Canterbury Bulldogs director of football Phil Gould has broken his silence on rumours linking Josh Addo-Carr's immediate departure from the club, seemingly slamming the door on any chance of it happening.
In what has been a wild couple of weeks from Addo-Carr, sparked by an incident at the Koori Knockout which cost him his spot in the Australian squad for the ongoing Pacific Cup tri-series against Samoa and New Zealand, he has been linked with a switch away from Canterbury repeatedly.
First, it was talk that the Bulldogs were looking for a way to have him leave the club, and then, in the last 24 hours, it emerged the Parramatta Eels were pushing hard to add him to their outside backs in exchange for a forward - likely Ryan Matterson.
Even if that move fell through, more reports on Wednesday evening and Thursday morning suggested all of the St George Illawarra Dragons, Wests Tigers and Newcastle Knights, who would use him as a replacement for the departing Dominic Young, were showing interest in taking the star winger off Canterbury's hands.
But speaking to 9 News, Gould trashed the rumours, saying it had him beat where they came from.
“I don't know why they start these rumours. I don't why people delve into the rumours, it has got me beat. I don't know what's going on with Josh Addo-Carr and why he is in the papers at the moment,” Gould said.
Gould re-affirmed his club's commitment to Addo-Carr, suggesting he wouldn't be going anywhere until the end of his deal, which expires at the end of the 2025 season with two years to run currently.
“Josh Addo-Carr is a very important part of our club. He is very popular with our members and fans. He has come here for a reason, to help this club rebuild, and he will continue to do that,” Gould added.
“He is vital to us.”
Gould also confirmed he had met with Addo-Carr after the incidents at the Koori Knockout among others, but said it was simply to check everything was settled, rather than for any adverse reasons over his future.
“Josh had an eventful couple of weeks [around the Koori Knockout] and we just wanted to make sure that he was okay, and that it was all settled down. He probably knew he stepped out of the crease there a little bit, but people make mistakes and that's the way it goes.”
Having not represented Australia due to his two-match suspension, Addo-Carr has been on leave since the NRL campaign and will likely return to pre-season training at the same time as his teammates in early November.