Canberra centre Jarrod Croker says he hopes Raiders fans will get stuck into his former teammate Josh Dugan when he returns to GIO Stadium for the first time this Saturday.

Dugan was sacked by the Raiders last year after a string of off-field incidents, leaving a sour taste in the mouths of many frustrated NRL fans – not to mention a few teammates.

But the NSW State of Origin star has since re-ignited his career at St George Illawarra, and this Saturday’s clash in Canberra will be his first visit back to his old stomping ground.

When asked if he was hoping the crowd wouldn’t get stuck into his former teammate and friend too much, Croker replied with a smile: “I’d like them to get into him a bit.

“I still see Dugan every now and then and have a chat to him. But I haven’t seen him for a while.”

However with Dugan an abrasive player who relishes challenges, Croker did admit the plan could backfire.

“He’s probably the sort of player that will probably thrive off the back of that,” Croker said.

“He’ll be down here for a big game and will have all his boys geed up as well.”

Croker added that the team’s pre-game talk would be about how good a player Dugan is, and not his mired history at the club.

“We know how good a player he is, he’s the Origin centre,” Croker said.

“So that’s what’s going to be talked about this week, but I’m sure there will be a lot of other rubbish thrown up about it all.”