Football star Josh Addo-Carr will reportedly be suspended by the Bulldogs ahead of his final with Manly after allegedly returning a positive drug test during a roadside check over the weekend.
The 29-year-old Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs winger was stopped by police and allegedly tested positive for cocaine while driving on Friday night, although the club have denied this.
The NRL star has not been charged and further analysis of the evidence is needed first.
Addo-Carr told the Bulldogs about the incident but there is some confusion over the situation with boss Phil Gould initially claiming the test came back “negative”.
It emerged on Tuesday morning that the Bulldogs are set to drop Addo-Carr for their elimination final this weekend against Manly, and will meet with him on Tuesday to discuss the matter.
Nine’s NRL reporter Danny Weidler posted on X: ‘From all the information I’ve been able to gather at this point… I expect the Bulldogs to sack Josh Addo Carr later today.’
The news comes after Gould posted a message on social media defending the Canterbury Flyers on Monday.
“In response to the rumours circulating and now several media enquiries regarding Josh Addo-Carr,” Gould posted on X.
Josh Addo-Carr (pictured) will be suspended after allegedly failing a roadside drugs test over the weekend.
The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs winger was stopped by police and allegedly tested positive while driving on Friday night.
‘On Friday night, police stopped Josh and subjected him to a random roadside drug test. The test results came back negative and he was cleared to continue on his way. It happens to all of us at some point on the road. It’s the police that keep the community safe. We appreciate their work.
“There is absolutely no truth to the rumours that Josh has had any problems. None at all. Enjoy your football finals everyone.”
On Monday night, Gould said Addo-Carr had informed the club about the matter on Saturday but said the winger had explained to him that the drugs test had been inconclusive.
It was only on Monday, when the club received calls about the issue, that they discovered that he had supposedly returned a positive sample.
“He came and informed us the next morning, but the way he informed us was very dismissive,” Gould told 100% Footy.
‘That there was no drama, that he had not tested positive for anything, that they had let him drive home.
‘What Josh thought was that because he went and got the second test and they allowed him to go, he thought it was negative.
The Bulldogs found out on Monday that the winger had tested positive.
“I’m not saying Josh deliberately distorted information, that was his interpretation of the facts. The police have a different interpretation.”
On Tuesday morning, Gould said he was “very disappointed” by the situation.
“I’ll be making my recommendations on how I think the week should go. It’s a very, very important week,” Gould said on the Today Show.
‘I’m very disappointed… we have to make a decision today to resolve… what we’re going to do with Josh this week in particular, so the team can continue with its preparation.
“I’ll be holding a press conference at 11am in Belmore. I’ll be meeting with the chairman, the CEO and the coach this morning and we’ll make a decision.”
Gould was then asked by show host Karl Stefanovic whether Addo-Carr had lied.
“There are obviously inconsistencies in his story and what he explained to us on Monday morning,” Gould responded.
“That may have been Josh’s interpretation of the events, but it is now very inconsistent with what the police report says. We have not spoken to the police. The police have not spoken to us either.
The club will meet with Addo-Carr on Tuesday to decide the next move.
‘I understand the police have spoken to NRL Integrity and they spoke to our chief executive yesterday and they have sort of backed up what was in yesterday’s press release.’
News Corp’s NRL reporter Phil Rothfield spoke about the issue on NRL360 on Monday night and said Gould felt embarrassed by the incident.
“(Addo-Carr) met with Gus on Monday afternoon and he might feel a bit embarrassed about it,” he said.
‘(Gould) posted a tweet saying everything was fine because he hadn’t failed any exams.’
‘There’s a huge amount of confusion about that, as Josh Addo-Carr, when he told the Bulldogs, even though he didn’t say he tested positive, they informed the integrity unit on Saturday.
“They’ve been monitoring him for 48 hours. The other interesting thing is that Josh Addo-Carr has gone to see his doctor today for a third test.”
Addo-Carr has had a couple of unfortunate seasons with constant injury problems.
He was sidelined again during the Bulldogs’ loss to the Cowboys over the weekend due to a leg injury.
The NRL has yet to comment on the situation.
