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He was our top tackle breaker these past two years. Still only 22 years old. His form early this year was poor, at least in defence, but he's fixed it up since moving back to the right. He's gone from four missed tackles per game on the left to fewer than one per game on the right hand side.
I have an idea why.
At a recent Parramatta training session, Josh Addo-Carr hit the afterburners.
“I ran at 10.4 metres per second the other week,” Addo-Carr said.
“The GPS data doesn’t lie. The fastest I’ve done is 10.7. I don’t know how much that is in kilometres an hour, but that’s pretty quick, bro.”
It is pretty quick indeed. We did the maths, and Addo-Carr hit a top speed at that Eels session of 37.44 km/h. That’s starting to edge towards his best reading, as clocked by the Telstra Tracker on game day, of 38.7km/h.
To put that into further context, the best Telstra Tracker time of the 2024 season belonged to Manly’s Jason Saab, with a maximum speed of 37.7 km/h.
Which suggests that, at the age of 29 and five games into his Eels stint, Addo-Carr still possesses the blistering speed that had him affectionately dubbed “The fastest man on the planet.”
“You need to run fast to get fast and stay fast, but I feel like the last few years I didn’t give myself a chance because of how heavy I was,” he said.
“I’ve dropped about seven kilos. Last year I was about 97 kilos. I thought I was doing the right thing, but it sort of backfired on me because I wanted to be a powerful athlete.
“I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’m just built the way I’m meant to be built – I’m slim, I’m not meant to be a bodybuilder. I thought I was just doing the right thing at the time, trying to get more powerful, but that’s probably why I did my hammy so bad last year.
“It was the longest I’ve ever been out, nine weeks. But now I feel so much better, so much smoother in my running.”
Addo-Carr has shown that he’s pretty quick between the ears as well. With the Easter Monday game against Wests Tigers on a knife edge, the premiership-winning winger came up with a defensive play that clinched the game.
On the wrong end of a two-on-one overlap – Sunia Turuva had the football with Jahream Bula looming in support – Addo-Carr read the play and intercepted Turuva’s pass.
“I’ve seen the body language of Turuva – he had his eyes locked on Jahream Bula – and I just read his body language, knew that he was going to pass the ball and all I had to do was just time it and the rest is history,” he said.
“At the time I thought there were more Parra jerseys in the frame. It was a do-or-die moment, looking back at the replay and I just backed my instinct.”
It’s the sort of big-time play that, particularly with incumbent NSW wingers Zac Lomax and Brian To’o on the sidelines, has him hopeful of a recall to the State of Origin arena.
“I’d love to do it again,” Addo-Carr said at ShoeGrab in Bankstown on Wednesday afternoon, where he personally delivered his latest range of “Lets Trot” apparel.
“The love I have for that game – the players that have played Origin know how much it means to us.
“The hate between each state, it’s real. When you’re in it, it’s mad, I love it. To play with the best players in the world, I’d love to get that opportunity again. I just need to keep focusing on what I need to do for the Eels and keep improving every day, which I am trying to do.
“And I’d love to put that Kangaroos jersey on again, 100 per cent. I definitely do miss representative football.”
Addo-Carr’s switch from Canterbury to arch-rivals Parramatta appears to be a win for all parties. In five games in blue and gold, the former Storm star has scored five tries. The move was made possible due to the faith shown in him by coach Jason Ryles, who worked with Addo-Carr in Melbourne.
Addo-Carr’s three-year stint at Canterbury came to a controversial end when the Bulldogs ripped up his contract in September. The premiership-winning winger had a year remaining on his $500,000-a-season deal.
“Rylesy was the only person who backed me, so I told him I wouldn’t let him down,” Addo-Carr said. “I’d love to [finish my career at Parramatta], to be honest with you. I love Parra.”
Why Josh Addo-Carr is in a hurry – on and off the field
Affectionately dubbed “The fastest man on the planet”, Eels flyer Josh Addo-Carr has shown that he’s pretty quick between the ears as well.www.smh.com.au
We have a history of being able to squeeze the maximum amount of juice from former international outside backs from other clubs. Ferguson and Jennings immediately come to mind.
They were both really good players, particularly Fergo I think. I would love a Bradman Best type centre to add but if Simmo is fit, maybe its Lomax and Fox on the wings (what a duo) and Simmo/Penisini centres.
Filed under "Things you love to see". The player engagement with the community really seems to have lifted of late. Ryley Smith is everywhere, living the dream!
Interesting choice of words "juice". All three were on the "juice" at one stage or other.
