NEWS Lodge deal gets NRL approval

[broncos4life]

Ha ha ha, fucking exactly! I was about to write the exact thing and you've saved me the trouble. What is the time frame for the description, I mean does it have an expiry date? He hasn't been controversial, quite the opposite in fact. He has been in the past but why doesn't every article start with 'controversial criminal Russell Packer' when discussing that thugs activities?

Yep, that’s it. Russell Packer is treated like some kind of fucking hero and Lodge keeps copping shit.

 

[Huge]

**thug's

Ha ha

 

[Broncapz]

Ah ..Lodge kicking down the door to our hearts.

 

[I bleed Maroon]

For the way he's been playing, a 2 year upgrade almost feels like a short change. I would've given him at least 3. The bloke is a gun.

 

[Foordy]

For the way he's been playing, a 2 year upgrade almost feels like a short change. I would've given him at least 3. The bloke is a gun.

he may not want 3 ... rumours were that he does eventually want to head back to Sydney ... but wants to repay us first

 

[Thelmus]

It is bullshit. The only ‘fans’ that caused an uproar are they ones that had a microphone shoved in their face and didn’t want to look bad in front of the missus and the white knighters on Facebook.

Look. Ill out myself as being as being sceptical at the start. I'm not so naive to believe there arent worse than lodge out in the nrl right now who have had their sins buried. I've sent a few go bad, despite the best efforts of the coach and club to rescue them from self-destruction.
When we signed lodge, I thought we had a very real chance of one bad apple upsetting the cart. The vultures were circling the moment he signed. Bennet's integrity and that of the club's were called into question.
Things could of gone really badly. But Bennet believed in him and was prepared to let him prove himself. He gave him a year in isc and monitored his will to change.
Lodge at one stage threw in the towel, flew down to sydney, ready to give up football altogether but this club believed he was worth a shot. They flew people down to sydney and convinced him to keep going.
When it was announced he would play for us and start, I was against it. I didn't want to see the club i support tarred with the sins of others (and there were plenty ready to do it, and some still trying). But lodge and Bennet just got on with business. His commitment to give up alchohol was proven with conviction, and when that 1st game came round and he played the way he did, without overt aggression and lack of control, without falling for the no doubt numerous efforts to raise his anger, he convinced me he was worth the risk.
That he settled with his victims and had been our most consistant fotward, on and off the field has convinced lodge is a different man to the one who lost it one crazy night 3 years ago.
He may err again. We are all human after all, but after coming so close and looking over the edge of the abyss, he more than most knows the price and the cost.

 

[Jason Simmons]

Apparently according to Kent one of the reasons the Broncos are trying to get rid of Bennett is because of the Broncos fans uproar about signing Matt Lodge.

There was hardly any.

Been to six games at Suncorp this year, plus the Titans game at CBUS (or whatever it’s called these days). The Broncs fans cheer him every game he plays, probably because he gets booed everywhere else. It’s an us v them situation and while he initially said he wanted to go back to Sydney, perhaps the warm reception from fans, the mates he has made (particularly McGuire and TPJ seemingly) and and the overall positive vibes at the club and his past sorted, with good coin moving forward all that will be hard to give up I’d guess...

 

[Morkel]

Look. Ill out myself as being as being sceptical at the start. I'm not so naive to believe there arent worse than lodge out in the nrl right now who have had their sins buried. I've sent a few go bad, despite the best efforts of the coach and club to rescue them from self-destruction.
When we signed lodge, I thought we had a very real chance of one bad apple upsetting the cart. The vultures were circling the moment he signed. Bennet's integrity and that of the club's were called into question.
Things could of gone really badly. But Bennet believed in him and was prepared to let him prove himself. He gave him a year in isc and monitored his will to change.
Lodge at one stage threw in the towel, flew down to sydney, ready to give up football altogether but this club believed he was worth a shot. They flew people down to sydney and convinced him to keep going.
When it was announced he would play for us and start, I was against it. I didn't want to see the club i support tarred with the sins of others (and there were plenty ready to do it, and some still trying). But lodge and Bennet just got on with business. His commitment to give up alchohol was proven with conviction, and when that 1st game came round and he played the way he did, without overt aggression and lack of control, without falling for the no doubt numerous efforts to raise his anger, he convinced me he was worth the risk.
That he settled with his victims and had been our most consistant fotward, on and off the field has convinced lodge is a different man to the one who lost it one crazy night 3 years ago.
He may err again. We are all human after all, but after coming so close and looking over the edge of the abyss, he more than most knows the price and the cost.

