Canterbury Bulldogs general manager Phil Gould has confirmed Josh Addo-Carr will meet with the NRL Integrity Unit after his positive roadside drug test.
Addo-Carr missed the Bulldogs’ final against Manly after two positive tests which led to him accepting a $682 fine and three-month suspension from driving.
Speculation is now rife the Bulldogs will sack Addo-Carr for the offence despite his $550,000-a-season contract not running out until next year.
Phil Gould has given the latest update on Josh Addo-Carr. Nine
Speaking on Nine’s 100% Footy, Gould said “it’s too early to say” whether Addo-Carr’s time at the Bulldogs is over.
“Right at the moment there’s a process to go through … he has to front the NRL Integrity Unit this week, they rang today and asked for a Zoom meeting with him, so we’ve passed that on to his manager who’s organising that meeting for him,” he said.
“The players this week have their final medicals to see how they’re all going at the moment, he has got a little injury at the moment, then they go through some exit interviews and assess their season.
“At the end of the day what’ll happen is, I’ll come up with a decision on what I think the future of Josh Addo-Carr and the club should be as a partnership and I’ll take that to the board and discuss it with the people that count. They may or may not take my recommendation, they may have another point of view.
“We’ll sit down and discuss it. At the end of the day we’ll do what we think is in the best long term interest of the club, it’s as simple as that and all the players understand that.”
As the drama around Addo-Carr dragged on last week, Gould’s previous comments around Latrell Mitchell’s behaviour resurfaced.
“I don’t think our club could tolerate that sort of behaviour, I don’t think we could tolerate that at all,” Gould said during Mitchell’s white powder scandal.
Gal takes aim at Souths over Latrell drama
The Bulldogs boss didn’t back down from that take.
“I’m 100 per cent behind that. Latrell Mitchell, as I said at the time, I stand by those comments 100 per cent,” he said.
The drama around Addo-Carr didn’t end after his second test came back positive.
Addo-Carr fate remains unclear
His lawyer, Elias Tabchouri, said the Bulldogs winger “maintains he has never knowingly ingested any illegal drugs” despite him accepting the fine and suspension.
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Asked about Addo-Carr defiant stance, Gould revealed he hasn’t spoken to the 29-year-old since the second positive test.
“I believe he’s still protesting his innocence. At the end of the day it’s in his system when he takes a drug test on Friday night. How it got there? He needs to work that out and explain that to the people that count, sooner or later,” he said.
“It was certainly disappointing from a club perspective. It was certainly bad timing from a club perspective, it wasn’t good.”
