Matt Lodge earns the nod of approval he needs for captaincy bid
Brisbane’s controversial decision to shape Matt Lodge into a future captain of the Broncos has earned the nod of approval from one of the most important parts of the club. Read this week’s Blindside here.
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BRISBANE captaincy candidate Matt Lodge is getting support from perhaps the people that matter most – Broncos fans.
Revelations the Broncos are considering elevating Lodge to the top job has sparked some media outrage with recently retired Sharks skipper Paul Gallen taking aim at the prop, insisting he should never hold the captaincy because of his turbulent past.
Lodge was arrested at gunpoint by New York police four years ago and briefly spent time in Rikers Island prison following a drunken rampage during a wild night out.
“You couldn’t see him captaining any side to be fair,” Gallen said last week.
Gallen’s stance is rather hypocritical because he has his own chequered past. He accepted a retrospective doping ban in August 2014 over the infamous ASADA peptides affair, but still continued to serve as captain of the Sharks.
Amid the public criticism of Lodge, little of the fury has reached the front office of Broncos headquarters.
The football club has received just one complaint from a Broncos fan over the prospect of Lodge succeeding Darius Boyd as skipper.
Broncos bosses are weighing up the Lodge leadership issue seriously. While they have been impressed by Lodge’s maturation as a person in the past two years, they are also mindful of the public-relations conundrum if the prop was formally named as captain.
Blindside understands it is highly unlikely Lodge will captain the Broncos in 2020.
The 24-year-old is likely to be asked to play a more dominant role in the leadership group next season with a view to Lodge captaining the club in the next two or three years.
BRONCOS LINK TO FINAL
THE Broncos have links to Sunday night’s grand final via Sydney Roosters supremo Nick Politis.
Politis has been the lifeblood of the Roosters for the past 45 years but the billionaire is renowned as a successful businessmen who has a shareholding in the ASX-listed Brisbane Broncos.
The Roosters chairman is the ninth-largest shareholder of the Broncos via his company WFM Motors, which holds around 250,000 shares in Queensland’s flagship sporting team.
In February, Politis sold an estimated 50,000 shares, but he retains a stake in the Broncos, whose majority owner is News Corporation, publisher of The Courier-Mail.
The Broncos and Roosters have much in common. The NRL’s fiscal giants are often accused of rorting the salary cap but the 77-year-old Politis laughs off such claims.
“It doesn’t worry me, it’s just jealousy,” he told a Sydney Roosters podcast in the lead-up to the grand-final showdown with the Raiders.
“We’ve got 23 players out of the current top 30 list since they were in under 20s.
“That’s the trick. But we’ve got that profile –the Eastern Suburbs high-profile, high-roller – so everybody just bags us and has a go at us because basically they’re bloody jealous. So who cares? Let them.”
WALKER OF LIFE
LIFE after Cooper Cronk is looking rosy for the Roosters.
Blindside revealed in June that the Roosters had beaten a stack of rivals for the signature of Sam Walker and the boom Queensland under-18s halfback is living up to their investment.
Walker was outstanding in the Australian Schoolboys’ 36-20 defeat of the Junior Kiwis last Sunday at Dolphin Oval.
The classy playmaker had a hand in three tries, including two with deft kicks, and sealed victory with a solo effort straightening the attack in the dying minutes.
Even more impressive was Walker’s performance given that he carried a serious shoulder injury into the junior international fixture.
The 18-year-old had reconstructive surgery on Monday and faces a five-month recovery that will delay his pre-season with the Roosters.
The Roosters have high hopes for Walker and plan to enlist Cronk as a mentor for him next season when the Ipswich Grammar young gun moves to Sydney.
FROM WEDNESDAY: We reveal 50 of the best Queensland schoolboy footballers as rated by the experts. Exclusive to couriermail.com.au
MAROONS STAR ON THE NOSE
WHICH Queensland Origin star is on the nose with his NRL coach? The player in question needs a blockbusting season in 2020 to win back the faith of his club coach or risk being axed, which would put his Maroons jumper in jeopardy.
BRONCOS DEFEND PRICE RISE
THE Broncos have defended claims they are ripping off members following allegations of an “outrageous” price hike for season tickets to Suncorp Stadium in 2020.
One Broncos season ticket holder contacted Blindside during the week to express anger at her membership for a designated seat rising in price from $200 this year to $490 next season – a whopping increase of 145 per cent.
In recent years, the Queensland Rugby League has also come under fire for drastic increases in ticket prices to Origin games at Suncorp Stadium.
The Broncos fan in question said: “After being a loyal member of the Fortress Section for the past few years, they’ve decided to change this section to a lower-tier designated seating bay.
“Our membership has rolled-over each year at a cost of $200pp (per person).
“The Broncos have now informed us that if we want to stay in the same section these seats will now cost $490pp. It’s outrageous.
