NRL 2024: Josh Addo-Carr set to be granted permission to leave Canterbury Bulldogs | Daily Telegraph
Josh Addo-Carr could be a free agent as early as this week with the Bulldogs expected to grant the winger formal permission to talk with rival clubs.It is understood clubs have already been sounded out about their potential interest in Addo-Carr should he be cut adrift by the Bulldogs for 2025.
That could happen within days with Canterbury expected to allow the NSW and Australian flyer to test the open market after informal discussions.
He has just 12 months left on his current deal worth about $500,000. The Bulldogs have already indicated they won’t be in a position to offer Addo-Carr a new deal in 2026. It means they would allow Addo-Carr to test the market and if he could secure his long-term future elsewhere they would be unlikely to stand in his way.
Addo-Carr’s agent Mario Tartak has already met with Bulldogs boss Phil Gould last Friday to discuss the 29-year-olds playing future.
Josh Addo-Carr could be a free agent as early as next week. (Photo by Robert Cianflone/Getty Images)
The Dragons have already been mentioned as a possible destination for Addo-Carr however they most likely need to move winger Mikaele Ravalawa to help with their roster management. The Dragons have salary cap space to accommodate Addo-Carr.
Whichever club Addo-Carr goes to they will need to contend with a three game ban hanging over his head after he tested positive to cocaine in a road-side drug test.
Addo-Carr was issued with a breach notice - believed to propose a four match suspension and $15,000 fine - by the NRL on Tuesday. He has already served one match after missing Canterbury’s opening finals loss to Manly.
He maintains he has never taken any illicit substance and said as much when he met with the NRL’s integrity unit last week.
The fine portion of Addo-Carr’s latest sanction includes a $3000 suspended fine that was hanging over his head from last year’s Koori Knockout tournament.
Addo-Carr accepted a $682 fine and a three-month suspension from driving following the incident, which raised the ire of the Bulldogs and their all-powerful head of football Phil Gould.
He has also been over-looked for a Kangaroos spot having last played for Australia in their 2022 World Cup final win against Samoa.
