The 22-year-old prop, who was called into the side on the day of the game, more than held his own in what was just his third NRL match.

In his 34 minutes, Croker made 27 tackles and ran for 125 metres, playing a key role supporting starting props Jacob Saifiti and Mitch Barnett.

It was by far and away his best performance at NRL level and marked a remarkable turnaround in fortunes for Croker, who at the end of the 2020 season thought his NRL dream could be over after losing his development contract with the club.

"That's the best feeling ever," Croker told the Newcastle Herald after the game, which was his first NRL victory.

The son of Nabiac farmers, Croker spent last season doing all he could to prove Knights officials wrong, refusing to give up on playing in the NRL. He captained club's NSW Cup side ahead of contracted players and ultimately earned a call up to the first-grade side in round 13, debuting at home on Old Boys' Day in front of family and friends. He played again the following week as well.

Croker continued his hard work through the preseason to put himself in the best position of playing NRL.

"Our preseason was tough," Croker said. "Personally, I was very happy with how I come back. I've never been one for a great fitness record, but I come back pretty decent this year. I don't think I missed a session in four-and-a-half months, except for when I got COVID on camp. That was something I was very set on doing, getting every session down. I think that has set me up for a good year."

Croker was a late inclusion for the Tigers game after David Klemmer was ruled out. He received a call from coach Adam O'Brien about six hours before the game.

"Klem was in doubt ... but Klem is as tough as teak so I thought there might be a chance I would only be 18th man," Croker said.

"But Adsy rang me about 9.30 ... it was a quick conversation. He just said, 'you're in' and I said 'I'm ready to go'. It was a good feeling."

With the Knights missing multiple first-graders including regular starting props Daniel Saifiti and Klemmer, Croker was one of four players under the age of 23 that made up the side's bench.

Jirah Momoisea was the oldest at 23, followed by 22-year-old Croker, and Leo Thompson and Phoenix Crossland, who are both 21.

Croker said the youngsters adopted the club's newfound "next-man-up" mentality to perform in place of some of the club's top-line regulars.

"We only had about 25 games of experience through the four of us," he said. "Leo Thompson was in his second game, I was in my third, Jirah was in his fifth or sixth and Phoenix was the most experienced out of all of us. We didn't really think about that too much, no one had a shred of doubt. We were ready to get the job done."

The 26-4 win over the Tigers came in front of 23,214 fans and was the first NRL game the Knights had played at McDonald Jones Stadium in more than eight months.

It was also Croker's first victory at NRL level. So enjoyable was the occasion, the jovial prop said he felt like he had played in front of a crowd almost five times the actual attendance figure.

"It felt like 100,000," Croker said. "I don't know how many were here but it was the best feeling ever. That was my first win, it doesn't get any better than that."

Croker said he would be ready to go again this week if the opportunity presented itself and he looks set to benefit from Klemmer's injury layoff after being named at No.17 as part of an unchanged bench to take on the Panthers on Saturday.

"I'll do everything I can to get in this team," Croker said.

"[In] 2020, I played one game due to COVID. Last year I played every game, which was only 12, and then COVID hit again. I just want to get a full season under my belt. Obviously I've got a goal to play as much NRL as I can, but a consistent season will do me the world of good."