‘No reason’: Phil Gould comes clean on Josh Addo-Carr stand-down call

Phil Gould has left the door open for Josh Addo-Carr to play in the 2024 finals series after standing himself down amid his drug drama.

Phil Gould hasn't ruled the Fox out of the Finals. Photo: Getty Images and Newswire

Phil Gould has opened the door for winger Josh Addo-Carr to play again in the finals series, should the Bulldogs defeat Manly on Sunday and move on to week two of the finals.

Addo-Carr stood himself down earlier in the week after news emerged that he had allegedly failed a roadside drugs test last Friday night.

While Addo-Carr maintained his innocence, he told Bulldogs officials he would rule himself out of playing against the Sea Eagles on Sunday so as to not be a distraction.

Addo-Carr was tested a second time, with that sample sent away for further analysis. However, a result on that secondary sample may not be available for up to 10 weeks.

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Speaking on his Six Tackles with Gus podcast on Wednesday, Gould said the Bulldogs have not stood Addo-Carr down for the semi-finals, should the club make it that far.

“I sat down and spoke to him last week and said, ‘This is the week ahead if we name you today and you play and this is the week ahead if you stand down and we go from there’. He considered both options and made that decision (to stand himself down) there and then,” Gould said.

“But under the CBA with the NRL, neither the club or NRL Integrity have grounds to stand a player down until the result of that sample comes back. The problem is, there’s a backlog there for eight or 10 weeks.

“You can’t leave a player out eight or 10 weeks to see if his sample is going to be tested.”

Phil Gould hasn't ruled the Fox out of the Finals. Photo: Getty Images and Newswire

Gould went on to reveal that he called Sharks CEO Dino Mezzatesta after Cronulla dealt with a similar incident involving halfback Braydon Trindall earlier in the year.

“When they went there they were told that it could be eight to 10 weeks to find this result of the drug test so Braydon decided to plead guilty to get the matter done and served a month suspension,” Gould said.

Addo-Carr, however, has been adamant that he did not consume illicit drugs last week.

Gould went on to reiterate that this is “Josh’s decision” to stand himself down from Sunday’s game, adding that as for next week, “there really is no reason for the club or the NRL Integrity Unit to keep Josh Addo-Carr out of the game”.

Jeral Skelton has been named as Addo-Carr’s replacement for Sunday’s do-or-die clash with Manly, which is scheduled to kick off at 4.05pm at Accor Stadium.

Originally published as ‘No reason’: Phil Gould comes clean on Josh Addo-Carr stand-down call