The Bulldogs’ decision to sign fellow winger Marcelo Montoya from the Warriors on a two-year contract has cast a new shadow on Josh Addo-Carr’s future at Canterbury.
Addo-Carr, who tested positive for cocaine after being stopped by police last month while driving, has not yet met with Bulldogs head coach Phil Gould and club power brokers to discuss his future in the NRL.
In addition to being fined and suspended for four games, the 29-year-old did not play in Canterbury’s painful elimination final loss to Manly. Even though two different tests revealed that Addo-Carr had cocaine in his system, he has continuously insisted that he is innocent. Additionally, Gould disclosed that he has not yet discussed the former representative winger’s playing future with him.
The delay can be somewhat explained by league journalist Michael Carayannis, who revealed last week that Addo-Carr had postponed conversations with the Bulldogs until after the significant event, as he was preoccupied with the birth of his second kid with partner Lakaree Smith. However, the Bulldogs may be preparing for life without Addo-Carr next season given their move for Warriors winger Montoya.
Although Gould had previously indicated that there would be repercussions if his secondary drug test verified the initial positive reading, which it eventually did, Addo-Carr’s contract is still in effect through 2025. The Dogs backline has lost blockbuster winger Jeral Skelton to the Wests Tigers, and Montoya is Canterbury’s first new addition since the Addo-Carr scandal.
In order to allow Montoya to return to the Bulldogs, who gave the speedster his NRL debut in 2017, the Warriors agreed to release him from the last year of his contract. “It’s always pleasing to bring a local junior back home,” Gould added. “Marcelo exhibits exceptional passion in his demeanor both on and off the field. As he embarks on the next phase of his career with the Bulldogs, his expertise and versatility in the backline will undoubtedly benefit our team.
Montoya has participated in 136 first-grade games, 54 of which were for the Bulldogs, and was a key player in the Warriors’ run to the 2023 preliminary finals. Although Addo-Carr’s future with the team is still up in the air, he is expected to join his new teammates when the Bulldogs’ preseason begins in November.
There is still a chance that Addo-Carr has played his final game for Canterbury, but the team’s management has not yet decided how to deal with the try-scoring machine. This occurs in spite of the winger’s assertions that he has never used illegal substances and is unsure of how the cocaine found during a roadside test entered his blood.
Gould hinted that Addo-Carr might still be at Canterbury in 2025 when he stated last month that it was up to him to decide if he wanted to stay with the Bulldogs. Makaile Ravalawa, a fellow winger, was apparently offered a trade by the Dragons, although it hasn’t happened yet. “I spoke to his manager the other day, and all I’ve asked the manager and Josh to do is to consider their own future, what they think is best, (and) for him to sit down quietly with his family and have a think about what’s happened,” Gould stated a month ago.