Canterbury Bulldogs Head of Football Phil Gould has hinted that Josh Addo-Carr will be able to play next week despite being embroiled in an off-field scandal that has seen the winger stand himself down for this week's match.
Addo-Carr has been at the centre of headlines over the past few days after reports on Monday emerged that he allegedly returned a positive result and failed a roadside drug test last Friday evening.
The reports were confirmed by a police statement that said a 29-year-old male allegedly returned a positive indication for cocaine and a second test was sent for further examination, per The Herald.
This would see Addo-Carr stand himself down for Sunday's match against the Manly Sea Eagles after meeting with Cameron Ciraldo but has continually maintained his innocence.
Speaking on his podcast, Gould revealed that the Bulldogs have not stood him down for next week, and he will be available due to a backlog of up to eight weeks, which will determine if he tested positive for an illegal substance.
“When we come to availability, we haven't stood him down,'' Gould said on Six Tackles with Gus Podcast in regards to Addo-Car potentially playing next week.
“He stood down this week to take the attention off him and the distraction off him and everybody else in the first week of the semi-finals.
“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 there and then.
“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 ten weeks. You can't leave a player out eight or ten weeks to see if his sample is going to be tested."
The Canterbury Bulldogs will need to defeat the Manly Sea Eagles on Sunday afternoon to advance to next week and keep Addo Carr's hopes of playing in the 2024 NRL Finals alive.