matiunz
This year yet?
Contributor
Flip side of the ‘no fault stand down’ argument- “he’s still getting paid”
Jaffa J
Diesel
I thought the Abdo said he can only be signed for $20k a game or $200k for the last ten rounds.
Ozwarrior
Matt Lodge set to join Roosters for remainder of 2022 NRL season | Daily Telegraph
The Sydney Roosters are on the verge of signing controversial front-row enforcer Matt Lodge for the remainder of the season for around the $100,000 mark in a desperate move to revive their premiership campaign.Lodge, who quit the New Zealand Warriors in May, will add some much needed firepower to a Roosters forward pack that has struggled for much of the season.
The 27-year-old prop played the first eight games of the year for Warriors but has moved back to Sydney to live on Sydney’s northern beaches.
At this stage the contract is only for the remainder of the year.
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Matt Lodge walked out on the Warriors halfway through the 2022 season. Picture: NRL Imagery
The Roosters are hoping he will be fit to play for the final six to eight weeks of the season before the finals. Since quitting the Warriors he has played just one game of second grade rugby union in Brisbane.
The Daily Telegraph revealed it was a heated altercation with Warriors owner Mark Robinson that led to him walking out with a $700,000 golden handshake.
Rivals clubs, including the Parramatta Eels, have been circling Lodge for weeks but have baulked because of the NRL’s ruling that he has to be included in the salary cap at notational value of around $20,000 a game.
The Roosters have enough space in their salary cap following the mid-season departures of Ronald Volkman and Freddy Lussick to the Warriors.
Lodge told The Daily Telegraph two weeks ago he was desperately keen to play NRL again this year.
“I don’t want to play park footy,” he said, “I’ll keep myself as fit as I can and I’ll be ready if there is an opportunity at any of the clubs.”
Matt Lodge was linked to Manly after leaving the Warriors. Picture: NRL Images.
The Roosters middle forwards have struggled this year with Victor Radley sidelined for six weeks and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves out indefinitely with a hamstring injury.
The club faces a huge task against the Penrith Panthers on Friday night and will have to win six of their remaining nine games (they have a bye) to make the play offs.
Lodge is certainly a boost to their chances.
He is as tough as any front-rower in the competition and is desperate to perform well to earn a new contract in the NRL for next season and beyond.
The move to sign the front-rower for the back-end games is similar to the club bringing in Sonny Bill Williams back in 2020 for five games.
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Mr Bob
Contributor
Surely there should have been a clause put in that he can’t join another club if he’s being paid out ???? Or you didn’t consider that Mohawk - you dipshit.
Of all the teams, the bloody roosters are the least deserving of the lot.
Ugh!!
ramps
Man i hope he gets folded when he plays against us! only thing is, i cant really see who has the mana in the team to do it. Addin Fonua-Blake?
W.A warrior
Just shits me this whole situation.
This has to be one of the worse business decisions in recent rugby league history.
We pay him out the rest of the year, then pay him out for next year when he indicated he doesn’t want to move to NZ and it’s included in next years cap.
Then he’s going to help one of the power house clubs in the finals and get paid again.
No wonder no one wants to coach this cluster fuck of a team when the head honcho is making decisions like this.
This has to be one of the worse business decisions in recent rugby league history.
We pay him out the rest of the year, then pay him out for next year when he indicated he doesn’t want to move to NZ and it’s included in next years cap.
Then he’s going to help one of the power house clubs in the finals and get paid again.
No wonder no one wants to coach this cluster fuck of a team when the head honcho is making decisions like this.
It just ironic as just yesterday Cam George was on sports radio saying what a great leader Mohawk is...
This is terrible footy business.
I think Matt lodge checkmated the owner. He wasn't interested in the player option but never declined the offer. I assume whatever happened Matt lodge was let go by the club (probably in writing) with mohawk thinking he'll only have to payout this year, lodge came back and has said I'll accept my player option for next year as a big f you to the owner. Not sure how all those contracts work but there seems to be more to this so story.
The fact reece wall Walsh came out and sang praises for Matt lodge after the fact all also speaks volumes. I don't remember a single player speaking up for Nathan brown after he left.
jonesy101
More here:
www.sen.com.au
“Controversial” prop inks Roosters deal six weeks after “walking out” on Warriors
“Clearly Trent Robinson hasn’t called Cameron George for a reference.”
www.sen.com.au I really find the story, admittingly not knowing all the details, extremely annoying and showing the incompetence of the Warriors owner/management. How did this saga happen in a professional sporting franchise... I also definitely don't have time for Lodge who has clearly taken us for a ride!!!
Wellington Warrior
But, it has now been revealed his disagreement with club powerbrokers wasn’t the only factor that played a part in his contract being torn up.
“Clearly Trent Robinson hasn’t called Cameron George for a reference,” Bishop said on SEN.
“Rugby league is a merry-go-round, he is the most controversial prop in the game, he walked out of the Warriors six weeks ago after a blow-up with the owner.
“Whichever way you want to look at it, I do know for a fact that it wasn’t just that one issue and he moved on.
“He’d been blowing up at training, he left the club about three or four times as he was negotiating his next contract, his manager wasn’t talking to the Warriors, it was just a messy, messy situation.”
“Clearly Trent Robinson hasn’t called Cameron George for a reference,” Bishop said on SEN.
“Rugby league is a merry-go-round, he is the most controversial prop in the game, he walked out of the Warriors six weeks ago after a blow-up with the owner.
“Whichever way you want to look at it, I do know for a fact that it wasn’t just that one issue and he moved on.
“He’d been blowing up at training, he left the club about three or four times as he was negotiating his next contract, his manager wasn’t talking to the Warriors, it was just a messy, messy situation.”
Mr Frank White
Contributor
Wellington Warrior
Or he was just angling for an early release and payout… same as happened for the Broncos the year before.
He will effectively be getting paid by 3 different clubs for the same period!!!
Up the guttz
Wow! Bloody roosters at it again. It would make me happy if lodge disrupted their culture and they fell down the ladder. Sounds like he just isn’t good to have around. The broncos are doing a lot better without him, we went backwards further once he joined us.More here:
“Controversial” prop inks Roosters deal six weeks after “walking out” on Warriors
“Clearly Trent Robinson hasn’t called Cameron George for a reference.”
Inruin
Contributor
If he plays and gets paid by another club doesn't that come off any amount that may have been going towards our cap?
Wellington Warrior
I’d assume not… much like the $1m plus he was paid out by the Broncos to leave them.
Defence
Ha! as if Trent Robinson would give a fark about Cameron George’s opinion 
Crack up.
Crack up.
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