Me too mate, me too.

I didn't want him here. Someone like Roberts, who just needed a guiding hand, I was all for. But a deadshit thug who thinks drawing naughty words on his arm makes him tough, that's not for the Broncos.

Not to drag this in to another Bennett argument, but his work with Lodge alone shows why he is the best coach ever. Add in what he's done with turning Roberts' life around, and what he's done for so many other players that may not have reached the same heights in league, but were able to turn their life around simply as men, I'd take him 10 times before a vulture like Bellamy.

 

[Brotherdu]

Great news. For the number of games he's played, he's been insane for us. I'd argue he's been our best forward. I was so stoked when he got his first Broncos try a few weeks ago. He then followed it up with one against the Sharks, straight through the guts with 2 or 3 players on him.

He's exactly what we've needed, a big bopper who can bend the line and and attract multiple defenders. When is the last time we've had a forward regularly smashing out 150+ metres a game. Good news is the other young forwards are bringing the same.

Everybody bitching about the lack of ability from our halves over the last few years behind a forward pack going nowhere, you've got good things coming because it looks we've locked these young guns up for at least the next 2 years together. If Milf's kicking and organisation continues to improve I have high hopes! It's hard to imagine how good they could be, considering we still have Hass, Sua and Gillo still to come back, not to mention Bird and Savelio (I feel really sorry for this bloke, he'd have to play insane to even get a look in now, you'd have to imagine he'll be asking for a release to go back home for game time next season).

Having said that, if our halves struggle behind a consistently dominant pack, I will be mighty sad.....and frustrated and will probably jump on the Sack Every1 bandwagon.

 

[broncos4life]

Me too mate, me too.

I didn't want him here. Someone like Roberts, who just needed a guiding hand, I was all for. But a deadshit thug who thinks drawing naughty words on his arm makes him tough, that's not for the Broncos.

Not to drag this in to another Bennett argument, but his work with Lodge alone shows why he is the best coach ever. Add in what he's done with turning Roberts' life around, and what he's done for so many other players that may not have reached the same heights in league, but were able to turn their life around simply as men, I'd take him 10 times before a vulture like Bellamy.

I get what you are saying and agree about Bennett, only Bennett could have turned Lodge around (once Lodge had decided he wanted to).

I was actually all for Lodge coming to the club, because for me his story is what a strong club is all about and is one of the things that make me really proud to be a Bronco supporter. I am a strong believer that people can, with a lot of hard work, turn their life around no matter what they have done. When you hit absolute rock bottom like Lodge did, a strong person learns a lot about themselves and if they are worth persisting with they take those lessons and actually learn from them.

I'm proud that Bennett and our club looked at Lodge and said if you are prepared to do the work and turn your life around, we are prepared to back you.

What a person he is turning out to be. He has faced his past, not made excuses for it and has buckled down. The difference between the hot head who wrote **** on his forearm and this man now is amazing. He gets in and works hard and plays like someone who appreciates the opportunity he now has. The way he has been treated by other teams and their fans this year and copped it all on the chin without losing his cool speaks volumes about him.

I for one am very proud of Matt Lodge and cheer everytime he takes the ball up because he deserves it. They way the players embraced him after his first try of the year against the panthers says it all about how he is viewed here.

Well done Matt and keep it up mate.

 

[Brotherdu]

Me too mate, me too.

I didn't want him here. Someone like Roberts, who just needed a guiding hand, I was all for. But a deadshit thug who thinks drawing naughty words on his arm makes him tough, that's not for the Broncos.

