Club Statement: Josh Addo-Carr
The Parramatta Eels are aware of an alleged incident involving Josh Addo-Carr.
The Club has notified the NRL Integrity Unit and is cooperating with the appropriate processes, as well as providing welfare support to Josh and his family.
The Parramatta Eels will not be commenting further until the matter has been finalised.
Link to the statement from the Parramatta Eels.
As many of you would have seen by now, there are breaking reports alleging that Josh Addo-Carr has failed a random roadside alcohol/drug test on Friday night. Obviously, this is still in the cautionary stages of the news reporting cycle with nothing definitive confirmed right now but the alleged circumstances are painfully similar to what led to Addo-Carr’s departure from the Canterbury Bulldogs at the end of 2024.
If the reports are confirmed then from my perspective it will leave the Parramatta Eels with little recourse but to terminate his contract. There is essentially no wiggle room here given how Addo-Carr ended up at the Eels and anything but swift action to move on would present an incredibly weak face from the club.
It will leave the Eels in an even more precarious situation when it comes to their back line depth given their already pressing need to sign an impact centre. Again though, if these alleged reports are on point, it is an incredibly disappointing decision from Josh Addo-Carr.
Craig and I will talk in depth about this situation on our Tuesday night live stream. I think giving this situation more time to develop and allowing more information to come to light and thus better clarity for all involved remains the best course of action. I understand that fans will want to vent about the incredible frustrations surrounding this alleged situation but I do implore you all to remember that is still an alleged action presently when it comes to the discussion.
This is so bloody disappointing.
To put it incredibly lightly, Jamie.
Can we get Sloan??
Sloan picked up a deal in the ESL. Sometimes there are clauses/provisions to immediately release a player for an offer in the NRL but I dare say the Eels will need to be looking elsewhere for back line options.
Sloan would have a get out clause – surely after what occurred. He’d be better than some.
Good thought Milo. JAC has not had a good year this year on the field.
You’d think if he’s stupid enough to take drugs (again) he wouldn’t hop in his car (again). Couldn’t he at least get an Uber, or do anything else but drive a car? How stupid can you be?
The club has no choice but to get rid of him, and you can only assume that would bring an end to his nrl career. Such a shame. It looked like he was doing great work for the club and the younger players. And what a horrible position it now leaves our backline in.
Bang on with my thoughts Adrian. Putting asides arguments of morality and legality around the use of drugs – just order a cab or uber if you are taking them in a situation like this.
Given how Addo-Carr departed the Bulldogs you would imagine that beyond whatever action the Eels take the Integrity Unit will drop a hammer here if the allegations hold true.
It certainly leaves us in a huge hole. Obviously we need to be ultra aggressive in recruitment now but equally so it also raises the pressure on development. The clock is ticking that much faster on the Eela getting a number of young backline prospects ready now.
This is at the height of stupidly from Josh and I think his next to no chance he plays in the nrl again.
Unfortunately for him his cost himself a career and a lot of money with also putting the club in a massive outside back hole. Alarm bells should be ringing at Parra now our outside backs stocks arnt just concerning now they are catastrophic
Only five days on from seasons end! What a waste of talent and all of the good work he’s done in two years gone with that repeated act of idiocy.
Well said mate exactly right. nows the time for our recruiting team to finally do something like a majority of us loyal fans I’m hopeful but will be pleasantly surprised go parra
Again, we shoot ourselves in the foot. The Fox has been a great motivator, but if they can’t control their staff, of which he’s a member, he needs to go 😉
I don’t see why we sack him. Sports is ruthless. Bellamy didn’t sack Munster nor cheese after multiple alleged drug related controversies. It’s their own time and it is off season. Acknowledge it and move on. Our team can’t afford to lose him. The backline is piss weak as it is.
My thoughts as well mate .unless he’s kicked out of the nrl I don’t know it’s a mess .time for recruitment to do something not confident but open to be pleasantly surprised
chalk and cheese
Brandon was pictured with white powder the fox had a positive police test it’s absolute proof
That’s a bit of distinction without a difference as the problem with the conduct is that a drug related controversy “brings the game into disrepute”. That is so irrespective of whether drugs were in fact consumed.
Karapani has multiple drink driving/speeding incidents. Brandon smith has multiple drug related controversies. Each of those was during the season. Addo carr’s off season drug use must be lowest order of seriousness. Yes he has made the same mistake before. It is dumb as rocks behaviour. But drugs are a social issue. They are everywhere. I feel true outrage is a bit over the top.
Unfortunately it means more pressure to get things done by a recruitment team with no measure of success in the market for years. Looking back, the need for players in 2027 was obvious , yet Nov 1 2025 came and passed with little or no activity.
Just watched a Dolphins side out together in 2 years by OSullivan with sensible and targeted signings. While we seem to watch and not learn.This doesn’t seem to be a good time for Eels fans, until a new CEO is appointed it’s just a holding pattern, with little action .
