If any one player was to epitomise the Bulldogs' rags to riches 2009 NRL season, unheralded prop Michael Hodgson would be that man.

Just like the wooden spoon gathering Bulldogs of last season, Hodgson was on the brink of the lowest of lows as the journeyman front rower dealt with the prospect of being washed up at the ripe old age of 27.

With Gold Coast declining to offer him a new deal and no other prospective new homes on the horizon, retirement seemed more probable than possible.

"It was realistic because maybe there wasn't an opportunity for me to play," Hodgson said of retirement.

"It was definitely on the table for me to retire, that's the way I was thinking halfway through last year."

But the Bulldogs, via captain Andrew Ryan who played alongside Hodgson at Parramatta in 2000, eventually came calling as the club undertook one of its most significant roster overhauls in history.

Coming in alongside players the calibre of Ben Hannant, Brett Kimmorley, Josh Morris and Michael Ennis, Hodgson was not seen as a key figure in the revitalisation of the club.

But in unison with that quartet and several other new faces, Hodgson has transformed the Bulldogs into a premiership force as they sit second on the ladder with just six games to play.

The stunning resurgence has helped propel the above mentioned four into representative football, but Hodgson said he had no issue with his teammates hogging all the limelight and accolades.

"That sort of stuff never bothered me and I think I got my fair share of praise - I'm not really after that sort of thing,' the former Titans, Canberra and Parramatta forward said.

"I'm just happy and proud to be playing in the NRL competition.

"You've got to have your toilers in your club, you've got to have the blokes that don't eat into your salary cap a great deal but they're good to have around, they do their bit in the community.

"I'm just happen to be one of those guys and I feel privileged that this is my 12th season playing professionally, so even though I've never reached any great heights, I've obviously done something right along the way to keep getting a run with a club."

The man he will go head to head with at ANZ Stadium on Sunday, South Sydney skipper Roy Asotasi, this week signed a new two-year deal which follows the massive three-year contract which initially lured him from the Dogs in 2007.

It's the sort of job security Hodgson could only dream of, but unlike the Bulldogs veteran, Asotasi is no certainty to play finals football this season.

The Rabbitohs have won their last three matches to move to within one point of the top eight, but face a tough run home with their next five matches all against top eight sides.

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