Josh Addo-Carr to face NRL integrity unit as future unclear with Canterbury Bulldogs

Canterbury football boss Phil Gould says it is “too early” to determine whether Josh Addo-Carr has played his last Bulldogs game as the winger prepares to front the NRL integrity unit over his cocaine saga.

The Bulldogs still have unanswered questions after secondary analysis of Addo-Carr’s roadside drug test confirmed a positive reading for cocaine last Friday.

Addo-Carr has maintained he did not knowingly take cocaine before being stopped by police after he left the Bulldogs’ Homebush camp to buy a phone charger late at night on September 6.

But the 29-year-old’s lawyer confirmed last week he would accept a $682 fine and three-month ban from driving over the incident, which Gould told Channel Nine was “virtually an admission of guilt”.

The Bulldogs’ season ended with a 24-22 elimination final loss to Manly on Sunday, Addo-Carr opting to stand down from Canterbury’s first final since 2016 rather than create a media circus.

But it is far from over for Addo-Carr as manager Mario Tartak arranges to meet with the NRL integrity unit this week, with the Bulldogs’ own talks to follow from that.

“The NRL have decided it’s time for them to step in and make a decision on what their punishment will be and then it’ll be up to the club to see what we do from there,” Gould told Channel Nine’s 100% Footy.

“I haven’t spoken to him since the second positive analysis came back. I believe he’s still protesting his innocence but at the end of the day, it’s in his system when he takes the drug test on Friday night.

“How it got there, he needs to work that out and explain that to the people that count.”

After the integrity unit meets to determine any NRL-enforced punishment, Gould will decide whether he feels Addo-Carr should remain at the Bulldogs for 2025, the last year of his contract.

He will take that recommendation to Canterbury’s board, led by first-year chairman Adam Driussi, and a final judgement will be made on Addo-Carr’s playing future at the club.

“I think that’s too early to say (whether he will be fired),” Gould said late Monday night.

“(The board) may or may not take my recommendation. They may or may not have another point of view

“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: club first, team second, individual third. That’s what we’ll do.”

Aside from his meeting with the NRL, Addo-Carr will spend the week taking part in the Bulldogs’ final performance reviews and exit interviews following a resurgent 2024 season.

He will also undergo a medical assessment after missing the final round of the regular season with a minor ankle injury.

The Bulldogs will be left to consider what might have been after a week in the headlines ended in a gallant, though ultimately season-ending, loss to Manly.

“It was certainly disappointing from a club perspective, it was certainly bad timing from a club perspective and it wasn’t good,” Gould said.

“But what was great was the way our players responded, put it behind them. The coaching staff got ready to play the games of their lives on the weekend and did so, so I was very proud of that.”