Brad Fittler calls out 'pressing issue' as Andrew Johns names Josh Addo-Carr's possible next team

Brad Fittler says he expects Canterbury to axe Josh Addo-Carr after the winger tested positive for cocaine, with fellow league great Andrew Johns revealing the NRL club he'd like to see the speedster join. Bulldogs supremo Phil Gould said this week it was "too early" to say whether or not the Bulldogs would sack Addo-Carr, who has consistently maintained his innocence. But Gould admitted there were "too many contradictions" in the winger's story and provided a number of hints he could be moved on.

Addo-Carr met with the NRL integrity unit on Thursday to explain his version of events and how cocaine was found to be in his system after being pulled over by NSW police on September 6. The winger failed an initial roadside test before his secondary test also came back positive for cocaine. Addo-Carr paid a $682 fine and accepted a three-month ban from driving to put the matter behind him, which Gould described to Channel Nine as "virtually an admission of guilt".

The Bulldogs board is now expected to make a call on Addo-Carr's future in the coming days, with Johns admitting he would love to see the former Blues and Kangaroos winger join the Rabbitohs if he's shown the door at Canterbury. Addo-Carr is good mates with South Sydney's fellow Indigenous stars Latrell Mitchell and Jack Wighton and the trio played together in Australia's triumphant World Cup campaign in 2023.

The future of veteran Souths winger Alex Johnston has been thrown in doubt after he underwent Achilles tendon surgery and Johns believes the Bunnies could do with a quality outside back and that Addo-Carr would be a "really good fit". The league Immortal also believes Wayne Bennett would be the perfect coach to get the best out of the 'Foxx' if he was to move to Redfern.

"It's hard to think who needs wingers," Johns said. "I'd like to see him go to South Sydney under Wayne (Bennett). Their outside backs are Taane Milne, Tyrone Munro and Alex Johnston - but he ruptured his Achilles. I think he would fit in with the Indigenous (players). It would be nice to see him go to the Bunnies, he'd be a really good fit."

Addo-Carr played some of his junior footy in the South Sydney area and featured in the Rabbitohs' SG Ball team early in his career before being let go by the club. Addo-Carr has since established himself as one of the game's premier wingers and has scored 140 tries in 179 first grade games, as well as representing the Blues at State of Origin level and being a World Cup winner with the Kangaroos.

Brad Fittler's warning for Bulldogs star Josh Addo-Carr

But as talk of his possible exit from the Bulldogs ramps up and speculation swirls around which club he could land at, Fittler has warned that setting the record straight at his current club should be Addo-Carr's No.1 priority. "I think dealing with what's going on at Canterbury is the more pressing issue," Fittler said. "At the end of the day, a lot of blokes these days understand there's a bit of a code to put your hand up if you do something wrong."

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Addo-Carr stood himself down from Canterbury's 24-22 elimination final defeat to Manly but declared that his "name will be cleared" over the drug saga. But as Gould alluded to earlier this week, Addo-Carr's future will largely hinge on his explanation around the positive cocaine tests and whether or not the Bulldogs board is satisfied that he did not lie to the club.

"The NRL have decided it's time for them to step in and make a decision on what their punishment will be and then it'll be up to the club to see what we do from there," Gould told Channel Nine's 100% Footy this week. "I haven't spoken to him since the second positive analysis came back. I believe he's still protesting his innocence but at the end of the day, it's in his system when he takes the drug test on Friday night. How it got there, he needs to work that out and explain that to the people that count."

After the integrity unit determines any NRL-enforced punishment, Gould will then decide whether he feels Addo-Carr should remain at the Bulldogs in 2025, in what is the final year of his contract. Gould will then give his recommendation to Canterbury's board and a final judgement will be made on Addo-Carr's playing future at the club.

with AAP