Brent Read: Josh Addo-Carr has the potential to be a great signing for the Eels

Eels fans were quick to voice their disapproval of the club’s signing of Josh Addo-Carr. What they failed to consider is the upside that could make the former rep winger one of the bargain buys of the season, writes Brent Read.

I made the mistake of checking out the comments on social media after this masthead broke the news on Thursday that Parramatta had agreed to terms with Josh Addo-Carr.

It wasn’t pretty. Too old. Too slow. Not worth the trouble. Washed up. Bad for the club. Bad for the culture. The invective was flowing from frustrated Parramatta fans.

With due respect, allow me to explain why you’re all wrong.

Why Addo-Carr has the potential to be a great signing for the Eels provided he can stay on the straight and narrow, which Parramatta clearly believe he will.

This was not a hasty decision.

Even though coach Jason Ryles knew Addo-Carr from their days together in Melbourne, he wanted to sit down with the ‘Foxx’ and get a feel for his head space given the way things ended at the Bulldogs.

Josh Addo-Carr brings plenty of speed to the Eels. Picture: Getty Images

So did the club’s powerbrokers. They needed convincing before they went down this path. They were willing to take the risk, but only if they walked away from talks with Addo-Carr and his camp confident that he was a risk worth taking.

The club has spoken at length about its culture in the pre-season, and the last thing they needed was a player who was going to come in and lay waste to it.

It’s why, only a couple of months ago during a lunch over Chinese at the Parramatta Leagues Club, Ryles had put some distance between himself and Addo-Carr.

He liked the bloke and what he could bring to a team, but he was also wary given the whispers that were coming out of the Bulldogs.

At that meeting, Ryles also openly discussed the need to add more speed to his side. Ryles knew that speed killed like never before in the NRL.

So while he was hesitant at first, Addo-Carr was never far from this thoughts because he had what the Eel’s craved – blistering pace.

Parramatta coach Jason Ryles (R) was an assistant to Craig Bellamy at Melbourne when Josh Addo-Carr was at the Storm. Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

The NSW and Australian star still has the capacity to change games. At 29, despite what social media might say, is far from washed up.

He is coming off a season when he was slowed by a hamstring problem, but when he was on the field, he was still a force. In 14 games for the Bulldogs he scored 11 tries and still showed he can still burn opponents.

The Foxx can still flat out fly. That speed has the potential be a game changer for Parramatta, Ryles and halfback Mitchell Moses, who now has another weapon in his armoury.

Moses’ kicking game will be even more potent with a target like Addo-Carr in his arsenal. You can almost see the Eels talisman now, laying on a beach somewhere, enjoying his holidays and dreaming up ways he can take advantage of Addo-Carr’s pace.

The Eels needed it bad. The search for it played a part in the decision to change Clint Gutherson’s role and eventually led to his departure.

Ryles wanted more threat in his No.1 jersey and he wasn’t going to get it from Gutherson. While there is no doubt the Eels will miss Gutherson’s leadership and work ethic, Ryles had made up his mind and Addo-Carr has arrived at half the price.

The Eels have signed a NSW and Australian player and have plenty of change to go after their next target. And that’s the other reason Addo-Carr has been worth the punt.

He hasn’t cost the Eels an arm and a leg. He has come on a cut-price deal because he had precious few options.

He was on the nose in the NRL given the way things ended at the ‘Dogs and he is now fighting for his career.

He will only sign for two years and he will arrive with a point to prove.

Get through the next two years, rebuild your reputation and the money will come after that. Addo-Carr has stared into the abyss. He has been forced to contemplate the end of his NRL career. Hopefully he has learned his lesson. Provided he has, the Eels have landed a bargain.

* * * * *

The Wests Tigers are never far from the headlines and the theme has continued in the pre-season as chief executive Shane Richardson and coach Benji Marshall begin the latest restoration project at the embattled club.

They have laid down an early marker by dishing out official warnings to a handful of players who failed to return for pre-season training in the right condition.

The players can’t say they weren’t warned.

When they sat down for their exit interviews at the end of last season, they were told in no uncertain terms that they were expected to return for pre-season training in the right condition.

Some of them took heed. A handful of young players continued to train throughout the off-season. Lachlan Galvin has apparently broken many of the records he set last year.

Lachlan Galvin has led from the front from the first day of Tigers pre-season training. Photo: Wests Tigers

Others have followed suit. The vast majority have done what was asked of them. Some have let themselves and the club down and have been sanctioned as a result.

The club, led by Richardson, has talked tough in the off-season and those words would have looked hollow had they allowed a handful of players to let their standards slip.

Truth be told, the Tigers’ standards have been slipping for too long.

They haven’t played finals football for a decade. They have won three consecutive wooden spoons and their fans have begun to lose hope.

Marshall’s first season in charge was another abject disappointment and he will start 2025 under immense pressure to turn things around. His job may be at stake if he can’t.

Richardson has backed him to the hilt.

It’s now up to the players to do their part.

Originally published as Brent Read: Josh Addo-Carr has the potential to be a great signing for the Eels