Never in this millennium has such hype surrounded the Canberra Raiders leading into the first round of the NRL season.
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When hooker Josh Hodgson arrived in the capital two years ago the Raiders weren't even a top eight team, let alone a legitimate title contender.
It has been a time of new beginnings at Raiders headquarters in recent years, and now Hodgson is faced with a new role of his own - captaining the team.
Hodgson will seek the advice of coach Ricky Stuart and injured captain Jarrod Croker to learn how to approach the "huge honour" against the North Queensland Cowboys on Saturday night.
The English rake looks set to captain the side for at least the opening month of the competition with Croker recovering from a dislocated kneecap.
Croker boarded the plane as the Raiders flew to Townsville on Tuesday in a bid to beat the heat and acclimatise to the humidity.
Having Croker in camp will allow Hodgson to pick his brains about one thing in particular - which referees are "more approachable" than others.
"It's something I've thought about myself, obviously I've got to be a lot more calm in some situations, and approach the ref in the right way," Hodgson said.
"If you're captain, you need to be leading by example, and if you're not speaking to them in the proper way, they're probably just going to tell me to go away.
"That's probably something I'll speak to [Croker] about more this week as I say, when we get away and we've got a bit more time together and we've got more time to sit down and have a chat about things."
Rated a Dally M medal hopeful after a breakout season last year, Hodgson isn't feeling weighed down by the prospect of leading the team - instead it will just be "business as normal".
Hodgson emerged as a leader of the group in Canberra's finals charge last year, and is calling for the Raiders to continue to meet the standards they set in 2016.
"The only pressure and expectations we need to live up to are the ones we set ourselves," Hodgson said.
"We don't worry about outside things because we can't control that. We just worry about ourselves and where we want to get to.
"[You] try and meet the standards, what you demand everyday in training, and what you demand on game day in a week. We just concentrate on them and not really worry too much about the outside noise."
The "outside noise" has Canberra considered one of the premiership favourites, but Hodgson says the players aren't getting sucked in because "everyone starts on a clean slate".
But the 27-year-old can feel the excitement of the fans reverberate around the city and hopes the club can continue where it left off last September - both on and off the field.
"Hopefully we can come back [from Townsville] with two points and in the second game against the Sharks at home we can get a sellout," Hodgson said.
NRL ROUND ONE
Saturday: Canberra Raiders v North Queensland Cowboys at Townsville, 7pm. Live on Fox Sports 2.
Raiders squad: 1. Jack Wighton, 2. Nick Cotric, 3. Elliott Whitehead, 4. Joey Leilua, 5. Jordan Rapana, 6. Blake Austin, 7. Aidan Sezer, 8. Clay Priest, 9. Josh Hodgson (C), 10. Shannon Boyd, 11. Josh Papalii, 12. Sia Solila, 13. Luke Bateman. Interchange: 14. Adam Clydsdale, 15. Dunamis Lui, 16. Jeff Lima, 17. Joe Tapine, 18. Scott Sorensen, 19. Zac Santo, 20. Makahesi Makatoa, 21. Lachlan Croker
Cowboys squad: 1. Lachlan Coote, 2. Kyle Feldt, 3. Justin O'Neill, 4. Kane Linnett, 5. Antonio Winterstein, 6. Michael Morgan, 7. Johnathan Thurston, 8. Matt Scott, 9. Jake Granville, 10. Scott Bolton, 11. Gavin Cooper, 12. Ethan Lowe, 13. Jason Taumalolo. Interchange: 14. Ben Hampton, 15. John Asiata, 16. Coen Hess, 17. Patrick Kaufusi, 18. Sam Hoare, 19. Gideon Gela-Mosby, 20. Javid Bowen, 21. Kalyn Ponga