“I queried them and reminded them that they are the wealthiest club ... $50 million last year (in turnover), and the club with the biggest fan base.
“How can they justify such an enormous increase? They offered us seating upstairs, no thanks.
“Can you offer any insight as to how a club can justify such an increase in their membership fees?”
We reported the Broncos fan’s concerns to the club. A spokesman maintained the Broncos offer an array of pricing options.
“The Fortress package was introduced to trial a full-season package in general admission seating, but over a number of years more than 98 per cent of full-season members consistently selected reserved seat packages so this area reverts back in 2020,” he said.
“We instead now offer the most affordable full-season package on a per game basis in Brisbane, with adults just $199 for all 12 home games in reserved seats, which is already proving popular with our terrific supporters.
“We place enormous value on our members and those impacted by the Fortress change have been contacted, with many relocating to new seats as we work through the price change with those affected.
“For those who cannot attend every game, there are four-game packages available with the option to pay by instalments.”
BRIMSON WITH CONFIDENCE
THE Titans have upped the ante in the battle to retain AJ Brimson with culture chief Mal Meninga tabling an upgrade for the Gold Coast young gun.
Blindside can reveal the Titans have kicked off their retention drive for 2020 by making moves to lock-up their most promising backline prospect to stave off poaching threats for NRL rivals.
The 21-year-old Brimson is off-contract at the end of next year, meaning his management can field formal offers from next month starting November 1.
Meninga has a huge opinion of Brimson and has no plans to expose the Gold Coaster to a big-money bidding war. The Titans have yet to discuss financial terms but are keen to extend Brimson for at least two years until the end of 2022.
Brimson has scored 11 tries in 36 games since his NRL debut last year and is regarded as a future Queensland Origin star. He is also on the radar for Meninga’s inaugural Australian under-23s team to be chosen for a showdown with France later this month.
TITANS MOURN TOP FAN
IT’s been a sad week for the Gold Coast Titans.
Their No.1 fan, Robert “Bobby” Anderson, passed away suddenly just 24 hours after he attended Dolphin Oval to watch Burleigh’s 28-10 defeat of Wynnum Manly in the Intrust Super Cup grand final last Sunday.
Anderson was a familiar face at Titans training and even went to the trouble of producing milestone tributes for Gold Coast players. The game needs passionate fans like Bobby Anderson.
DOLPHIN MAKES WAVES
THE Intrust Super Cup could deliver another player to the NRL.
Blindside understands that South Sydney coach Wayne Bennett is keeping a close eye on Redcliffe prop Jordan Grant. The 25-year-old had a superb season at the Dolphins, playing 25 games and amassing 3850 metres at 154 per match. At 190cm and 109kg, Grant could be a cut-price recruit for the Bunnies.
JACKS OFF TO STORM
UNWANTED Titans playmaker Ryley Jacks could be making a return to the Melbourne Storm.
The Titans have told Jacks he will not be re-signed and while he has attracted interest from Canberra, the Storm have thrown their hat in the ring.
Melbourne have around $80,000 to spend following the departure of Billy Walters to the Wests Tigers and Jacks is believed to be keen to back himself at the Storm.
Jacks impressed at Melbourne and if Brodie Croft joins the Broncos, the 27-year-old could be a serious option for the No.7 jumper.
PLAYER STOCKS
RISING
JOSH PAPALII - Played the game of his life to seal Canberra’s first grand-final appearance in 25 years. “Papa” has been through some turbulent times but the Maroons hitman has produced the most consistent season of his career.
JAMES TEDESCO - Hail the NRL’s No.1 new player. Tedesco has been electric this season and everything he touches just turns to gold. At 26, he can dominate the code for another six or seven years.
PAYNE HAAS - The Broncos hulk became the first player in 25 years to celebrate the Dally M rookie-team of the year double. It’s scary to think how good the 19-year-old will be in five years.
ADAM DOUEIHI - Showed immense bravery in Souths’ finals loss to the Raiders. The Bunnies utility back made some fearless charges from fullback and could be a genuine superstar next season.
FALLING
CAMERON MUNSTER - Struggled through the final six weeks of the NRL season with his shoulder problem. The Maroons pivot rarely troubled the Roosters’ line in last week’s preliminary final loss.
JOHN SUTTON - A sad ending for one of the NRL’s great 300-game warriors. The retired Sutton will be remembered as one of Souths’ greatest players and he deserved a better exit than a loss to the Raiders in Canberra.
JOHN BATEMAN - Fancy bringing a contract upgrade drama into grand final week with plenty of time to run on his current Raiders deal. The smoke you can see is coming from Ricky Stuart’s ears.
CRAIG BELLAMY - Every Dally M night has a fashion faux pas and “Bellyache” takes the oh-gosh gong for 2019. We love Bellamy but he looked like a cast member from Beetlejuice with his white-and-black pin-striped blazer.
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