- Josh Addo-Carr will face NRL Integrity Unit this week
- Gould spoke for first time since second test result revealed
Bulldogs general manager Phil Gould has given a clear indication that Josh Addo-Carr’s days at the club are numbered as the superstar player fights to save his career following his positive roadside drug tests.
The Bulldogs bowed out of the finals on Sunday afternoon, victims of a 24-22 defeat from fast-finishing Manly in the second elimination final at Accor Stadium.
The result came at the end of a tumultuous 10 days for Canterbury, whose star winger Addo-Carr stood himself down from the game for fear of sparking a media circus.
The 29-year-old has told club officials he is adamant he did not take cocaine before testing positive to the drug in two samples he gave to police on August 6, and is at a loss to explain the allegedly positive results.
Despite his claims of innocence, Addo-Carr has accepted a three-month driving ban and a $682 fine instead of taking the matter to court.
Addo-Carr will meet with the NRL Integrity Unit this week, with Gould giving a big clue that he will not remain with the Bulldogs.
‘At the end of the day, what will happen is that I’ll come up with a decision on what I think the future of Josh Addo-Carr at the club should be and I’ll take that forward and discuss it with the people that count,’ Gould told Nine’s 100% Footy on Monday night.
‘They may or may not take my recommendation, they may have other ideas. We will do what we think is in the best long-term interest of the club, it’s as simple as that. The players understand that – (it’s) club first, team second, individual third.’
Phil Gould says he hasn’t spoken to Josh Addo-Carr since his second positive test became public last Friday
Josh Addo-Carr is fighting to clear his name after two positive cocaine tests – and while he is adamant he didn’t take the drug, he is not fighting charges in court
Gould’s previous comments about Latrell Mitchell’s white powder scandal have resurfaced this week, with Gould saying he ‘100 per cent’ stands by the remarks – and it’s not good news for the winger.
‘I don’t think our club could tolerate that sort of behaviour, I don’t think that we could tolerate that at all,’ Gould said of Mitchell at the time.
The Dogs supremo also revealed that he hasn’t spoken to the embattled winger since his second test came back positive last Friday.
‘I believe he’s still protesting his innocence,’ Gould said.
Gould will make a call on if Addo-Carr (pictured with Lakaree Smith at the Dally M Awards) should remain with the Dogs and pass that recommendation on to the club
‘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.
‘It was certainly disappointing from a club perspective. It was certainly bad timing from a club perspective, it wasn’t good.’
