Adam Elliott's brief stay in the nation's capital is set to culminate in the lock forward's first-ever finals match, and he isn't ready for it to finish this weekend.
Not a singular game across Elliott's 124 NRL match career has come outside the regular season, a broken duck egg only eclipsed by on-loan winger David Nofoaluma's 180-game streak set to be thrown aside in the same contest.
Elliott's maiden season in the NRL saw Canterbury make the finals in 2016, however, then-coach Des Hasler failed to select the forward for the finals series, leaving the lock with a long six-year wait for another crack at the big stage, something that has stuck with him all these years.
“That was my debut year in the NRL and watching on the sidelines sucked but I had the mentality that we’ll be there again the next year,” Elliott told NRL.com.
“Then it went back-to-back years, then three. I’ve been playing for six now and to not play a finals game, I started to wonder if it would ever happen.
“Seeing people like James Graham, Josh Jackson and Josh Reynolds get ready for these big games… there’s a switch that flicks… seeing them prepare for finals was different.
“I’m looking forward to getting in that zone.”
Elliott is departing Canberra at the end of the season to join the Newcastle Knights on a three-year deal, linking up with partner and Knights NRLW star Millie Boyle in the process.
The couple has been commuting to see one another over the past year, with Boyle skipping the Knights' final match of the season against Cronulla, instead driving down the M1 shortly after her NRLW match concluded in order to make the 4:05pm kick-off for Elliott's Raiders at Leichhardt Oval.
While his partner is a clear motivator for the move, he wants to leave his one-year Canberra cameo on a high.
“It will be hard to leave but I’ve tried to not think about it too much, I had a bit of an emotional moment at GIO Stadium last week and don’t want it to affect my footy brain in the finals,” Elliott added.
“I knew coming down here that I wanted to make sure I played well for my teammates and for Ricky.
“I’ve shared a special bond with him and the boys from the minute I got here. They’re a great bunch of blokes who have made me feel like family and I’m just trying to soak in as much time as I can with them.”
The Raiders' confidence will be high heading into what could be Elliott's final game in lime green, winning seven of their last eight games, including a 20-16 defeat over the Melbourne Storm at AAMI Park in Round 18.
