Brisbane Broncos got it wrong on Matt Lodge; not by signing him but by not letting him speak

THE lack of any public display of remorse by Matt Lodge has sealed the Brisbane prop’s reputation in the eyes of many NRL fans. But the Broncos should take the blame for that too, writes Peter Badel.

Lodge has been at the centre of the storm since his return. (AAP Image/Josh Woning)

WAYNE Bennett’s best-selling book is titled Man In The Mirror.

The Broncos would do well to heed the mantra of their supercoach by holding a mirror to their souls and accepting their culpability in the Matt Lodge affair.

From a media strategy perspective, Brisbane have dropped the ball horrendously on the Lodge episode. They have misread his complex re-entry to the NRL and what was needed to help Lodge in the court of public opinion.

Brisbane’s handling of the Lodge saga has fuelled a societal perception that the prop is remorseless for his night of madness in New York in October 2015.

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Lodge has been at the centre of the storm since his return. (AAP Image/Josh Woning)

The common man feels this way because they have not heard a shrill of contrition from Lodge. There has been no candid confession. No public apology. No appearance detailing his genuine embarrassment at the night that briefly landed him in an American prison and changed his life.

That is no fault of Lodge.

It is mostly the fault of the Broncos and the myopic legal eagles who have gagged Lodge, wrapping him in a verbal straitjacket that has shown little regard for what people respect and value the most — someone who speaks the truth.

The Broncos have made little effort to humanise or normalise Lodge. Legal advice hasn’t helped them. But if he is fit enough to be registered by the NRL, he is fit enough to man up and talk. Yet no one has heard from him.

Wayne Bennett has put his faith in Lodge. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)

Repeated media requests to talk to him have been denied. The silence is deafening. Joe Public, armed solely with the chilling accounts of his US victims, is left to view Lodge as some heartless, mythical monster.

The reality is quite stark.

As one of the few people who has met with Lodge in the past year, I know differently.

I have seen remorse in his eyes. I have heard him talk with part-shame, part-horror when he recalls the drunken lout who mixed eight sleeping pills with booze and terrorised an American family.

Perception is reality and perceptions can be shaped by what a person is seen to be doing. Lodge has wanted to talk. In fact, he is quite prepared to openly detail his remorse and take responsibility for his American sins.

On Wednesday night, sanity will finally prevail. Fox Sports’ League Life program will air a 20-minute interview where Lodge opens up to respected presenter Yvonne Sampson.

CCTV images of Lodge assaulting a man in New York.

I’ve heard parts of the interview. Lodge won’t suddenly become a media darling as a result but he will give some context to the disturbing inferno that has cast a pall over the start of the 2018 NRL premiership.

For the Broncos, it should be a kick up the backside.

For too long, the club, perhaps emboldened by being Queensland’s flagship sporting team, has felt bulletproof and impervious to criticism.

Their default behaviour in times of an off-field crisis is predictable. Batten down the hatches. Say nothing. Ride out the storm. And when it finally passes, pop your heads up into the glorious sunshine, hoping every media nark has gone away.

The Lodge experience is proof that not every storm passes so easily.

Last week, Bennett said he signed Lodge because he is a “good player”. No longer is that enough.

The conduct of NRL players is equally critical or the moral fibre of clubs decay.

For the Broncos, the Man In The Mirror — and what they are seen to represent in backing Lodge — matters more than ever.

Originally published as Brisbane Broncos got it wrong on Matt Lodge; not by signing him but by not letting him speak