Josh Addo-Carr stands himself down for Manly clash

Cameron Ciraldo will meet with Josh Addo-Carr on Tuesday morning. As the Canterbury Bulldogs prepare for their first NRL Finals series in eight years, they will be without star winger Josh Addo-Carr, who has voluntarily stepped down from the club’s opening finals match.

Addo-Carr was absent from the club’s Awards Night, and reports surfaced that he allegedly tested positive during a roadside drug test last Friday evening.

Ahead of Sunday’s elimination final against the Manly Sea Eagles, Addo-Carr has stood himself down, although he maintains his innocence, according to 9News journalist Danny Weidler. This decision came after Addo-Carr met with head coach Cameron Ciraldo on Tuesday morning.

On Monday, police released a statement confirming that a 29-year-old male allegedly tested positive for cocaine, with a second sample sent for further analysis.

“About 10:45 p.m. on Friday, officers from Auburn Police Area Command were patrolling Baywater Drive, Wentworth Point, when they stopped a Toyota hatchback for random testing,” the police statement said via The Herald. “The driver – a 29-year-old man – underwent roadside testing, which allegedly returned a positive indication for cocaine. The sample has been sent for analysis.”

Bulldogs General Manager Phil Gould discussed the situation on 100% Footy, saying, “The way it was reported to us by Addo-Carr on Saturday morning, he seemed very dismissive of it. He said there was no drama, he hadn’t tested positive to anything, and that they let him drive home.”

Gould continued, “I had kind of forgotten about it until he called me this morning and mentioned that players from other clubs and his wife received phone calls suggesting that this was becoming an issue.

Then media inquiries started coming in, and I spoke to our chairman. I told him that I had spoken to Josh twice over the weekend, and based on his description, we had nothing to worry about.”

Gould added, “However, this afternoon, conflicting reports from the police have emerged, which led me to meet with Josh Addo-Carr and his manager at 5:00 p.m. today to go through exactly what happened and clarify the events.”

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