The 23-year-old was once touted as a playmaker of the future but has found his calling as a No.9 since Knights co-captain Jayden Brailey was sidelined with a season-ending anterior cruciate ligament injury in April.
Crossland looks every bit a bona fide No.9, scoring six tries and setting up a further half-dozen across a 24-game campaign for Newcastle, who face the Warriors in Auckland on Saturday in an NRL semi-final.
The Newcastle hooker clocked up 60 tackles in last week's elimination final win over Canberra, who boast New Zealand's head coach Michael Maguire on their coaching staff.
Crossland is firmly on Maguire's radar, and with Jeremy Marshall-King out of the Kiwis' Pacific Championships campaign with a shoulder injury, the Wellington-born No.9 could find himself competing with Brandon Smith for the national team jersey.
"I'm eligible to play for (New Zealand), but I haven't had a call off (Maguire)," Crossland told AAP.
"I'd love to get a call but that's up to him and his assistant coaches.
"Playing for the Kiwis would be sick.
"(Newcastle) have got a team of 17 blokes who could definitely be playing rep footy and even to be involved in the discussion is really cool."
Crossland says he has leaned on the wisdom of Brailey, Knights legend Danny Buderus and assistant coach Rory Kostjasyn in his bid to excel at hooker.
While he's now 59 games into an NRL career, Crossland has been known to suffer from a bout of nerves.
"It's just butterflies. I don't know if I get it a bit more (than other players), or maybe I just showcase it more," Crossland said.
"I struggle to breathe a bit and I hear the crowd very loud.
"I find Brails really funny, so we have a bit of a laugh and he laughs at me when I tell him about my nerves, he sort of says, 'You don't need to be'.
"To hear someone who's played as much footy as him say that means a lot to me.
"I take a lot of confidence from the words he says before a game.
"It's not a bad thing at all. I'm sort of glad I get nervous because it means I care."
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