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The most elusive winger in Raiders history on and off the field has rarely been sighted at Canberra Stadium since he retired in 1990.
But his aura and legend of his 1989 grand final heroics struck a chord with Ricky Stuart's men ahead of their charge to the NRL's top four.
Ferguson was a surprise guest at the Raiders' golden-point win against the Newcastle Knights last weekend and Stuart invited his former teammate into the change rooms afterwards for the victory celebrations.
It was fitting given Jordan Rapana scored an extra-time try almost 30 years after Chicka ducked, darted and weaved his way through the Balmain defence to score and send the 1989 grand final into extra time.
"He walked in and he didn't need to say anything," Stuart said.
"What I want all of our players to understand is that the past and the Raiders history is important. I want all of the past players to know that as well, that the players today understand that.
"[Ferguson] is such a humble person, he just believes he's had his day and he's moved on in life. He doesn't want the attention.
"But he's an absolute legend of our club, he will forever go down as one of our favourite sons."
Some of Ferguson's Raiders teammates went almost a decade without hearing from the try-scoring winger, who was the crowd favourite in a team of superstars that include Stuart, Mal Meninga and Laurie Daley.
He has occasionally visited Raiders training sessions in Townsville in recent years, but returning to Canberra Stadium for a Raiders match was as rare as hen's teeth.
Ferguson prefers the quiet life away from the legend he created as a Raiders' try-scoring winger, politely declining interviews or autographs if requested.
It was former Raiders chairman John McIntyre who brought Ferguson to the Knights game and Stuart wants his current crop to emulate the club's greatest players.
That's why their photos are plastered to the walls down the tunnel as they walk out on to the field and Stuart hopes it helps inspire another victory against the North Queensland Cowboys on Monday night.
"Chicka knows how proud John is of the club … it was a great shock to see them come into the change rooms and my players got a big kick out of it," Stuart said.
"They feel the history and they feel the respect our past players had for the club. Seeing someone like John come in … they see this is more than a football club.
"It's a lifestyle … the players have their teammates as their family, that's what this club is built on."
The Raiders play the Cowboys at Canberra Stadium and are aiming for a top-four berth in a resurgent season.
They've won five of their past six games and are poised to return to the finals for the first time since 2012.
Raiders fullback Jack Wighton said it was inspiring to meet the club's legends that "you hear so many stories about".
"It was pretty awesome. He didn't say too much, he's a pretty shy guy 'Chicka', but Stick introduced him to us and it's always great to have them players back," he said.
"You hear so many stories about them, but sometimes you don't get to see them down the track. It was awesome to see his face in the change rooms."
NRL ROUND 18
Monday: Canberra Raiders v North Queensland Cowboys at Canberra Stadium, 7pm. Tickets available from Ticketek.
RAIDERS: 1. Jack Wighton, 2. Brenko Lee, 3. Jarrod Croker (c), 4. Joey Leilua, 5. Jordan Rapana, 6. Blake Austin, 7. Aidan Sezer, 8. Junior Paulo, 9. Josh Hodgson, 10. Shannon Boyd, 11. Sia Soliola, 12. Elliott Whitehead, 13. Shaun Fensom. Interchange: 14. Kurt Baptiste, 15. Clay Priest, 16. Paul Vaughan, 17. Joe Tapine.
