The Canterbury Bulldogs have made a shock call on Andrew Davey by releasing him to the Parramatta Eels.
Davey was heavily linked with a move to the Eels last year as his time at the Manly Sea Eagles came to an end, but ultimately elected to link up with the Canterbury Bulldogs.
The 31-year-old, who can play in the middle and on the edge, signed a two-year deal with the blue and white which was set to see him remain at Belmore until at least the end of the 2024 season.
That two-year deal has now been picked up by the Eels, where Davey will likely be stuck behind second-rowers Ryan Matterson and Shaun Lane, while fighting with the likes of Bryce Cartwright and Matt Doorey for the remaining minutes.
"We know from Andrew's previous stint at the Club, we are gaining a player who is of the highest character which is great for team culture and our Eels community," Parramatta head of football Mark O'Neill said in a club statement.
"Andrew is someone who is ready for NRL and can play a role either at middle or edge. We welcome Andrew back to continue his career at the Eels."
It's understood Davey will be eligible for selection at the Eels from magic round, when the club play the Gold Coast Titans in the final match of the round.
Starting the season by recovering from injury, Davey returned via the NSW Cup in Round 5 against the Newtown Jets, before putting in a full 80-minute performance against the South Sydney Rabbitohs in the reserve grade competition the following week.
With an injury crisis at first grade level worsening, Davey was called into the NRL side during Round 7 and has played a grand total of 71 minutes off the bench over the last two weeks for the Bulldogs against the Eels and Sharks, making a single tackle break, 103 metres combined with the ball in hand and 37 tackles.
The news comes after Davey was dropped from the NRL side this week, but also surprisingly didn't feature in the NSW Cup, or the Bulldogs' latest injury update, released on Thursday.
Canterbury, who play the St George Illawarra Dragons on Sunday, are still attempting to overcome an injury crisis, which included Max King for the first time yesterday, while the likes of Viliame Kikau, Franklin Pele and Luke Thompson remain sidelined out of their pack following the recent return of Tevita Pangai Junior.
Davey, who was born in Maryborough, played the first ten games of his NRL career for the Eels in 2020 before making the shift to the Sea Eagles.