NRL 2021: Wests Tigers to meet with Josh Addo-Carr’s agent in bid to sign Melbourne winger
Wests Tigers let Josh Addo-Carr go four years ago, and now they are one meeting away from turning around a decade of misery.
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It’s D-Day in the Wests Tigers’ pursuit of NSW Origin winger Josh Addo-Carr.
And it’s the signing which could finally catapult the club into the finals and end a miserable nine-year top-eight drought.
The Tigers will meet with Addo-Carr’s agent, Mario Tartak, on Thursday to try sort out one way or another if the Melbourne Storm star will be at Concord in 2021.
Tigers great Robbie Farah has thrown his support behind his club’s bid to lure Addo-Carr back to the club where he made his debut in 2016, although he is yet to secure a release from the final year of his contract with the defending premiers.
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Farah played alongside Addo-Carr in Tigers colours and has no doubt his return would be a major asset for the joint venture as they attempt to end the longest finals drought in the NRL.
“He’s the best winger in the world at the moment,” Farah said.
“He’s got natural speed and competes on every play and he’s definitely someone you want involved in your club, so I’m hoping if he does move to Sydney it’ll be in Tigers colours.”
The Tigers’ back-up plan, should their Foxx hunt fail, could involve a move for veteran winger Josh Mansour, who was told he had lost his starting spot at Penrith for next season.
Addo-Carr has already committed to a heads of agreement with the Tigers that if he comes to Sydney next year it will be to play under Michael Maguire.
But there is an increasing likelihood Addo-Carr will stay at Melbourne to see out the final year of his existing contract.
That would then allow him to open negotiations with rival clubs for 2022 and beyond immediately after Origin is finished.
Meanwhile, former Tigers skipper Farah confirmed on Tuesday he would return to the club in 2021 with the premiership-winning rake tasked with moulding the joint venture’s next champion hooker.
With rising star Harry Grant returning to Melbourne after completing his loan deal, the Tigers hooking role shapes as a battle between rookie Queenslander Jake Simpkin and the talented but injury-prone Jacob Liddle.
Replacing Grant, the runaway choice for rookie of the year, shapes as a tall order for either player, but they couldn’t ask for a better teacher than Farah.
The club’s most-capped player is refreshed after 12 months away from the game following his retirement at the end of 2019 and is ready to return and help mould the Tigers’ next generation as part of Michael Maguire’s coaching team.
“It’ll be predominantly a corporate role with sponsors and game days, but I’ve also been communicating with Madge about doing some work with the team on a part-time basis, some specialist stuff with the young hookers and middle forwards,” Farah said.
“It’s something I’m keen to do and I want to help out wherever I can.
“There’s Jacob Liddle, who I spent some time with there when I was playing, and Jake Simpkin, who the club has high hopes for.
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“I’m looking forward to getting involved, giving those boys tips where I can and educating them on what it takes to be an NRL player week in, week out.
“Not just with the skill aspect, but also the mentality so they can develop their games to the point where hopefully one of them can be the next 10 or 15 year hooker at the Tigers.”
Liddle has managed 43 NRL matches since his debut in 2016 but has struggled to shrug off a variety of knee and shoulder injuries.
The 24-year old played five matches in 2020 after returning from a torn ACL.
Simpkin has been part of the club’s long-term future for some time and the former Queensland under-18s representative will be elevated to the club’s top squad for 2021.
Originally published as NRL 2021: Wests Tigers to meet with Josh Addo-Carr’s agent in bid to sign Melbourne winger