Not to drag this in to another Bennett argument, but his work with Lodge alone shows why he is the best coach ever. Add in what he's done with turning Roberts' life around, and what he's done for so many other players that may not have reached the same heights in league, but were able to turn their life around simply as men, I'd take him 10 times before a vulture like Bellamy.

Hopefully we are all saying the same thing about the Bird signing next year when he's injury free and tearing it up.

 

[Sproj]

Look. Ill out myself as being as being sceptical at the start. I'm not so naive to believe there arent worse than lodge out in the nrl right now who have had their sins buried. I've sent a few go bad, despite the best efforts of the coach and club to rescue them from self-destruction.
When we signed lodge, I thought we had a very real chance of one bad apple upsetting the cart. The vultures were circling the moment he signed. Bennet's integrity and that of the club's were called into question.
Things could of gone really badly. But Bennet believed in him and was prepared to let him prove himself. He gave him a year in isc and monitored his will to change.
Lodge at one stage threw in the towel, flew down to sydney, ready to give up football altogether but this club believed he was worth a shot. They flew people down to sydney and convinced him to keep going.
When it was announced he would play for us and start, I was against it. I didn't want to see the club i support tarred with the sins of others (and there were plenty ready to do it, and some still trying). But lodge and Bennet just got on with business. His commitment to give up alchohol was proven with conviction, and when that 1st game came round and he played the way he did, without overt aggression and lack of control, without falling for the no doubt numerous efforts to raise his anger, he convinced me he was worth the risk.
That he settled with his victims and had been our most consistant fotward, on and off the field has convinced lodge is a different man to the one who lost it one crazy night 3 years ago.
He may err again. We are all human after all, but after coming so close and looking over the edge of the abyss, he more than most knows the price and the cost.

Now THIS is good journalism. What a great article, well done. Sad though that forum posts like this are better than almost any of the trash in the NRL media these days.

 

[holdzy]

Said he would own Fifita, then he owned Fifita. That's good shit.

Ah ..Lodge kicking down the door to our hearts.

And threatening to end...our premiership drought!

 

[Bongo]

It is bullshit. The only ‘fans’ that caused an uproar are they ones that had a microphone shoved in their face and didn’t want to look bad in front of the missus and the white knighters on Facebook.

Let's get the narrative on this one correct. What he did was repugnant. Traumatised a family including a woman and child. The process around why he was let back in and others werent seemed inconsistent. That was the problem. Nrl was hopeless in managing this. Greenberg is really out of his depth.The Broncos could also been better in explaining their decisions to fans too. Media did not explain that Todd Carney refused to agree to NRL conditions over numerous years and this was why he was being shut out. What Lodge did was way worse but he complied over a sustained period of time. I did not want him at the club. To be honest, it still sits a bit uneasily with me. Him trying to rev up the crowd after his try a couple of weeks ago was an awkward moment that shows fans are still not 100% on the issue. However, he complied with the process he was given by the NRL, including paying victims, an so far hasn't put a foot wrong. If he does he will be out for good. Good on him for turning his life around.

But let's not say that people only objected to his signing to look good in front of our wives. I objected because I value gender equality and the rights of children. Not because I want to impress my wife but because I think these are more important than rugby league. It's great that these isuses are being vigorously debated because some of the rugby league community have some outdated and backward views. Matt Lodge might have also made a positive contribution to the discussion by his rehabilitation.

 

[Foordy]

The process around why he was let back in and others werent seemed inconsistent. That was the problem. Nrl was hopeless in managing this. Greenberg is really out of his depth.The Broncos could also been better in explaining their decisions to fans too. Media did not explain that Todd Carney refused to agree to NRL conditions over numerous years and this was why he was being shut out.

we shouldn't be comparing the Lodge situation to Carney ... we should be comparing it with how the NRL (and media) handled the Packer situation ...

