New Parramatta Eels coach Jason Ryles has confirmed Josh Addo-Carr will not simply walk into his starting 13 come Round 1 of the 2025 NRL season.
The former representative winger, who had his contract torn up by the Canterbury Bulldogs a matter of weeks ago over an off-field incident in the lead up to the first week of the 2024 NRL finals series, has signed a two-year deal with Parramatta.
In a sign of the club's unwillingness to take a risk all the way to the bank though, the second year of that contract is presented as an option in the club's favour.
Addo-Carr will have his work cut out for him too, with Ryles telling a press conference this week per The Sydney Morning Herald that Addo-Carr will have a lot of work to do.
โI've been really clear with Josh, there's no guarantees of playing in the first 13 in our team," Ryles told the media.
โHe's got a lot of work to do but fully fit, he's gonna be certainly in the picture.โ
One of the NRL's most prolific try-scorers, Addo-Carr, now 29 years of age, has 140 in 179 NRL games, having added 38 four pointers in 52 games at the Canterbury Bulldogs between 2022 and 2024.
He also has 11 tries in 15 State of Origin games for the New South Wales Blues and 13 tries in seven Tests for Australia.
He heads to Parramatta at an intriguing time. Clint Gutherson's departure from the fullback role as he joins the St George Illawarra Dragons will see new signing Isaiah Iongi run out in the number one, but it's the wings and centres with little in the way of certainty.
Zac Lomax, who has been signed from the Dragons, will hold a position somewhere, and so too will Will Penisini, who continues to be one of the competition's breakout players in the centres.
But the other two positions - where that be one wing spot and one centre spot, or two wing spots, appear mostly up for grabs, with Addo-Carr among the leading contenders to grab a spot in Ryles' Round 1 team, when the blue and gold take on one of the winger's old clubs in the Melbourne Storm.
Bailey Simonsson, Haze Dunter, who has taken an option with the club, Sean Russell, Joash Papalii and Jordan Samrani, the last two of the list having signed across from the Canterbury Bulldogs, are also all in the running for one of the vacant two spots.
While Addo-Carr may be favoured for a starting spot given his try-scoring record, Ryles revealed he may never have wound up at the Eels if not for a prior relationship while the new coach was working in Melbourne.
โThere was an opportunity that came up to speak to him,โ Ryles said.
โHad I not known him and had the relationship that I do have with him, I probably wouldn't be talking about him now. But because I've had that experience with him, I had quite a bit of time with him and I know him really well.
โI know what he can do for a footy club. He's made a mistake, he's paid a price for it, but now it's all about what we can do going forward.โ
The Eels kick their season off in 2025 during the final game of the opening round away from home against the Melbourne Storm.
