When he missed selection in November, he lodged an appeal. But ultimately the 30-year-old wanted his record to speak for itself and dropped the proceedings.
However, yesterday he was added to the team and he is thrilled with his inclusion.
''Finally. It is really good. I'm really pleased,'' he said.
''We only had 48 hours to appeal initially and we had to do it because we felt cut off.
''But we actually dropped the appeal a few days later because we thought it was not good for anybody. We didn't want to be complainers, so we left them to get on with their job and I got on with my job.''
Dodds put his focus into his training and preparing for Challenge Wanaka, which is this weekend.
''That was really good for my mentality; otherwise I would have just been thinking about the Commonwealth Games every single day over the summer and that would have just ruined me.''
Dodds' journey as a competitive triathlete began in 2005 and he quickly made his way to the top of the sport in New Zealand. He won the national under-23 championship three times and won the New Zealand sprint championships in 2010 and 2011.
The pinnacle was competing at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games where he finished 21st.
He also represented New Zealand at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games where he placed 10th in the Olympic-distance triathlon and fifth in the mixed team relay.
''When you go into these big races anything can happen on the day. You may have 10 guys who can win it, so it is all about who can control their emotions and who has actually peaked for the day.
''In Glasgow I peaked 10 days out and could not quite get it right on the day. You have to be patient and be in control of your training.''
Dodds' strength is in the swim and cycle leg, so to have any chance of medalling he believes a strong performance in those disciplines is important.
''That is my best chance of getting a medal I think. I'd love a medal. That would be absolutely the best thing. But we will just see how it ends up on the day.''
Dodds has had injuries most years. His Achilles have often held him back. But he feels stronger than ever and has put in some really good base training during the summer.
''It is the most consistent training period I've had in a very long time and I've been injury-free.''
Dodds joins Ryan Sissons, Tayler Reid, Andrea Hewitt, Rebecca Spence, and Nicole van der Kaay on the New Zealand triathlon team.
He will compete in the sprint distance (April 5) and in the mixed team relay (April 7).
Dodds' inclusion takes the total number of athletes selected for the New Zealand Commonwealth Games team to 114.
It is hoped 250 athletes will represent New Zealand at the Gold Coast Games, making it the country's largest Commonwealth Games team.
The Games will be contested from April 4-15, and more than 6600 athletes and team officials are expected to take part.
