Josh Addo-Carr says he's in a "happier place" at Parramatta as he prepares to celebrate his 200-game milestone almost a year after a drug-driving charge threw his future into doubt.
Sacked by Canterbury in October last year, star winger Addo-Carr grabbed an NRL lifeline with the Eels and has since flourished in helping coach Jason Ryles rebuild the proud western Sydney club.
The 15-time NSW State of Origin representative said he has moved on from the saga as he reflected fondly on his time at the Bulldogs.
Addo-Carr moved to Belmore in 2022 after winning two premierships (2017, 2020) at Melbourne.
Asked if he was shocked when making the move to NRL heartland, Addo-Carr said: "No, not at all. I feel like I handled it really well.
"The Bulldogs are such a massive club and massive fan base. I really enjoyed my time.
"The fans were great to me. The club were great to me.
"I wouldn't change it, absolutely. I'm in a happier place now. That's all that matters."
Addo-Carr has been prolific on the wing for the Eels, scoring 15 tries across 20 appearances ahead of Friday night's clash against the Warriors in Auckland.
The speed machine crossed the white line twice against the Sydney Roosters to reach 155-career tries, helping to stun the finals hopefuls 30-10 at home on Saturday.
After a luckless run of injuries disrupted his season last year, Addo-Carr pins his current vein of form down to a few lifestyle changes.
"I haven't drunk over 12 months," Addo-Carr said.
"I've lost a couple of kgs. Especially after last season, I looked like a bodybuilder.
"It's something I wanted to do, put a bit more size on, a bit more muscle. I did that, I achieved that, but I feel like it backfired on me.
These skinny legs can only hold a certain amount of weight.
Parramatta captain Mitch Moses hailed Addo-Carr as the "perfect person" the club needed to guide young talent like Joash Papalii and Isaiah Iongi as they look to lift themselves from the bottom of the ladder.
The Eels (8-14) are 14th ahead of their final two clashes but have shown signs of improvement with impressive wins over the Roosters, North Queensland and Brisbane.
"I played early days with 'Foxxy' at the Tigers and to see the person that he's grown into has been good to watch," Moses said.
"What he's done to our squad and ever since he's come into our team, into the environment, into our organisation, he's been unreal.
"How he speaks to the boys, even player number 30, he's given the time of day and full doing extras with them after training."
Both Addo-Carr and Moses will hope their form will be enough to convince Kangaroos coach Kevin Walters for a call-up to the national team for the upcoming Ashes tour.
"That was definitely one of my goals (from the start of the year) to try and get back in there, the Kangaroo squad," Addo-Carr said.
"Origin as well, that was something I wanted to try and get back to.
"Hopefully, I do get that call-up. I definitely won't let the country down or my teammates down."
