A fitness test on Tuesday will determine whether Dale Finucane will be allowed to line up for the Melbourne Storm against the Canberra Raiders this weekend.
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The Bega rugby league icon said he was "feeling quite optimistic at this stage" he would be allowed to take the field for the knockout semi-final following a lengthy sideline with a hamstring injury.
"I'll try to make a full integration tomorrow and I'm optimistic I'll be on for the game," he said after a modified training run on Monday.
Finucane said the time off the field may even have fringe benefits after he'd been able to get through some rigorous strength training.
"I'm feeling quite good - it's given me the opportunity to freshen up and I've been putting in the work that I can do and increasing some of the weight training," he said.
"My body is feeling quite fresh and I'm really excited to be potentially playing if it all goes well tomorrow."
The Storm lock has been in close consultation with the club's physios and medical staff about risk management and said if Tuesday's training went well he would be back on deck.
"I'm feeling good with the work I've done - it will all be dependent on how I get through the work tomorrow," he said.
"I got through a contact component of training today and had no issues, so there are positive signs."
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Finucane said his own concern was the amount of time he had spent off his legs, but was also mindful of doing his recovery properly.
"My mentality of it was 'if I just do everything right it will take care of itself - it's out of my control'," he said.
But the club have also been able to keep the Origin forward active with some appearances in the coaches' box.
"Yeah I definitely enjoyed that," Finucane says with a smile. "You get a different feel about the messages being relayed to the boys and Craig and that sometimes ask for your perspective on how people are travelling."
Speaking on reports captain Cameron Smith was considering retirement, Finucane said Smith had earned the right to take his time on that decision.
"Given what he has achieved in the game ... he earned the right to what he likes in making that decision," Finucane said.
However, Finucane's focus was on the Raiders this weekend and the chance at playing in front of large crowd numbers.
"They're looking at having 30-40,000 people and that's new to have full crowds back," he said, adding it should be a strong game.
"They've been really good, they were grand final contenders last year so we knew they would be thereabouts this season.
"Fifth [on the ladder] is a reflection of how well they have played this year."