LUKE Hodge says he would have been "useless" to his Hawthorn teammates if he had tried to play against Adelaide on Saturday.
The Hawks skipper was a late withdrawal from the preliminary final win with illness, and sat helpless at home as the dramatic five-point finish unfolded.
Now back to health and preparing to take on the Sydney Swans in this week's Grand Final, Hodge has described just how sick he was.
"I started to get crook on Thursday night," the 28-year-old said on Tuesday morning.
"I came here (to Waverley Park) and trained on Friday and felt OK; the energy levels weren't too bad.
"But then I got hit again Friday night, and was pretty much in bed from 7.30pm on Friday night.
"I called the doc about nine o'clock on Saturday morning, because I couldn't get out of bed.
"I was going from freezing to sweats, and then came around and had a fever.
"I think the biggest thing when I thought I wouldn't be able to play was when I couldn't eat anything; I couldn't stomach anything for at least 24 hours leading into the game.
"So if I had have tried to play I would have been useless to the boys.
"We had three fit emergencies that were ready to go, so I thought the best thing to do, and the doc pretty much pushed it that way, was to let Tom Murphy come in and play."
The Norm Smith medallist received some light-hearted stick from vice-captain Jordan Lewis on Monday, who described his skipper's ailment as "the sniffles".
And Hodge admitted Lewis wasn't the only one to throw a barb his way.
"I did get a few texts from the boys after the game saying, 'Hey princess, are you all right?'" he said.
"I always said you've got to be soft to miss a final, especially through illness, so … I'm going to have to suck that up."
Hodge admitted he struggled to watch the tense finish, finding ways to distract himself as a goal to Crow Graham Johncock gave the visitors the lead 20 minutes into the last quarter.
"I actually didn't see it," he said.
"I went and had a shower.
"I couldn't bring myself to watch the game."
His illness now behind him, Hodge is a certainty to lead his team out on Saturday, even with wife Lauren expecting the couple's second child.
The baby is due on October 4.
"I didn't get a say [in whether I would play or not]," Hodge said.
"Lauren said, 'There's no way in hell you're going to miss the Grand Final'.
"She said, 'I'm not putting up with 20 years of you whingeing about missing a Grand Final'.
"We've made plans for her family to come and stay Friday night at our house.
"Hopefully she holds on until when she's due on the fourth, and we don't have to worry about it."
Unlucky half-back Brent Guerra will watch the match from the stands after telling coach Alastair Clarkson and his teammates on Monday that his injured hamstring wouldn't be ready in time.
Hodge hailed the experienced defender's selfless decision to rule himself out early in the week.
"For a person who loves footy and would do anything to play in a Grand Final … it's a great effort from him," Hodge said.
"It just goes to show how much he does care about the fellas.
"He was a bit flat.
"You get the croaky voice when you talk about Grand Finals and not being able to play in it, but he knew he was doing the right thing.
"It's going to be a frustrating week for him, and a pretty emotional week … but he knows he's done the right thing by the boys and the footy club."
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