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An emotional Adam Elliott was reduced to tears as he paid tribute to fiancee and NRLW star Millie Boyle, as well as rival Raiders coach Ricky Stuart, for helping him salvage his career when \u201cit could have gone either way\u201d.<\/p>\n
Elliott and Boyle will gear up for one of the biggest weekends of their respective careers when Roosters prop and former Dally M medallist Boyle takes on her old club Newcastle on Saturday, and Elliott faces the Canberra club that gave him a one-year lifeline 24 hours later.<\/p>\n
After an injury hampered start to 2023, Elliott has found his feet with the Knights as a key forward leader, delivering on the three-year deal that prised him out of Canberra after multiple failed attempts to lure him to Newcastle previously.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a far cry from when he was first signed by Stuart in late-2021 with his career at a crossroads. <\/p>\n
Elliott had been released from the last two seasons of a $500,000-a-year Bulldogs contract after multiple alcohol-fuelled indiscretions and off-field dramas.<\/p>\n
Canberra signed him on a 12-month deal worth around $250,000 soon after he and Boyle were caught up in an infamous toilet tryst on the Gold Coast.<\/p>\n
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Adam Elliott and Millie Boyle.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Instagram<\/cite><\/p>\n The childhood friends moved on swiftly from the drama and have been inseparable ever since, scheduling their wedding for October once their respective seasons finish.<\/p>\n Speaking on Monday ahead of Sunday\u2019s expected sellout where either Newcastle or Canberra\u2019s season will end, Elliott was overwhelmed when asked about his off-field turnaround, lauding Boyle\u2019s influence on him.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m still the same person, I\u2019ve still got the same friends and my family hasn\u2019t changed, but I\u2019m a lot more settled off the field,\u201d Elliott told this masthead.<\/p>\n \u201cA big part of that is Millie. She came into my life at a time where things could have gone either way for me. My career was in the balance.<\/p>\n \u201cMillie\u2019s the biggest influence over my personal happiness right now. How much she\u2019s bought into my family, and helping to raise my little boy [from a previous relationship], it means the world to me.<\/p>\n Adam Elliott and former Raiders teammate Jordan Rapana.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>NRL Photos<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cI probably don\u2019t give her enough credit, she\u2019s a very special person and stopping here and trying to explain everything she does for me, it gets me a bit emotional.\u201d<\/p>\n Elliott acknowledged Canberra\u2019s disappointment in losing him to the Knights last year, when the offer of an upgraded three-year extension wasn\u2019t enough to keep him in the nation\u2019s capital.<\/p>\n His move brought him and Boyle together at the same club. Elliott was reduced to tears during Boyle\u2019s winning NRLW grand final speech last year, before her move to the Roosters.<\/p>\n Elliott said Stuart\u2019s famously frank ways, and a shared bond through his brother James and Stuart\u2019s daughter Emma, who both have autism, will always endure for him.<\/p>\n \u201cSticky and I, I think we both appreciated that we were always pretty truthful and upfront with each other from the word go,\u201d Elliott said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe bonded over his daughter Emma and my brother James and that\u2019s something pretty special between us. I\u2019ll always hold that in high regard with our relationship.<\/p>\n \u201cThe details of that convo [when Elliott knocked back Canberra\u2019s offer] will stay on the walls of Sticky\u2019s office. I felt that loyalty to Canberra, a bit of an obligation to them.<\/p>\n \u201cI think he could tell it wasn\u2019t easy for me and he was disappointed that I was leaving… but there\u2019s no bad blood there. I\u2019ve spoken to Stick plenty of times since then and I\u2019ll always have a lot of respect for him.\u201d<\/p>\n Knights coach Adam O\u2019Brien personally pursued Elliott when he was on the market last year, reversing calls the 28-year-old made 12 months earlier when he was hoping Newcastle had space for him in their 2022 roster.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s funny, I was calling him one year before Canberra had shown interest, but we couldn\u2019t work it out and I wasn\u2019t really in a position to wait,\u201d Elliott said.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd then it was Adz calling me saying, \u2018There\u2019s a spot, we want you\u2019. He was pretty adamant that he wanted me and he worked quite hard to get me. I couldn\u2019t be happier with how the move has panned out.\u201c<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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