McHunt
International Rep
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- Aug 25, 2018
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Badel & Honnery from the Courier Mail gang up with former captain Gordon Tallis to stick the boot into Matt Lodge's tilt at captaincy. The former multi-Origin winning Broncos' legend had this to say at The Courier-Mail’s gala NRL season launch today:
“In society, we’re lacking leaders and that transcends into rugby league. Other than Cameron Smith (Storm skipper) ... when I played, if you buggered up, there was someone to grab you and they would say, ‘Don’t do that’."
“That’s gone out of the game. With the Broncos, if Matt Lodge is the captain of the club, we’re lacking leadership in the game. That’s my opinion and I’ll say that until the day I die. That shouldn’t happen in our game of rugby league. A leader is a leader of men, not a boy at a kindergarten. We play a man’s sport and they have to be good everywhere. They have to be great in society. They’ve got to fit in with what normal people do in life.”
"To captain an NRL side is a place of honour and with that comes responsibility with sponsors and multimillion-dollar brands attached to your name. Our game is about redemption and I get everybody deserves a second chance. With Matthew Lodge, OK, he has come back to play our game. I thought the Broncos brand was bigger than that. We used to sack players like him, now we are signing players like that. Look at Brisbane’s former captains - Wally Lewis, Allan Langer, Darren Lockyer and Gene Miles ... they are hall-of-fame icons. Shane Webcke, Trevor Gillmeister and Petero Civoniceva never captained the Broncos. "
"Matt Lodge has been sacked by three clubs. What part of him being sacked by three clubs are we missing here? Penrith, Melbourne and Wests Tigers didn’t want him in the organisation but the Broncos want to make him captain?”
Fellow living legend, Darren Lockyer disagrees:
“There were three or four guys we considered and Matt was among the candidates, but Alex Glenn was the one the club collectively decided was the best man to take the team forward. 'Lodgey' is a very good communicator, he is well respected by the boys and hopefully he gets back on the field this year. He has taken the (knee) injury really well. He is a natural leader as well and leads with his actions on the field. He obviously made a mistake in the past and he has paid a price for that, he knows that. He probably still has time to rebuild his reputation and give fans a real taste of who Matt Lodge is. He is aware of that and he has to prove himself on and off the field. He has some leadership credentials and in time there might be an opportunity for him.”
McHunt
“In society, we’re lacking leaders and that transcends into rugby league. Other than Cameron Smith (Storm skipper) ... when I played, if you buggered up, there was someone to grab you and they would say, ‘Don’t do that’."
“That’s gone out of the game. With the Broncos, if Matt Lodge is the captain of the club, we’re lacking leadership in the game. That’s my opinion and I’ll say that until the day I die. That shouldn’t happen in our game of rugby league. A leader is a leader of men, not a boy at a kindergarten. We play a man’s sport and they have to be good everywhere. They have to be great in society. They’ve got to fit in with what normal people do in life.”
"To captain an NRL side is a place of honour and with that comes responsibility with sponsors and multimillion-dollar brands attached to your name. Our game is about redemption and I get everybody deserves a second chance. With Matthew Lodge, OK, he has come back to play our game. I thought the Broncos brand was bigger than that. We used to sack players like him, now we are signing players like that. Look at Brisbane’s former captains - Wally Lewis, Allan Langer, Darren Lockyer and Gene Miles ... they are hall-of-fame icons. Shane Webcke, Trevor Gillmeister and Petero Civoniceva never captained the Broncos. "
"Matt Lodge has been sacked by three clubs. What part of him being sacked by three clubs are we missing here? Penrith, Melbourne and Wests Tigers didn’t want him in the organisation but the Broncos want to make him captain?”
Fellow living legend, Darren Lockyer disagrees:
“There were three or four guys we considered and Matt was among the candidates, but Alex Glenn was the one the club collectively decided was the best man to take the team forward. 'Lodgey' is a very good communicator, he is well respected by the boys and hopefully he gets back on the field this year. He has taken the (knee) injury really well. He is a natural leader as well and leads with his actions on the field. He obviously made a mistake in the past and he has paid a price for that, he knows that. He probably still has time to rebuild his reputation and give fans a real taste of who Matt Lodge is. He is aware of that and he has to prove himself on and off the field. He has some leadership credentials and in time there might be an opportunity for him.”
McHunt
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