Matt Lodge Discussion

[Super Freak]

Let's keep this thread on topic instead of it becoming about a member.

Play the ball, not the man.

 

[CaptainHook]

This seems like a fanciful lie to me so you can sit on your high-horse and be exempt from any criticism whatsoever. Everyone has a team. I mean it's a public forum and obviously anyone is welcome, but the other day you said you hardly even watch the sport anymore. If you hardly watch the sport and don't have a team then what in ****'s name are you doing on a rugby league forum discussing rugby league?

I can sorta see where Bucking Beads is coming from but for different reasons. For years I followed every game week in, week out, rain, hail or shine. I haven't done that for a few years now.

I find NRL games very frustrating to watch - even Friday night's game, as good as it was, was marred by substandard refereeing and incompetent, amateurish coverage and even the aftermath, like the JT shoulder charge being ignored shows how weak and inept the NRL is.

Teams shouldn't be going into the sheds with a handy lead only to start being penalised in the second half for things they've been doing all game. It's at the point where you can predict the ebb and flow of a game. Teams trailing on the scoreboard get loaded up with soft penalties and favourable 50/50 calls to make it a contest. No doubt some fans find it 'close' and 'entertaining' but I find it on par with shit you'd see in the WWE.

These days I only watch the Broncos game. If you've set aside a few hours of your life every weekend for decades I don't think you can go cold turkey. Habits are tough to break.

I really wish we'd hung on in 2015 as that would've been the perfect jumping off point.

I had actually made the decision to give the NRL a rest for a while last year. The World Cup really revitalised my interest in the sport. It took until December but we finally got some quality rugby league. I didn't care about blow-out scorelines as I believe a team's dominance should be reflected on the scoreboard. Their coverage was also a lot better than the garbage Nine dishes out. I canceled my Foxtel years ago but when I do catch it at a hotel or something I can see the rot there as well.

It might not make much sense on the surface to be commenting on a game you seemingly have no interest but I can certainly understand it.

 

[roo-ted]

Edit: Ignored staff warning.

 

[Cult]

Lodge has done much of his rehabilitation out of the public eye. I'll put a certain amount of faith in White et al that they're satisfied with his efforts, but without hard evidence, it's not surprising that public opinion remains divided at best.

The story will continue to have legs as long as it captures the public imagination.

From a club perspective, I do think limiting his exposure is the right call, as it denies his detractors further ammunition. It does, however, leave him/us open to criticism in the short term.

Unlike others who haven't done any rehabilitation at all

 

[Cult]

Pointless

 

[Splinter]

He’s been through the courts and that isn’t good enough for the media so they want trial by media. It is painfully obvious this story comes out now because we are playing the tigers, whether it be the reporter or the woman driving that timing.

 

[Foordy]

can't be bothered about reading more articles, but was there any mention that the Tigers decided not to sack him after the incident with his ex

 

[lynx000]

Can I provide a different perspective for a moment. I agree the reporting has been OTT and has been targeted it appears, however, if you give an extensive interview to someone in which you make a claim which is now alleged to be patently false, and you a figure of intense media scrutiny like Lodge, would you not expect the media will follow it up? Given that there are court documents, charge sheets etc and the complainant to source information from, they would not be doing their job if they did not follow it up to see if Lodge's claim that he had never struck a woman was true or a lie.

If what his former girlfriend states about his treatment of her is true, he is an absolute POS and I agree with Beads, that in the past we would not have gone near a player with his history. You look at what we sacked people like Seymour, Lacey and Costigan for and compare it to Lodge's rap sheet.

But once again, presumably this was all information known to the NRL who made the decision to register a contract for him, so as Wayne has stated, neither he nor the Broncos have done anything wrong in signing him. Our only failing is in the court of public opinion, and it is a matter of whether we care about that.

 

[Wolfie]

Can I provide a different perspective for a moment. I agree the reporting has been OTT and has been targeted it appears, however, if you give an extensive interview to someone in which you make a claim which is now alleged to be patently false, and you a figure of intense media scrutiny like Lodge, would you not expect the media will follow it up? Given that there are court documents, charge sheets etc and the complainant to source information from, they would not be doing their job if they did not follow it up to see if Lodge's claim that he had never struck a woman was true or a lie.

If what his former girlfriend states about his treatment of her is true, he is an absolute POS and I agree with Beads, that in the past we would not have gone near a player with his history. You look at what we sacked people like Seymour, Lacey and Costigan for and compare it to Lodge's rap sheet.

But once again, presumably this was all information known to the NRL who made the decision to register a contract for him, so as Wayne has stated, neither he nor the Broncos have done anything wrong in signing him. Our only failing is in the court of public opinion, and it is a matter of whether we care about that.

Tbf, we didnt turn our back on those players you mentioned straight away did we? The other thing, you say he is an absolute POS, i'd say he WAS an absolute POS, no question at all, that doesnt mean he still is a POS.

