NEWS Lodge: love you Brisbane

Matthew Lodge has another year on his $700,000 (rumoured) contract, and two more as options. Coach Kevin Walters has invited him to leave to free up some cap space, but Matt wants to remain and prove his worth:

“To be honest, I love it here. I owe a lot to this club for giving me another chance. I‘m always grateful to be at the Broncos. I came here four years ago with a 20kg suitcase and I was on Centrelink payments, so whatever happens happens. I don‘t want to leave the club. I will play as hard as I can and give my all until the day I walk out of here.”

“I don’t know what’s going on. I will keep our chat private, you can ask Kevvie what he said to me. He is obviously still thinking about things and obviously they want to sign a halfback and he has made that clear to me."

Cult following

“Something has to give with the salary cap, but I’ll be giving 100 per cent as long as I am at this club. Four years ago, I had nothing and my career was up in the air. I don’t know what happens but as long as I keep playing well there is hope for me. I never not turn up. I always try and play hard for the Broncos jumper so as long as I’m here, I won’t be letting the club down. I’m happy to put my body on the line and I care about the club so I’ll be trying my best for Kevvie. Hopefully I can stay here a while yet.”

Tevita Pangai Jnr:

“Lodgey has put three or four good games together and we’ve seen what he can do in the middle. With his charges in the middle, he inspires all of us. Hopefully he can stay but it’s up to him and the club.”

McHunt

 

[Foordy]

so they've dropped his contract value back to 700k ... it was nearly 800k last week

secondly, i'm not sure if anyone told Badel, but Walters can't "tear up his contract" all he could do is request Lodge leave, if Lodge doesn't want to leave, then there's nothing anyone can do.

thirdly, Flegler should be the one going, not Lodge

fourthly, i love his attitude.

 

[Kooly87]

Lodge is certainly saying all the right things and I do see on field at least a guy who sincerely seems to be trying pretty hard. I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt that he genuinely means it and isn't simply saying he wants to be here because it's pretty unlikely he could earn the same money elsewhere as it stands currently given the way the game has shifted.

I do get the feeling it's going to potentially end in tears though because he's got such a long time to go at a club where he's obviously aware they'd prefer if he moved on and that can't be a very comfortable situation to be in for either party. I could certainly see a scenario down the track where he eventually signs his next deal elsewhere and then becomes fairly vocal and bitter about how Brisbane have handled this one.

 

[pagey]

Can he just not take his player options and sign for less if he wants to stay

 

[Foordy]

Can he just not take his player options and sign for less if he wants to stay

he could ... or he could take up his player options, get paid the same and still stay

 

[McHunt]

so they've dropped his contract value back to 700k ... it was nearly 800k last week

No. Badel wrote "in excess of 700k." Ritchie wrote "up to 800k." Which are compatible. No one is giving a round number. I went with the lower estimate apropos of nothing.

 

[pagey]

he could ... or he could take up his player options, get paid the same and still stay

Not if Kev needs coin , Lodge for $500k sounds good to me

 

[Scorchie]

Can he just not take his player options and sign for less if he wants to stay

Why does he have to? He didn't sign the club to ransom; they offered him the contract.

He can stay for as long as he wants, and his performances definitely don't deserve the panic that goes on in the media or around here.

Maybe all of them can take a 10% haircut and give it to Haas or Staggs?

 

[Foordy]

Not if Kev needs coin , Lodge for $500k sounds good to me

it doesn't matter if Kev needs coin or not. he has a contract effectively until end of 2024.

if he wanted to dig his heels in and stay, nothing Kev or anyone else can do about it.

theoretically he could take a pay cut, but he has no obligation to

 

[Jedhead]

The simple answer to it all is to become the competition's premier prop. He has the drive and has proven his ability to stick to the task is superb. Not sure if he is still off the drink but he had been for a number of years when I last heard him speak.

Stepup and put in performances to match (if not surpass) Haas and TPJ. Make it as difficult as possible for the club to want to let you go. if he can put in shifts like JT2 and heavily influence games he'll be right.

I think Kevvie already knows that our strengths currently lie in our forwards. If Lodgey can give us even another 5% on what he's now delivering I'm sure we'll want to keep him. It's Fleg's money that's killing us. Sure he has massive potential, but as we are all well aware, we should not be paying players on potential.

 

[McHunt]

Not if Kev needs coin , Lodge for $500k sounds good to me

He doesn't have to do anything. They effectively owe him another three years pay after this one. But he has to turn up to work and abide by the contract conditions, which will include not playing for anyone else and being a good doggy. There's nothing to stop him doing a Boyd or Milford and putting in a 25% effort, making sure he doesn't get hurt and not giving a **** if he's dropped. He won't though. That's not him.

 

[Browny]

Haven’t seen loyalty for a while

 

[Kooly87]

The simple answer to it all is to become the competition's premier prop. He has the drive and has proven his ability to stick to the task is superb. Not sure if he is still off the drink but he had been for a number of years when I last heard him speak.

Stepup and put in performances to match (if not surpass) Haas and TPJ. Make it as difficult as possible for the club to want to let you go. if he can put in shifts like JT2 and heavily influence games he'll be right.

I think Kevvie already knows that our strengths currently lie in our forwards. If Lodgey can give us even another 5% on what he's now delivering I'm sure we'll want to keep him. It's Fleg's money that's killing us. Sure he has massive potential, but as we are all well aware, we should not be paying players on potential.

Realistically, Flegler's deal make's Lodge look fairly cheap.

 

[Jedhead]

Realistically, Flegler's deal make's Lodge look fairly cheap.

Not really if Lodge is on $700K and Flegs is on $600K

 

[Kooly87]

Not really if Lodge is on $700K and Flegs is on $600K

It is when you consider what you get for your money at this point.

 

[Jedhead]

It is when you consider what you get for your money at this point.

if that's the case I think Lodge's performances when compared to Flegs is well worth the extra $100K and alternatively Flegs' poor ball security and constant penalties do not come near value for money at $600K.

 

[Sproj]

I love the words from Lodge and hope he continues his upwards trajectory but if there were a possibility to swap him for Papalii, I'd do it in an instant.

But I think we are all ignoring the elephant in the room, why do we need to free up money for a halfback? How can we still not have enough money?

 

[Kooly87]

if that's the case I think Lodge's performances when compared to Flegs is well worth the extra $100K and alternatively Flegs' poor ball security and constant penalties do not come near value for money at $600K.

That's my point.