His shoulder's coming along well. It has Jarrod Croker vowing to "bust his arse" for selection in round one.
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The Canberra Raiders co-captain said one of the benefits of the Green Machine's massive injury toll this year was the emergence of a booming depth in the outside backs.
He'll start contact work in about a month's time and should be back up to full speed by Christmas.
Then the veteran of 292 NRL games will look to earn his place back in the Canberra centres after undergoing a shoulder reconstruction.
That won't be an easy task after Sebastian Kris established himself on the left edge and Matt Timoko did the same on the right.
There's also the highly-rated Harley Smith-Shields, who'll be vying for selection following a knee reconstruction.
Not to mention James Schiller and Albert Hopoate will be pushing to establish themselves in the senior side.
"It's coming along well, starting to get a bit more strength-work on it now - start building it towards contact stuff over the next [3-5] weeks," Croker told The Canberra Times.
"By the time pre-season comes around I'll be right to go.
"I haven't looked that far ahead [to round one]. Obviously the boys have done really well, Sebby and Matty Timoko.
"Both had great years and got better as the season went on - like all the boys did.
"I just want to keep playing footy. I love playing footy, still love it, still want to play it.
"I'm going to have to work hard and try to fight to be in the best 17 for round one.
"Whether I'm there or not I'll be busting my arse to make sure I'm wearing a green jersey - whether it's first grade or second grade we'll just have to wait and see."
Croker's young family has grown in the meantime, with his wife Brittney giving birth to their second son Tate a week-and-a-half ago.
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Similarly, the Raiders' depth in the outside backs has also grown.
Croker saw that and the resilience shown by the squad as two of the major pluses to come out of their 2022 NRL season, which ended in the semi-finals against Parramatta.
Kris now has 44 games under his belt, Timoko 37 and fullback Xavier Savage 21.
Both Schiller and Hopoate have shown they belong in first grade too.
"Look at the amount of games and consistency those boys developed over the back end of the year," Croker said.
"That's what you take out of it and your resilience - we were 15th after round [eight] and we got within two weeks of the grand final.
"It was a brave effort, it was a tough effort and we did it without [Josh Hodgson] all year.
"With the big picture we can be really proud of what we achieved and what we've started to build again at the club."
Hodgson's season ended in round one, tearing his anterior cruciate ligament to also double as his last game for the Green Machine.
He'll join the Eels next season after 138 games and eight seasons for the Raiders.
The 32-year-old also co-captained Canberra with Croker for two-and-a-half seasons.
Croker revealed he wasn't happy with Raiders coach Ricky Stuart's decision to make them co-captain's after Croker had initially held the leadership post on his own.
But he said it was a "blessing in disguise".
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Hodgson was one of a number of players and coaches leaving the Green Machine that Croker had nothing but praise for.
Along with Hodgson, they'll lose Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad (New Zealand Warriors), Ryan Sutton (Canterbury Bulldogs) and Adam Elliott (Newcastle Knights) from the playing group, while assistant coaches Andrew McFadden (Warriors) and Brett White (Gold Coast Titans) have also left.
Stuart hoped to find out this week whether former South Sydney premiership coach Michael Maguire will join his staff as an assistant.
"They've been great for the club. It was pretty emotional there at the end [of the season]," Croker said.
"They're going to be sadly missed, especially Hodgo.
"I remember when Stick first told me I was going to be co-captain.
"I didn't like it because that was just me being stubborn, but it turned out to be a blessing in disguise and the best thing for me.
"We worked so well together and created a friendship that will last forever as well. Going to miss all the boys."
David Polkinghorne
Covering the Raiders, Cavalry, cycling and racing, plus everything else that involves sport in the ACT, for The Canberra Times. Basically I love sport and watching it is a full-time job. Email: david.polkinghorne@canberratimes.com.au
Covering the Raiders, Cavalry, cycling and racing, plus everything else that involves sport in the ACT, for The Canberra Times. Basically I love sport and watching it is a full-time job. Email: david.polkinghorne@canberratimes.com.au
