Storm breaks silence on Josh Addo-Carr’s future amid Sydney rumours
With Wests Tigers looming large amid reports Josh Addo-Carr wants to return to Sydney, Melbourne boss Dave Donaghy has opened up on the Storm flyer’s contract situation.
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Melbourne Storm has confirmed star Josh Addo-Carr will suit up in purple in 2020, contrary to speculation the winger wanted an early release and return to Sydney.
Premiership flyer Addo-Carr met with Storm chief executive Dave Donaghy in Sydney to reaffirm his loyalty to Melbourne.
The 24 year-old Australian and NSW Origin representative star offered the same pledge to football manager Frank Ponissi recently while on holidays in New York City.
Donaghy broke his silence today following constant speculation about Addo-Carr’s future.
“We don’t respond a lot to external noise but given there is quite a bit of commentary at the moment I thought I’d clear that up,” Donaghy said.
“Where the talk is coming from I’m not sure, but I can say hand on heart Josh is committed to Storm as much as we’re committed to Josh.”
Addo-Carr has most recently been linked to West Tigers after the club withdrew a mega four-year deal to lure two-time Sydney Roosters premiership star Latrell Mitchell.
Addo-Carr and made his NRL debut at the Tigers in 2016 before moving to Melbourne and establishing himself as a NSW and Australian representative.
Donaghy said the nature of a “24/7 free agency environment” brings on rampant speculation.
“I can understand and accept at different times two plus two can equal five as opposed to what it actually equals,” Donaghy said.
“I think it is all part of the theatre, the environment of the industry that we operate in and that’s the reality.
“The facts of the matter are Josh’s current contract status is he’s signed until 2021 and he’s reaffirmed his commitment to Storm.
“Not that we were seeking it, we knew that anyway but he felt he wanted to reaffirm that.”
Donaghy said Addo-Carr was his typical and normal self yesterday in Sydney, as “happy and relaxed” as he’s ever been.
Storm is today expected to confirm the impending departures of Curtis Scott (Raiders) and Brodie Croft (Broncos), which will ensures the club is cap compliant in 2020.
Storm is unlikely to make any further changes to its roster, with Donaghy confident the squad will deliver an exciting 2020.
“It’s always a challenge when you’ve got a successful team and you’re trying to retain a core,” Donaghy said.
“Particularly with so many representative players, it’s a costly juggle … where it is now we’ve got it in a good space … Craig’s got a competitive squad for years to come.”