Josh Hodgson has swatted away concerns about his grand final fitness, putting an end to grand-final week selection intrigue after being struck down by a stomach bug.
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Hodgson missed one of the Raiders' only training sessions of the week after becoming ill on Tuesday morning, sparking speculation about whether he would be able to take his place in the Canberra Raiders' line-up.
But the influential hooker had a smile on his face when he boarded a bus with his teammates and then took to social media to dismiss suggestions of food poisoning.
In a city swamped by green sausages, milk, bread, cocktails and donuts, it was thought Hodgson had eaten something dodgy before he cleared the air on social media.
"Just want to set the record straight, I never got sick at The Dock - kids germs the likely culprit," Hodgson said on Instagram.
"I'm all good now and ready to go. Make sure you get down to the Kingston Foreshore on Sunday, best place to watch the footy."
Hundreds of fans lined the streets around the Raiders headquarters in Bruce to farewell the team with Hodgson on board.
A few hours later the co-captain and most of his teammates were on the red carpet at the Dally M awards.
"[I'm] all good. [It was] mainly on Monday night when I was a little bit sick, yesterday was a bit precautionary. But I got the all clear from the doc," Hodgson said when he arrived.
"It was incredible scenes [leaving Canberra] to be honest. It was good to see, the city has turned green. It's nice to see everyone get behind us.
"It's not often you're in these occasions. It's a long year ... it's important you enjoy the occasion, soak it all up and get ready for the game on the weekend."
Grand final week wouldn't be complete with selection drama and Hodgson bouncing on to the team bus would have helped ease the nerves of Raiders fans, who are hoping the team can win the club's first premiership in 25 years.
Hodgson is a key piece to the Raiders puzzle and Canberra will need him to fire if they want to end their title drought.
"The medical staff will keep an eye on [Hodgson] through the week and assess him every day but it's good to see him back at training this morning," said Raiders assistant coach Brett White.
"I've got no doubt the medical guys and Hodgo will do everything to make sure he is, if not close to, [100 per cent] fit.
"The way he gets the boys around the field, this year I think he's become one of the best leaders in the competition."
The Raiders will base themselves in Sydney for the rest of the week, but training time will be minimal as grand final festivities take over.
The team will start pulling back its public appearance commitments after Thursday's fan fest, giving coach Ricky Stuart a chance to fine tune things before playing against the Roosters.
"We're not shielding ourselves from it all, we want to enjoy the build up," said Jarrod Croker.
"Apart from your phone going off with mates wanting to congratulate you ... it's been fine so far. We've had a good chat about switching on and off, then focusing when we have to.
