- Josh Addo-Carr faces action from Bulldogs and NRL
- Positive result for cocaine while driving continues
- Addo-Carr maintains he did not use illegal drugs
Bulldogs supremo Phil Gould has all but guaranteed Josh Addo-Carr will be sacked following his positive cocaine test as he criticised the representative winger for lying to the NRL club.
Gould, scathing, said Addo-Carr’s version of events “changed slightly from day to day depending on what had been revealed”.
“At the end of the day what we have is a positive drug test, there were drugs in his system,” Gould said at the Six tackles with Gus podcast.
“I think he continues to maintain his innocence in that case, but at some point he’s going to have to explain to himself and to the people he cares about exactly how it happened and why it happened.”
“So why have we been through what we’ve been through over the last week or so?”
Addo-Carr, 29, returned two positive results from samples taken during a roadside drug test and has since accepted the $682 fine and three-month driving ban from NSW Police rather than take the matter to court.
He continues to maintain his innocence and through his lawyer Elias Tabchouri claims that he “never knowingly ingested any illegal drugs.”
The Bulldogs winger missed his side’s elimination final defeat to Manly as a result of the trials. His future now lies in the hands of the NRL, and then Gould and the club’s board.
Bulldogs supremo Phil Gould has all but guaranteed Josh Addo-Carr will be sacked following his positive cocaine test, then called out the representative winger for lying to the NRL club.
Gould said Addo-Carr’s version of events “changed slightly from day to day depending on what had been revealed.”
Josh Addo-Carr (pictured) told club officials he is convinced he did not take cocaine and cannot explain the two positive results.
Addo-Carr will meet with the NRL’s integrity unit on Thursday and will be asked to explain how the cocaine entered his system.
The NRL is expected to impose a multi-match ban and fine on him.
He will then have to face the Bulldogs’ management, who will likely terminate his contract, which is reported to be worth $550,000 per season.
His contract with Belmore ends in 2025.
“We’ve seen some bizarre explanations around the world as to how it may or may not have happened. Josh needs to figure out how it happened and then we need to act… it’s that simple,” Gould added.
“There’s a lot at stake here… the perception of our club, the image of our club, the standards we want to set, the culture of the young players coming through our system and also setting a precedent for what may come in the future,” he said.
“There’s a lot to consider, but that’s what leadership is all about, doing what’s right for our club and our culture, and that’s what we’ll do.”
Significantly, when asked whether he believes Addo-Carr has been completely truthful on the whole affair, Gould’s response was succinct: “Too many contradictions.”
In April, Cronulla star Braydon Trindall was suspended by his club after failing a roadside drug test and a random breathalyzer test.
He pleaded guilty to moderately impaired driving and driving with an illicit substance in his system, and was fined $1,100 and banned from driving for three months.
The NRL handed him an infringement notice but opted not to suspend him beyond the five games the Sharks forced him to miss.
