NRL CEO Todd Greenberg says rugby league can help Matt Lodge get his life back on track

NRL boss Todd Greenberg has been torn to shreds on the League Life panel over Matt Lodge’s return to the NRL, after the disgraced star broke his silence in a tell-all interview. READ THE FULL TRANSCRIPT

Matt Lodge’s return has led to some hard questions. (AAP Image/Darren England)

NRL boss Todd Greenberg has pleaded with fans to give Matt Lodge a chance to redeem himself when the Broncos forward controversially returns to the league.

Lodge will play his first NRL game in 984 days when the Brisbane Broncos clash with St George-Illawarra in Thursday night’s season-opener in Kogarah.

The 22-year-old’s return to the NRL has been criticised heavily following revelations he has yet to pay a cent of a $1.6 million civil suit to the victims of his night of terror in New York.

Lodge on Wednesday night broke his silence on hit Fox League show League Life, apologising to the family he terrorised and pledging to do all he can to make up for his actions.

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NRL CEO Todd Greenberg had to defend his decision. (Liam Kidston)

A defiant Greenberg stood by the NRL’s decision to welcome Lodge back, admitting he first saw the harrowing CCTV footage of the 116kg prop on an alcohol and prescription drugs fuelled rampage 18 months ago.

“Nothing I’ve seen in recent times, I haven’t seen before,” Greenberg said.

“That footage horrifies me and it would horrify any parent. I wouldn’t want my family in that situation.

“None of what I’ve said justifies what he did that night. That is why we have to be satisfied he is determined to turn his life around.

“This incident happened nearly three years ago. He has tried very hard to make amends for that and turn his life around.

“Matt Lodge is 22. He made some horrible errors. The easy thing is to shut the door and walk away.

“I don’t think rugby league is a sport that will shut the door on people who make an error.”

Lodge opened up to Yvonne Sampson on League Life.

In the interview with Yvonne Sampson, Lodge revealed he owed lawyers $200,000 and his stint in New York City’s infamous Rikers Island jail was so “gruesome and upsetting” he did not like talking about it.

He also said he was prohibited from making contact with his victims, which included a nine-year-old boy, and learned they had been awarded $1.6 million in damages via the media.

“That experience, I’m not going to go into full details, because it gets gruesome and upsetting,” he said.

“I definitely felt vulnerable. I was in another country and had no contact with anyone back here.

The Broncos prop ignored the controversy at training. (Annette Dew)

“It’s one of the worst things that’s happened in my life. At the same time it’s turned it around. I’m kind of grateful I came out of it and got to come home and see my family.

“The court ordered that I couldn’t have any direct contact with the victims. It was hard for me to reach out and do what I wanted to do and say sorry in person.

“It was tough I couldn’t approach them and say I’m sorry and try and let them accept that.

“When it (civil case) first started I knew as much as everyone else and found out about the $1.6 million figure in the newspapers.

“I wasn’t at court to contest any of it or have my say on things.”

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Wednesday night’s interview was the first time Lodge has spoken publicly since signing a one-year contract with the Broncos to resurrect his career.

The interview was largely seen to be in response to a huge public backlash and Greenberg admitted it had not been handled well by the Broncos or NRL.

“The main error in this process has been the lack of insight we’ve seen tonight,” he said.

“That should have been seen and spoken about significantly earlier.

“One of the lessons we’re learning is about how transparent we can be.

“There is no doubt, had I had my time over again, about the transparency of bringing him back into the game. You would have heard him speak much earlier than what he has.”

The last of Lodge’s 12 NRL appearances was for the Wests Tigers in June, 2015.

READ THE FULL TRANSCRIPT BELOW

You spent a few hours with Matt so why were you so convinced he belongs back in the NRL?

It took a long time to convince me, he’s been out of the game for coming up to three years, he tapped on the door more than a year ago and we turned him away, then we turned him away again. He kept asking for more and what I saw in that interview is a guy who struggled enormously, who’s trying very hard, and I think rugby league has an opportunity to help him as he tries harder. And I hope he can become a really good story — but that rests with him.

The decision to register Matt Lodge rests with you. Who else has been involved in assessing if he is psych sound?

People think it comes through and we tick a box. There is an enormous and thorough process and what I listen to is expertise, people who know more than I do — counsellors, clinicians, psychologists, people who know him well, his family. You have to weigh up all these things and there isn’t a right answer. The easy answer is not to let people come back into the game but I’m not so sure that’s the right thing for the sport or when people deserve another opportunity.

That’s doesn’t for one minute excuse everything we’ve just seen. Some of the scenes and everything we’ve heard are really really bad. He made some grave errors but he gets an opportunity to rebuild his life. What I saw is he’s desperately trying to do that and I think rugby league has a part to play in that.

