He'll still have to go for his regular check-ups, but Mulholland sees it as a "good start".

It's a wonderful boost not only for Mulholland and his family and friends, but also the Raiders after doctors told him he was in remission in his battle with a rare form of non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma - almost two years after he first fell ill.

Not that you would know he's been sick from talking to him. Or looking at the kilometres he's done out looking for the next Josh Papalii or the next Nick Cotric in those two years.

The only thing that's stopped him from doing the latter has been the coronavirus shutting down rugby league. And rugby union. And pretty much all of world sport.

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It's also seen the NSW Rugby League life member stood down from his recruiting duties - although he stills travels to Canberra once a week from his Sydney home.

But as things are looking up in the COVID-19 pandemic, so too are things looking up for Mulholland's own battle.

"They've said I'm into remission which is great news," Mulholland said.

"It's just a judgment. I've got to go back in in July for a PET scan and see how it's all going then. You just do your three-monthly PET scans to give you an indication of how it's going.

"It's a good start. It's a nice word remission."

It's not the first time Mulholland's heard the "remission" word, having been given the same diagnosis last year, before it appeared the cancer had come back.

But a biopsy has cleared him once again. Hopefully this time for good.

It's the second bout of good news for Mulholland in 2020 - aside from the return of the NRL after a 10-week shutdown.

He was only awarded the aforementioned NSWRL life membership back in February after 41 years involved in the coaching and recruiting side of the game.

That's taken in stints at the Raiders, Western Suburbs, North Sydney, the Reds, Penrith, Canterbury, Newcastle and St George Illawarra - following an 18-year stint coaching schoolboys rugby league.

"I was given it when I finished in hospital after the stem-cell transplant in August last year," Mulholland said.

"Then I went back in for my December check up and they discovered they thought it was back then.

"But they did the biopsy. They discovered there was no cancer in that particular biopsy so as far as they're concerned at the moment I'm in remission and you just wait and see."

As things start to open up again, Mulholland's hopeful he'll be back travelling around watching football again.

Whether that's schoolboy rugby union in New Zealand, junior rugby league in Australia, or watching the Mounties play in the NSW Cup.

It's all been shutdown and it's unclear when they'll be able to return.

At least now he's got the NRL back to watch.

"That shits me," Mulholland said of not being able to watch footy.

"That's the worst part about it, it's just losing touch with it. I like getting to lower-grade games and watching kids. It's just unfortunate ... I'll get to watch some footy eventually."

And he could have a bit of work to do now. The Raiders have lost a bit of depth in their forward pack in recent weeks, with Luke Bateman deciding to head home to Queensland, Jack Murchie jumping ship to the New Zealand Warriors - where he made his debut on Saturday - and JJ Collins also calling time on the NRL.

Mulholland's already said they'll look to promote from within, giving young guys in their squad the chance to help fill the void.

That saw Kai O'Donnell named in the Raiders' 21 for their clash against the Melbourne Storm, although he wasn't part of the game-day 17. He did get the experience of being part of the squad, bringing the 21-year-old a step closer to his NRL debut.

Mulholland said they would also be boosted by the return of John Bateman (shoulder) and Hudson Young (suspension) soon.

"There's not much around. I'll start to look again. It's alright to say we might need someone, but we've still got Hudson Young and John Bateman to come back into that squad so we're not going too bad at the moment," he said.

"Kai O'Donnell was selected in the 21 this week so he must be getting close. It's an opportunity for them, which is great."