Broncos sign Matt Lodge on one-year deal

Matt Lodge to be starting prop for Brisbane Broncos, says coach Wayne Bennett
PETER BADEL, EXCLUSIVE, The Courier-Mail
November 10, 2017 3:15pm
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WAYNE Bennett will take one of the biggest selection gambles of his 40-year career by installing former bad boy Matt Lodge as his top prop for Brisbane’s premiership campaign.

The Courier-Mail can reveal Lodge will be pitchforked into Brisbane’s starting front-row for the 2018 premiership — despite the controversial forward not having played in the NRL for three seasons.

In the space of two years, Lodge has gone from an American jail cell to the $85,000 Broncos recruit who will spearhead Brisbane’s pack in their season-opener against the Dragons next March.

Lodge only officially launched his Broncos career on Thursday, but Bennett believes the 22-year-old can solve the front-row conundrum that could make or break Brisbane’s title ambitions next season.


Matt Lodge will start at prop for the Broncos. Picture: Annette Dew
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The 116kg giant has played just 12 NRL games, but with the Broncos losing key props Adam Blair (Warriors) and Herman Ese’ese (Newcastle), Bennett is banking on Lodge to give Brisbane some engine-room mongrel.

It is the ultimate show of faith by Bennett, who knows a quality prop when he sees one, having mentored legendary Broncos front-rowers Shane Webcke and Petero Civoniceva.

Lodge is one of the lowest-paid players in Brisbane’s new 30-man roster, but Bennett confirmed the hulking prop would bypass the bench and become his No.1 bookend.

“I’ll be starting with Matt,” the Broncos coach said.

“Look, he’s a huge body. I believe he’s got the ability to handle the step up.


“Matt is a talented young prop. He is a rare talent for the position that he plays and he impressed me with the way he fitted in at our training sessions (last season as a member of Brisbane’s feeder-club Redcliffe).

“Adam Blair is moving on, so having Matt’s presence will help us enormously in the front row.”


Matt Lodge during pre-season training with the Broncos. Picture: Annette Dew
It is understood player power was a factor in Bennett’s decision.

Brisbane’s senior players were stunned by Lodge’s skill level and tactical understanding of the game when he joined the squad for weekly training sessions at Red Hill last season.

When he returned to Redcliffe for Intrust Super Cup duty, Lodge operated like a monster halfback, largely running the Dolphins’ on-field plays and structures for coach Adam Mogg.

Such knowledge prompted Broncos stars to urge Bennett to sign Lodge at all costs and catapult him straight into Brisbane’s starting front-row for the new season.

Former Queensland Origin lock Scott Sattler, who watched Lodge closely last season as a commentator for the Intrust Super Cup, backed the rookie prop to fill Blair’s void.

“Lodge will handle a starting role easily,” Sattler said.

“If he was coming back from a long lay-off due to injury, I would question that, but Wayne Bennett knows better than most how dominant he was in the Intrust Super Cup last season.

“Lodge has pretty special skills — his physicality is perfectly suited to the N
 
If he works hard enough and applies himself I’m 100% for it.
 
still pretty poor journalism, given that if Lodge is in the 30 man squad, he can't possibly be on 85k ... given the minimum wage for the top 30 is 100k
 
So assuming that McGuire is staying at Lock (Based on his comments in an article I read last week, I think he wants to. And with the injury to Bird, he probably won't have anything to worry about.) this looks to be the forward rotation for 2018 as it stands.

8. Lodge
9. McCullough
10. Sims/Ofahengaue
11. Glenn
12. Gillett
13. McGuire

14. J.Nikorima (Presumably, if he isn't signed, potentially a 4 forward bench with someone like Savelio or Haas to come in)
15. Sims/Ofahengaue
16. Thaiday
17. Pangai Jr
 
Russell Packer, Robert Lui.......the list goes on

Players allowed back in the game on the basis of a 'second chance'

And all we hear is wonderful news, another NRL redemption story

Broncos sign Lodge and there is outrage - what's the difference?

It's the Broncos I guess
 
It's like no one understands that he is in Millions of dollars in debt, because of the incident. Shut up and let the man make you eat pie. If Wayne and the CEO speak highly of him, than I'm with them.
 
Is it just me or would we be better off if Thaiday retired this year.
I'm with you there. Sammy's been such a legend and a club man in his career, let's hope he puts the club first and let's one of the young fellas have a crack
 
I don't know if I buy that he will be straight into a starting role. This seems to me ore like Bennett backing Lodge through the bad press and telling everyone that he will be back in the nrl and to deal with it .
 
still pretty poor journalism, given that if Lodge is in the 30 man squad, he can't possibly be on 85k ... given the minimum wage for the top 30 is 100k
Shows how made up the figures are by journalists. I reckon they literally pluck them out of a barrel and that's what they put in the article. Yet us fans still believe it.

It's like when people on here say stuff like "the broncos think", "he said", "they want", etc to add weight to their theory like it's factual. I can't believe the gullibility of people sometimes
 
It's like no one understands that he is in Millions of dollars in debt, because of the incident. Shut up and let the man make you eat pie. If Wayne and the CEO speak highly of him, than I'm with them.

Wayne speaks highly about him because he can play. He also wanted to sign Packer. This is not rocket science.
 
Wayne speaks highly about him because he can play. He also wanted to sign Packer. This is not rocket science.
So what?! Packer has turned his life around and is now one of the best props for NZ. It's not rocket science that people play up, and turn there life around.
 
I’m very happy with this decision get our big boy out early.
 
So what?! Packer has turned his life around and is now one of the best props for NZ. It's not rocket science that people play up, and turn there life around.

We'll see with Lodge. Reckon he has a screw loose and he'll bottle it again. But I agree he deserves a chance.
 

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