Unlike other NRL players, Matt Lodge doesn’t shy from speaking his mind. On his right upper arm, he carries a tattoo which reads: “A lion doesn’t concern himself with the opinions of sheep”. There have been few (sheep included) who haven’t had their opinions about him over the years.
So, he’s unlikely to care too much what the Roosters think of his latest public statements in the lead-up to Manly’s semi-final showdown with his old club at Allianz Stadium on Saturday night.
The clash could easily be marketed as a showdown between old bulls and alphas, Lodge and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, the latter fighting to continue his NRL career as he returns from another suspension.
The real subplot is between Lodge and his old coach, Trent Robinson.
Undoubtedly, Robinson threw Lodge an NRL lifeline to sign with the Roosters in 2022 when he’d fallen out with the Warriors, and more specifically, owner Mark Robinson. But just as Lodge thought he’d verbally agreed to a three-year deal extension to stay at the tricolours, it was pulled when Waerea-Hargreaves opted to play on for another year.
Manly prop Matt Lodge.Credit: NRL Images
How close was that deal to being done?
“You would have to ask Robbo.”
In Lodge’s mind, was the deal agreed?
“I don’t really want to comment on that.”
According to Lodge, it was all down to “business”, and no one does it better than the Roosters.
“Pretty much until [I left], we got on really well,” Lodge told reporters of his relationship with Robinson. “It was just a business thing. I’m happy with how I finished there, hold my head high and still be respectful. That’s nothing to take away from my time there. I loved it, I loved everyone in the building and they’re an elite club. There’s some great people in there, good guys.
“I was probably an inch away from staying for another three years, but that kind of went south. What do you do? It doesn’t take away from when I got there, I got on really well with’Robbo’ and he gave me a chance there. He taught me a lot. We both value each other’s footy brain.”
Lodge is a known rugby league nerd, who tries to watch every game from every round. His rugby league career has crossed paths with Craig Bellamy, Wayne Bennett and Robinson, a finishing school few players could ever boast.
This week, he still doesn’t have an NRL deal for next season. The Sea Eagles have tabled a one-year offer, and Lodge is seeking security beyond that after rushing back from an ACL tear last year to help Manly this season. If he can beat his old teammate and longtime sparring partner, Waerea-Hargreaves, and edge the Sea Eagles closer to an unlikely grand final berth, he might just get it.
“He hated me and I hated him, but we got along really well,” Lodge said of Waerea-Hargreaves. “We had a good time together, and we still check in every now and then.
“But I’m sure we’ll probably hate each other on [Saturday] night as well. That’s what front-rowers do. He sets the tone for them, the benchmark and he always shows up in the games.
“There were kind of things I didn’t have to ask him, I just had to watch him. His training intensity and how he set the tone.
“He’s someone I respect a lot.”
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