A “man-to-man” conversation with Bulldogs boss Phil Gould helped keep Josh Addo-Carr at Belmore last year when rival clubs were showing interest in the star speedster.
Three months of bacon, eggs, steak and not much else in a meat-dominated diet was the unexpected follow-up to breaking bread with Gould, and a reminder of the rare status Addo-Carr holds in the game.
Josh Addo-Carr is fit, and firing again after some home truths from Bulldogs boss Phil Gould.Credit: Getty
On Monday, Addo-Carr helped launch Indigenous Round during a smoking ceremony at Belmore Oval that brought Canterbury’s first-graders and Indigenous teens together, the latter presenting players with specially designed boots they will wear this Thursday night against the Dragons.
Addo-Carr never experienced anything like it himself growing up. Now he’s one of the loudest and proudest Indigenous voices in the NRL, and revelling in a week only his own children look forward to more.
At the end of last season, though, Gould called Canterbury’s highest profile player in to remind him of the responsibilities such a role entails. In short, the Bulldogs needed more leadership from Addo-Carr, and he was told as much.
Drama and a suspension followed when Addo-Carr was involved in a brawl at the Koori Knockout, putting his $500,000-a-year Bulldogs deal under the microscope and clubs like Parramatta and Newcastle on alert.
Josh Addo-Carr (left) and Josh Curran with Pam Brandy-Hall, designer of the Bulldogs Indigenous Round jersey.Credit: Bulldogs Digital
Gould again doused the prospect of Addo-Carr being moved on, one that some at Canterbury were willing to entertain. The 28-year-old is in turn embracing his role as a Bulldogs leader, with the same verve he has long held as a Wiradjuri/Gunggandji man, and Gould’s words ringing in his ears.
“It was a man-to-man thing, two men sitting down and just discussing footy, really,” Addo-Carr says of his conversations with the Bulldogs boss.
“What I need to do better [was the focus] and I really took it on board, I really did. It made me a better person. I’ve found out a lot about myself the last couple of years.
“I wouldn’t change a thing because it’s made me hungry. It’s kept me disciplined and I just want to be better off the field. I know that I can play football but I just felt like l needed to do better things outside of footy – preparing well, eating well, journaling, all that sort of stuff and that’s what I wanted to do [over the off-season].
“At the start of my NRL career I was on a high. And then losing games or not getting results, you learn a lot about yourself. I just want to tick every box and be the player I want to be and set an example for the boys here at the Bulldogs. I just want to leave no stone unturned.″
The hunger and discipline collided in Addo-Carr’s “carnivore diet” over the summer, to which he’s since added carbohydrates and green vegetables given the need for recovery after games.
Mostly meat for three months didn’t unlock any hidden energy stores or an extra yard of pace for one of the game’s true speedsters.
“But it was a challenge, and it kept me disciplined,” he says. “It kept me narrowed in and challenged me off the field.”
Addo-Carr on the fly.Credit: Getty
On it, Addo-Carr has pushed through injury, playing with a busted AC joint in his shoulder for 35 minutes against Parramatta, to find himself in a NSW Origin selection shoot-out with St George Illawarra’s Zac Lomax this weekend.
“There’s no question I want to be there,” Addo-Carr says of the Blues jersey he lost in 2022 before returning to the NSW fold last year. Zac is having a wonderful year and everyone knows what kind of a player he is.
“But I want to earn that spot in that team and play with the best players in the world, represent my state, my family and my community.”
Which brings Addo-Carr back to Belmore, where he’s wearing the club’s latest Indigenous jersey alongside the likes of Blake Taaffe (Bidjigal country) and Josh Curran (Dharug).
“You see kids that would probably never get an opportunity to step foot in an NRL club and they’re presenting players boots with their artwork [on them],” he says of the Boots For Brighter Futures program spearheaded by Roosters utility Connor Watson and his brother Fletcher.
“Just getting Indigenous kids involved within their culture, as a player I love that the NRL and all 17 clubs get behind this round.”
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