Packer got drunk stomped on a guys head nearly killing him. spent 12 months in jail and the NRL tacked a 12 month ban on him upon his release. Then once his ban was up, he was damn near welcomed back to the NRL without a fuss (or the NRL forcing him to pay compensation to his victim). he was regarded as some sort of redemption story, probably because he signed with a Sydney club instead of us.

another "redemption" story that returned to the NRL without any fuss was Danny Wicks, who spent time in prison for drug trafficking. and if you know the family of addicts, then this can have longer lasting effects than what Lodge did (as reprehensible as it was).

these are just 2 cases of players getting treated less harshly than Lodge by the media and NRL, for arguably worse offenses

 

[Maddy1to9]

Morons on a mission with some of the headlines in the coming days:

1. Wayne Bennett signing "CONTROVERSIAL' Matt Lodge to a 2 year extension has irked the fans & the board and this will come back to bite him & surely this will be his last season at Broncos.
2. Wayne Bennett has lost the playing group by extending "CONTROVERSIAL' Matt Lodge for further 2 year's.
3. Canberra's Jack Whitton is serving harsh punishment than Matt Lodge yet, NRL is letting go Lodge & Broncos easy.
4. How come Broncos be under the cap if they could re-sign Haas, Sua, Gillett, Isako & Lodge? Surely, they are rotting the cap.
5. It's time that NRL should make Broncos back ended deals public.
6. Broncos are being given the rub of the green time & again.
7. This is madness & total injustice to 15 other clubs. Broncos shouldn't be allowed to re-sign their players during the season. When every other team is busy preparing for their weekly fixtures, Broncos are cheating others by re-signing their players. This must be stopped.
8. This is the last straw on Wayne Bennett's future. Broncos board & CEO have decided that he will not be the coach come September.
9........
10.........
11 blah blah blah.....

The kind of stories that will get spinned would be hilarious.

Bennett getting his contract extended would be fantabulous & the **** heads will have eggs on their face.

 

[Bongo]

we shouldn't be comparing the Lodge situation to Carney ... we should be comparing it with how the NRL (and media) handled the Packer situation ...

Packer got drunk stomped on a guys head nearly killing him. spent 12 months in jail and the NRL tacked a 12 month ban on him upon his release. Then once his ban was up, he was damn near welcomed background to the NRL without a fuss (or the NRL forcing him to pay compensation to his victim). he was regarded as some sort of redemption story, probably because he signed with a Sydney club instead of us.

another "redemption" story that returned to the NRL without any fuss was Danny Wicks, who spent time in prison for drug trafficking. and if you know the family of addicts, then this can have longer lasting effects than what Lodge did (as reprehensible as it was).

these are just 2 cases of players getting treated less harshly than Lodge by the media and NRL, for arguably worse offenses

You are right. I think the Carney comparison was made because he was looking to return at the same time and was being denied. What your post demonstrates its that the NRL process is massively flawed. That is certainly not Lodge's fault.

 

[broncos4life]

Let's get the narrative on this one correct. What he did was repugnant. Traumatised a family including a woman and child. The process around why he was let back in and others werent seemed inconsistent. That was the problem. Nrl was hopeless in managing this. Greenberg is really out of his depth.The Broncos could also been better in explaining their decisions to fans too. Media did not explain that Todd Carney refused to agree to NRL conditions over numerous years and this was why he was being shut out. What Lodge did was way worse but he complied over a sustained period of time. I did not want him at the club. To be honest, it still sits a bit uneasily with me. Him trying to rev up the crowd after his try a couple of weeks ago was an awkward moment that shows fans are still not 100% on the issue. However, he complied with the process he was given by the NRL, including paying victims, an so far hasn't put a foot wrong. If he does he will be out for good. Good on him for turning his life around.

But let's not say that people only objected to his signing to look good in front of our wives. I objected because I value gender equality and the rights of children. Not because I want to impress my wife but because I think these are more important than rugby league. It's great that these isuses are being vigorously debated because some of the rugby league community have some outdated and backward views. Matt Lodge might have also made a positive contribution to the discussion by his rehabilitation.

I value gender equality and children's rights as much as anyone, so would anyone on here I would imagine. You don't need to come out and proclaim this like some kind of hero. I also don't think that you can hold this over Lodge like he doesn't respect those things over a terrible, disgusting mistake he made 3 years ago when he has made every effort to change his life and be a better person.

I stand by my opinion that a large majority of the outspoken fans against him are white knighters and cucks.