'It was the toughest year of my life': Raiders recruit opens up on hellish 2021

He's quickly settled into the quiet surrounds of Canberra and says he's never been happier in life than right now.

But 2021 took a toll on the former Canterbury Bulldog, who parted ways with his boyhood club in September in the wake of an incident in a Gold Coast restaurant before being offered an NRL lifeline by Raiders coach Ricky Stuart.

Elliott was reportedly escorted from the Gold Coast venue after being caught in the toilets of the restaurant with his partner Millie Boyle, sharing what the latter later described as "an innocent kiss".

It followed another off-field incident from earlier in the year, which led Elliott to seek professional help for problems with alcohol.

"I can't lie, it was the toughest year of my life by a mile and I feel like it's behind me now and it's a great feeling," Elliott told The Canberra Times.

"You've got to come out, you've got to apologise and you've got to acknowledge that you've done wrong. Then the week goes by and either something else happens or they get off your back a little bit.

"For me it felt a bit relentless this year. I'm not crying victim but it was just months and months and months of the same headline getting brought up.

"If the headlines come and it hung around for a week I probably would've been able to put it to the side.

"Then later on in the year it happened again. By the second time I was used to it, but it was hard for me to see Millie's name getting brought up all the time as well.

"For someone like her that's got such a strong standing in her community and what she does and her career, that was really hard for me to sit back and watch.

"The lessons I've learned, they're really important and they're tough lessons and I think I've solidified that I don't want to feel like that again. I'm really happy off the field, I'm really quite content with my life."

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Linking with the Raiders has breathed a fresh start into Elliott's NRL career. The 27-year-old had six seasons at the battling Bulldogs and has taken a significant pay cut in moving to the capital where he has one season to prove he warrants a longer-term deal.

Elliott had a chance to join the Raiders as a 14-year-old, having grown up three hours south in the coastal town of Tathra. But he opted for the Bulldogs, who he'd supported his entire life, where he carved out the first phase of his NRL career as a hard-nosed back rower.

"I was really happy at the Bulldogs, I loved the club - it's well reported I'd stayed there when there was opportunity to leave probably for a bit more money," Elliott said.

"That's the sort of bloke I am. I'm very passionate and it's the reason I went there in the first place and the reason I stayed there so long.

"Coming down here and having a fresh start, it definitely is the best thing for me.

"I don't have any regrets at all I'm actually stoked that I'm a part of the Raiders squad now. I'm really proud to put the Raiders kit on.

"You walk around the place and you see the years that they played, the grand finals, the years that they won and the teams that were in there. Most of those games were before I was born, but I know the names.

"The fresh start has re-energised me. I think the boys are all keen to have me down here as well. It's just head down, bum up."

Conversations with the Raiders began late last season, after NRL clubs converged in a hub in south-east Queensland which saved the season.

After leaving the Bulldogs, talk of a potential move to Canberra solidified to the point both parties agreed in principle to a deal, sealed by a handshake with Stuart.

Elliott then ventured to Darwin to spend the off-season with his 18-month old son Lennex, before returning to Sydney to prepare for his move to Canberra.

"He [Stuart] is a man's man, we shook hands when I decided to come here - the deal didn't get done for a few more weeks but I never had any doubt in my mind and that's the sort of bloke Stick is, he's an honest bloke and I really can't wait to play for him," Elliott said.

"I got back home to my house in Sydney and had to organise a few things, spent a couple of weeks there with Millie. I just really got into my training and really enjoyed a bit of time off but was really focused on making sure I turned up here in good nick.

"If I wasn't with my missus or my baby, I was in the gym, it was a great off season."

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