Did you work closely with psychologists independent of Matt Lodge, the broncos and the NRL?

Absolutely. What he has done is developed a really strong program that he’s on now and one going forward because I’m as interested in what he’s done as what he’s about to do because this doesn’t go away easily. So he has to commit to that and he has to continue to commit to it so the journey for him is at the very beginning.

When did you see the CCTV footage?

About 18 months ago. Nothing that I’ve seen in recent times I haven’t seen before.

How is that vision ... you’re happy to welcome matt lodge back to rugby league?

I’ll say again, that footage horrifies me and it would horrify any parent, and I’m a parent.

Imagine your family Todd in that room. Because I’m a mother and if I put myself and my son in that situation — that’s what’s really upsetting. You saw this 18 months ago, largely the public saw this last week. That’s a huge thing for the public to have to take on and for people with families to have to absorb.

I agree completely which is why we have to be satisfied that he is determined to turn his life around. This incident happened nearly three years ago. I think you can see he’s tried very hard to make amends for that. He’s tried very hard to turn his life around and I think rugby league has an opportunity to help him in that journey.

It raises questions for people about what the NRL wants to stand for, because we can do all the white ribbon days we want, we can say all the anti-violence against women messages we want but then we register a person who has been directly violent towards women. Can you see the conflict there? It’s not good enough to say we’re a place for redemption. Where’s the land in the sand Todd?

Well it’s never a straight line because it’s not what you agree with and someone else agrees with. The easy thing to say is anyone who does it, they don’t play. But I don’t think that’s necessarily the right decision.

You go on about it being a privilege to play rugby league — why does matt lodge deserve the privilege after everything he’s done? What does the game owe him?

He owes the game an enormous amount — and will he grab that second chance, that’s a question for him.

But it’s not even a second chance, it’s a third, fourth, fifth chance. I would argue that his second chance is not being in jail and making something of his life away from the game. He talked in that interview about the pressures of the game and escaping those. How can you say he isn’t going to have another slip-up?

I don’t have that full faith in almost anyone in society. I remember sitting with Russell Packer, who spent a year inside jail, and talking to him about what program he would commit to — and he’s been an incredible success story for us and that’s taken years for him to develop that. Matt Lodge is 22 years of age and he may make some horrible errors. The easy thing to do is to shut the door and walk away — I don’t think that’s what rugby league stands for. I don’t think rugby league walks away from challenges and I don’t think rugby league is a sport that will shut the door on people who make an error. And some of those are terrible errors. But rugby league opens the door and says we’re part of helping you. I genuinely think that’s the type of sport people associate rugby league with.

So why not Todd Carney, why not Ben Barba?

No one’s said no to Todd or Ben. I’ve never had an application for either of those players on my desk. If they do come on my desk I’ll assess them but I’ll assess them exactly the same way I assessed Russell packer and matt lodge, which is show me what you’ve been through, show me the clinical work, show me the commitment, show it to me over a long period of time — we’re talking years and years — and show me what you’re going to do in the future. And if that happens to be perceived and accepted by us, that may be the decision we make.

Have you spoken to the victims?

No I haven’t but I have sighted a lot of correspondence between matt lodge and the victims and I’ve spoken to matt about his ability to try to make sure that he pays them back.

Why was speaking to the victims not an imperative part of the investigation?

Again, my decision in this process is whether he’s fit and proper to come back and play rugby league so I have to assess that materials in front of me. That’s talking to matt and listening to all the people in the field, the experts who deal with him.

Is there a transparent plan that he will pay them back this $1.6m?

Untimely that’s a decision he needs to make with those people in America and my understanding is those discussions have been taking place and will continue to take place. But there’s a simple premise here, the only way you can pay money back is to work and the only way Matt Lodge can earn some income is play rugby league.

It’s not the only way.

Well if you have a look at Matt Lodge, he’s 22, he’s had a very tough three years — and I’m not excusing what he did — but he has been through … you only saw a snippet of that, I have seen the work and the undertaking he made to try to turn his life around.

But to say rugby league is the only way he can make money is simply not true. There are hard consequences in life, people don’t get a second opportunity and they have to make it work. If any of us did this in our line of work — including you — we’d never be getting a second chance, we’d have to make a life somewhere else. Since the minute his contract was registered we haven’t heard from him, not in the way Yvonne spoke with him — now Wayne Bennett comes out and accuses the media of having an agenda. In my eyes that’s completely goes in the face of the fans; they deserve to hear the process of how this has come about? Would you change anything?

I’m disappointed we’re not sitting here talking about all the other things 2018 brings. I think the main error in this whole process has been the lack of insight that we’ve seen tonight. That should have spoken about considerably earlier that it has. One of the lessons we’re learning is about how transparent we can be and if I had my time over again you would have heard him speak much earlier than what he has.