Josh Addo-Carr to face NRL Integrity Unit, Phil Gould says story changed ‘day to day’

Josh Addo-Carr will fight to save his career when he faces the NRL’s integrity unit on Thursday, but the latest words from Canterbury club supremo are unlikely to help his battle.

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - MARCH 15: Josh Addo-Carr of the Bulldogs looks on before the round two NRL match between Cronulla Sharks and Canterbury Bulldogs at PointsBet Stadium on March 15, 2024, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images)

Josh Addo-Carr will face the grilling of the NRL’s integrity unit on Thursday as he prepares to front up for the first time since testing positive to cocaine.

Addo-Carr has been summoned to meet with the NRL’s integrity unit as his career at the Bulldogs hangs in the balance.

The NSW and Australian star still maintains his innocence and will have to explain to the NRL’s integrity unit how the illicit substance may have ended up in his system. Addo-Carr missed the Bulldogs’ loss to Manly on Sunday afternoon after initially failing a roadside test for cocaine, and then an oral sample which was taken at the scene.

His impending meeting with the NRL comes as Canterbury’s head of football Phil Gould said Addo-Carr’s version of events “changed slightly from day to day depending on what had been revealed”.

Josh Addo-Carr will front the NRL Integrity Unit on Thursday. Picture: Getty Images

“At the end of the day what we have is a positive drug test, that there were drugs in his system last Friday night,” Gould said on his Six Tackles with Gus podcast.

“I believe he’s still protesting his innocence in that. But at (some stage) he’s going to have to explain to himself and explain to people that matter exactly how that’s happened and why it’s happened.

“And then why we’ve gone through what we’ve gone through over the last week or so with that. It was certainly bad timing.

“I’m so proud of the club with the way they dealt with it, the way players and coaches put it out of their minds and got prepared for the weekend and performed the way they did.”

Addo-Carr has another year remaining on his contract with Canterbury worth about $500,000. But he faces the very real prospect of having that deal ripped up.

The 29-year-old scored 11 tries in 14 appearances for the Bulldogs this season before opting to stand himself down before Canterbury’s loss to Manly last Sunday.

Originally published as Josh Addo-Carr to face NRL Integrity Unit, Phil Gould says story changed ‘day to day’