Bryce Cartwright wants to sign with Sydney NRL club after Gold Coast Titans axing
Bryce Cartwright fears his NRL career could be over at just 25, and has made an emotional plea to Sydney clubs to take a chance on him after his stint on the Gold Coast came to an abrupt end.
NRL
Don't miss out on the headlines from NRL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Unwanted NRL star Bryce Cartwright has pleaded for an NRL club to show “faith” in him – fearing he will be remembered for “dishing up shit over the past three years.”
Cartwright’s NRL career is in tatters after the “broken” star was released from his $450,000 contract with the Gold Coast Titans.
News Corp last week revealed Cartwright had officially severed ties with the Titans, two months after walking out on the club to be with family in Sydney.
He has returned to Sydney for family reasons - he followed his wife Shanelle and two children back to NSW - and desperately wants to be given another chance with an NRL club.
Watch the 2020 NRL Telstra Premiership Finals on Kayo. Every game before the Grand Final Live & On-Demand with no-ad breaks during play. New to Kayo? Get your 14-day free trial & start streaming instantly >
With a history of injuries and a sustained loss of form, Cartwright - a NSW development player in 2016 – had admitted he fears his NRL career may be over.
Asked by News Corp why an NRL club should punt on him, Cartwright said: “Because of the shit I have dished up over the last three years There’s no way I want to do that again.
“I want to play NRL again – that hasn’t changed. I feel like I’ve still got so much more to offer. I won’t stop trying. It will come down to me proving to people that I can do it and I will do it.
“Ninety-nine per cent of people think I’m done. That’s another driving factor. It makes me want it even more. I want to prove to them that I will work my arse off.
TITANS’ DAVID FIFITA HEIST
The Fifita Heist: How the Titans stole the NRL’s hottest talent from under Broncos noses
The Fifita Heist Part Two: How the Broncos plan to lure Titans gun back to Red Hill
“I haven’t reached the heights that I want. It’s still driving me, I still have a big hunger in my belly.
“I will play footy wherever I can, just keep working hard and try and find my way back into the NRL. Someone could take me on and have a little faith in me.
“I want to hit the heights I know I can reach and that I’m capable of. I’d love to get a shot somewhere and I will continue training and staying fit and strong. Hopefully someone will come knocking on the door.
“I will turn up every day and try my best. It will be up to whoever wants to take a shot. No-one expects anything of me now.”
Pressed on whether he was alarmed at the possibility of never playing NRL again, Cartwright said: “Of course, especially with coronavirus.
“I’m not too sure if there are still some questions around whether clubs will have a top 30 squad or top 25. There could be limited spots.
“I haven’t played my best footy over the last couple of years so there is a chance that I might not get picked up. But I will never question my training ethic. I work my arse off, even up there on the Gold Coast, I worked my arse off in the pre-season.
“I never drank during the pre-season, I showed up to training every day early, always last to leave, always did my work. I have always prided myself on my training - I have always trained hard, ate right, drank right.”
Cartwright, 25, last played NRL back in round nine. He was tipped for stardom young and became a rookie sensation at Penrith.
But he split with the Panthers to sign a $2m four-year deal with Gold Coast in 2018. It didn’t work out.
“It’s hard to pinpoint what went wrong up there – it just wasn’t a fit,” Cartwright said.
“Obviously it didn’t work out on the field up there and everything around coronavirus and the bubble.
“My wife and kids moved back to Sydney. It was easier for them down here. I got talking with Al (Gainey, his manager) and thankfully the Titans were understanding of the whole thing, they have been the whole time.
“They allowed me to come back to Sydney after we worked something out. It just wasn’t the right fit. I’m not too sure what the reason was.”
NRL clubs are already discussing Cartwright.
He would more than likely come cheap, one club having already spoken extensively about taking a gamble on Cartwright.
“I played all kinds of sports when I was young and growing up. I always knew about different things to do whether it was playing basketball or cricket. That helped me out when playing football, whether it be vision or passing,” he said.
“It was probably the non-required skills that have let me down – consistency and some defensive issues here and there. Those are the things I’d love to work on and become a complete player.”