 

[Splinter]

Can I provide a different perspective for a moment. I agree the reporting has been OTT and has been targeted it appears, however, if you give an extensive interview to someone in which you make a claim which is now alleged to be patently false, and you a figure of intense media scrutiny like Lodge, would you not expect the media will follow it up? Given that there are court documents, charge sheets etc and the complainant to source information from, they would not be doing their job if they did not follow it up to see if Lodge's claim that he had never struck a woman was true or a lie.

If what his former girlfriend states about his treatment of her is true, he is an absolute POS and I agree with Beads, that in the past we would not have gone near a player with his history. You look at what we sacked people like Seymour, Lacey and Costigan for and compare it to Lodge's rap sheet.

But once again, presumably this was all information known to the NRL who made the decision to register a contract for him, so as Wayne has stated, neither he nor the Broncos have done anything wrong in signing him. Our only failing is in the court of public opinion, and it is a matter of whether we care about that.

Many innocent people would have charge sheets. I think we would probably find the truth is somewhere between both stories

 

[lynx000]

Tbf, we didnt turn our back on those players you mentioned straight away did we? The other thing, you say he is an absolute POS, i'd say he WAS an absolute POS, no question at all, that doesnt mean he still is a POS.

Fair cop, and my position is the same as yours. I have a particular issue with domestic violence, but at the same time I believe that if someone has made genuine attempts to reform and rehabilitate, they should be supported in that endeavour. But you would have to agree that in the past it is unlikely that we would have signed someone with his history?

 

[Harry Sack]

Paul White and Wayne need to cancel all media conferences and interviews until the media learn to shut their mouths.

Last week it was the broncos halves and forward pack. This week we beat the premiership favourites and we are back on Matt Lodge.

He has done a lot of bad things in his life but by all reports he has done a lot to turn his life around. The media are now bullying this guy and if he goes and does something stupid like hurting himself because he can’t handle the pressure then they are to blame.

This is something that everyone with a twitter account needs to be hammering the NRL, DT, Paul **** etc with relentlessly IMO. Everyone has a tipping point.

 

[Super Freak]

But you would have to agree that in the past it is unlikely that we would have signed someone with his history?

It's not unlikely at all actually.

Broncos have signed some bad eggs over the years, Lodge wasn't the first and he certainly won't be the last.

 

[Wolfie]

Fair cop, and my position is the same as yours. I have a particular issue with domestic violence, but at the same time I believe that if someone has made genuine attempts to reform and rehabilitate, they should be supported in that endeavour. But you would have to agree that in the past it is unlikely that we would have signed someone with his history?

I dont know really, Bennett does give blokes a second chance.

 

[Renegade]

Show some respect, Beads has been a Bronco fan longer than most on here. The fact that he is anti-Lodge doesn't make him a traitor. He is passionate about the subject and he is allowed to be and his opinion is as valid as yours or mine. He is certainly not the only one unhappy about Lodge being at the club and it has certainly caused a mass of controversy. It will all blow over eventually especially if he keeps his nose clean. I have a feeling he will only spend one season here anyways which is fine by me as he is nothing special.

Oh come on, Beads was a broncos supporter - he has every right to pick and choose who he supports, no one is iron clad to the club in their support.

But the idea that because he is no longer a supporter of the club allows him an ivory tower position is ridiculous. He has every right to his opinion, but he has no position to cast stones considering his previous club before he swore off the NRL was the Titans, the same team that employed a dude that glassed his chick. It's hypocrisy at its finest.

he can take all the pot shots he likes and can masquerade as no longer being a fan of the NRL, he just has to remember when he was a fan, he still supported a team that employed a guy that has similar characteristics, or displayed the same actions that make him so holier-than-thou.

 

[Lockysillegitimatechild]

Oh come on, Beads was a broncos supporter - he has every right to pick and choose who he supports, no one is iron clad to the club in their support.

But the idea that because he is no longer a supporter of the club allows him an ivory tower position is ridiculous. He has every right to his opinion, but he has no position to cast stones considering his previous club before he swore off the NRL was the Titans, the same team that employed a dude that glassed his chick. It's hypocrisy at its finest.

he can take all the pot shots he likes and can masquerade as no longer being a fan of the NRL, he just has to remember when he was a fan, he still supported a team that employed a guy that has similar characteristics, or displayed the same actions that make him so holier-than-thou.

Most common sense post I've seen on here. It seems some on here are so intent on appearing fair and just that fans of other clubs are given free reign to criticise without it being questioned, in case we offend them...

 

[pennywisealfie]

The media have been absolute pricks about the whole thing. I've definitely wrote back to them a few times.

 

[broncos4life]

Show some respect, Beads has been a Bronco fan longer than most on here. The fact that he is anti-Lodge doesn't make him a traitor. He is passionate about the subject and he is allowed to be and his opinion is as valid as yours or mine. He is certainly not the only one unhappy about Lodge being at the club and it has certainly caused a mass of controversy. It will all blow over eventually especially if he keeps his nose clean. I have a feeling he will only spend one season here anyways which is fine by me as he is nothing special.

Beads isn’t a Broncos fan, he has said that many times.