Adam Elliott knows he is fortunate not to be working on a building site or find himself in the dole queue outside Centrelink.
After 101 first grade games with Canterbury, his on-field performances were never the issue – it was his off-field behaviour that saw him in strife repeatedly over the past few years, especially when alcohol was involved.
Fed up with his drunken antics, the Bulldogs and Elliott reached an agreement which saw the forward released from his multi-million-dollar NRL contract last year.
Realising his talent if he stays on the straight and narrow, the Canberra Raiders swooped, offering the 27-year-old a one-year deal.
The cut-price contract is littered with numerous clauses, and Elliott knows he can’t stuff up in the nation’s capital.
He has impressed in gruelling off-season training with the Green Machine and is well aware he won’t get another shot if he stuffs up.
Canberra Raiders recruit Adam Elliott (pictured with partner, NRLW star Millie Boyle) knows he is on his last chance in the NRL
The talented backrower or lock saw his multi-million-dollar contract with the Bulldogs ripped up last year for a string of alcohol-fuelled incidents
Elliott, 27, is in a long-distance relationship with NRLW star Millie Boyle (pictured) – with Elliott in Canberra and Boyle in Brisbane
‘I just want to play my best footy, last year was interrupted with injury and off-field stuff,’ Elliott said ahead of Friday night’s clash versus Cronulla at GIO Stadium.
‘I want to be one of the first people Ricky (Stuart) picks every week because he knows what I’m going to do for him.’
Elliott’s blossoming long-distance relationship with NRLW star Millie Boyle is another reason to stay focused.
‘I’ve always watched Millie play…she’s definitely tough,’ he told NRL.com.
‘I think they are making waves with three new teams and that can only lead to good things.’
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The couple have known one another since they were teenagers after growing up near Bega on the NSW south coast.
Last August they were embroiled in controversy after they were caught getting ‘intimate’ in the men’s bathroom at a Gold Coast restaurant.
‘Look, all we did was have a kiss in the bathroom. It’s been taken way out of context. It’s a big kerfuffle about nothing,’ Ms Boyle said at the time.
Elliott was stood down for the Canterbury’s final two matches of the NRL season, pending an investigation from the NRL Integrity Unit into the incident before he was later released.
Bulldogs boss Phil Gould labelled Elliott’s conduct ‘grade five stupidity’.
He also was in the headlines last February when he was caught kissing the fiancée of former team-mate Michael Lichaa during a night of binge drinking.
Millie Boyle has been a standout for Brisbane playing prop in the early rounds of the NRLW competition
Elliott recently stated he has been blown away by his girlfriend’s on-field toughness (pictured with Millie Boyle)
In 2018, Elliott also pleaded guilty to obscenely exposing himself in public after a wild ‘Mad Monday’ celebration with the Bulldogs at Sydney’s Harbour View Hotel in the Rocks.
Elliott and then team-mate Asipeli Fine exposed themselves on a balcony of the hotel in full view of people climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Both were charged with obscene exposure and the Bulldogs copped a $320,000 fine after the men allegedly drunkenly danced to Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline.
The two later each received a two-year good behaviour bond.
Quick stat: The Raiders beat the Sharks in both their 2021 meetings. With Jarrod Croker tipped to start the season in NSW Cup, Josh Hodgson is Canberra’s likely skipper on Friday night
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