I saw a you tube interview with chiming in with O’sullivan very impressive and something parramatta desperately need .well worth a watch it’s chalk and cheese
it’s the same thing every year with the Eels…
If we had a good recruitment team I would be happy to sack him. But they are just going to replace him with Simonsson just watch…
Exactly mate recruitment have to finally set up
Why do we need to sack him if he goes and gets help and the nrl don’t get rid of him he is a good player ,and it is off season for him .I understand how stupid he has been and i don’t agree eith what his done but if he gets rehabilitation it may make a difference.
This is not the type of character we want at the club anyway. Show him the door and add his salary towards signing Herbie, Best or Bostock. If we don’t land at least 1 of these 3 players with the amount of money we will have to throw around, our recruitment team can follow JAC out.
Quite simply .. we can’t afford to lose him..
We just seem so adverse to any player that shows any speed in our backline.
Without doubt the slowest backline in the history of the NRL without Foxx.
I just can’t understand how Sloan chose the ESL over a contract with the Eels.
I refuse to believe that the Eels didn’t look at him.
We lose Foxx then it’s a huge huge loss.
Foxx does so much defensively for the side, coaching our inept centres on the run.
Agree. It’s absolutely cutting our nose off to spite our face if we sack him.
Like letting lomax go for no reason despite the lack of depth
Here I am breathing a sigh of relief that the season of our discontent was over, how wrong was I
He needs to go, we need to maintain standards and R&R better start putting in some overtime
Someone suggested getting Sloan, I like it or, and hear me out here, we get Herbie on a 10 year contract for 1.5 a year
If you want elite players you need to offer long term contracts
Big Bob, Herbie won’t come to Parra. We could offer him an insane amount of coin and it wouldn’t happen.
JAC is facing a 12 game suspension for second offence under NRL rules, and contract termination in allowable.
Do we pay the clown salary (cap) to sit out until Round 13 2027, or do we cut our losses now and front load someone in 2027 to give our recruitment gurus a chance to lock in a class back (or two) for 2028?
I think there’s only one answer here – thanks for your service Addo-Carr, and hopefully you grow a brain in your post-rugby league career.
Don’t forget Ezra Mam….. nearly killed a family on the baggy and he was not sacked AND came back to play.
Club to fine him $ and sit out for 6 weeks, into rehab and back round 8 ?
Meantime go for Sloan , Jeral Skelton is like Sivo but with better hands, can get to the stripe but not turn and run
Couple of cheaper 2 yr options
Martin the Ezra Mam one was absolutely disgraceful. I feel the difference is Parra will maintain standards in some way.
This also brings up the amount of inconsistency etc with judicial systems and our beloved NRL….laughable Mam was allowed back. History shows us so many issues here…
I hope the club gets him to a rehab or counselling course over the offseason and suspends him for a few games.
Sacking him would be an overreaction.
He’s been great for us and he obviously needs some help with this.
Really, really disappointing.
I recall when we were first looking at signing the Foxx I said no because I thought culturally it wouldn’t be a good fit. For two years he proved me wrong and then for this to happen.
Twice testing positive at roadside tests (second still allegedly) . How does this fit with the NRL illicit drugs policy? I’m not sure.
Some have used the Ezra Mam episode as a comparison, fair enough. But the culture at the Broncos presently is not something I’d like to see replicated at the Eels.
For me this is not even about the societal issue, whether drugs should be decriminalised, whether Foxx should able to do it on his own time or whatever.
This is now all about trust. If Foxx promised Ryles and the Eels that in return for a contract he’d get off the gear, keep clean, stop walking past the white stuff in the kitchen, however you want to phrase it then the trust is broken. To me that is likely the biggest issue. Can the coach and the club trust that Foxx will do what he says he will. If they can’t then there really is only one course of action. Of course all still predicated on what the Foxx says happened.
As an aside the ACIC regularly publishes results of its wastewater analysis of illicit drugs in Australia. It demonstrates how awash we are with the stuff, how little big drug busts seem to affect usage (outside of maybe changing one substance for another) and what cities or states are the biggest users. Interesting read.
You got to laugh when all the self appointed moral arbiters explode with their shock and outrage. Let’s determine his guilt before we cast him to the lions.
Look I don’t take it personally but let’s be real a fairly high percentage of footballers do cocaine. It doesn’t put on weight like beer does and it’s fairly widespread in its usage in fact I think it’s almost as prevalent now as it was in the height of its popularity in the 80’s.
I guess the real stupidity here is then driving under its influence – again.
Would I personally sack him if I’m the eels decision makers – I dunno.
He wasn’t really playing great footy at the dogs- he had put on a bit of weight and wasn’t as fast. I think he’s been excellent for us. He made the rep teams again last year and I don’t actually think he’s been in much worse form this year albeit the tries dried up a bit.
I’d be thinking very hard about cutting ties
Ah, Josh +- have you never heard of Uber?
I’m surprised to read the amount of commentators suggesting we keep him- that would be an insult to those that genuinely turn their life around after being given a second chance
He should have been sacked already, the worst thing is if it drags out, which would be another reason to sack him- we just lived through the Lomax saga, I’m not keen on another preseason drama