was hooker for the NSW Combined Catholic Colleges (CCC) team. Mitch secured the bragging rights the first time the sides met when CCC won 14-6. However, Harry had the last say with CHS winning 14-12 in a tightly contested semi-final to earn the right to play the Queenslanders.

The rugby league season has been never-ending for Harry, who was playing trials for the Knights back in January. He plays with Taree Panthers in the Group Three under 15s competition, either at lock or in the second row. Once commitments are finished in Group Three this year he’ll join a Knights’ high performance squad for training sessions in Newcastle. Training with the Harold Matthews team will be underway in November.

Harry’s not concerned about the workload. He reasons that if it results in him eventually getting a contract with the Knights, the hard work will be worthwhile.

“That’s the dream,’’ he said of the prospect of becoming a fulltime player in the NRL.

Harry started playing with the Panthers when he was five while he’s been park of the Group Three representative teams for the past three years. While he prefers the backrow he’s also played a bit of five-eighth.

“I’ll play wherever the coach wants me to,’’ he said.

Harry doesn’t limit himself totally to rugby league. He also shows promise as a cricketer and last season was a representative at Mid North Coast level. However, he admits that his ever-increasing commitments to league cut into the amount of time he has for cricket.

The Knights is a family affair for the Crokers, with Harry’s older brother Matt also locked into the club for the next three seasons.