- Josh Addo-Carr met with Bulldogs officials on Thursday
- The winger has been linked with a move away from Canterbury
- Addo-Carr had tested positive for drugs during a roadside test
Josh Addo-Carr has reportedly been sacked by the Canterbury Bulldogs after a 45 minute meeting with club bosses on Thursday afternoon.
On Wednesday, the under-fire winger was seen arriving at Belmore ahead of a meeting with club executives as he attempted to convince Bulldogs bosses that he has a future at the club.
The Bulldogs issued a show cause notice to the former State of Origin star in the wake of Addo-Carr’s drug-driving scandal.
A positive roadside drugs test in September had placed doubts over his future at the NRL club, with the 29-year-old winger subsequently missing the Bulldogs’ elimination final defeat by Manly at the tail end of the season.
He was flanked by top lawyer Elias Tabchouri and his agent Mario Tartak as the group arrived on Thursday ahead of the meeting.
The former State of Origin star pled his case during a 45 minute hearing, but according to The Daily Telegraph, the board had convened and decided to sack Add-Carr.
It is understood that the winger had received some backlash for misleading club officials over the incident and Bulldogs bosses had wanted to scrap the 29-year-old’s contract. Addo-Carr has one year left on that deal.
But on Thursday afternoon, the winger took to Instagram to post a picture of himself wearing a Bulldogs jersey while placing his hand on the club crest.
He added a caption to the Instagram story which read ‘PTBAB’ with a ‘blue heart’ emoji.
While it is not entirely clear what that acronym means some have speculated that the message could mean ‘Proud to be a Bulldog’.
Josh Addo-Carr posted a cryptic message on Instagram on Thursday afternoon, with the caption ‘PTBAB’
The winger had been issued with a show cause notice and arrived at the club on Thursday to discuss his future with club executives
The club are yet to make an official decision on their embattled star’s future, but this could be a telling sign that an official announcement could come soon.
It is also understood that the Dragons had shown an interest in Addo-Carr, who had been absent for the Bulldogs elimination final against Manly at the tail end of the season.
The Canterbury winger had also been offered a four-match ban by the NRL for his indiscretion as well as a $15,000 fine, according to The Daily Telegraph. That was coupled with a four-month ban and a fine issued by police.
‘The National Rugby League (NRL) today issued Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs player Josh Addo-Carr with a breach notice alleging a breach of the NRL Code of Conduct,’ the NRL said.
‘Addo-Carr was issued with a penalty notice by NSW Police earlier this month for the offence of “Presence of prescribed illicit drug in person’s oral fluid, blood or urine” while driving a motor vehicle.
The 29-year-old has one year left on his contract with the club and it is understood that he had been on the verge of leaving the Bulldogs
‘The breach notice alleges that Addo-Carr has engaged in conduct which is against the law and has brought the game and his club into disrepute.’
The Bulldogs’ decision to sign Marcelo Montoya earlier this month had also cast doubt over Addo-Carr’s future at the Bulldogs.
