‘I’ll be heading on’: Matt Lodge confirms Roosters departure at the end of the year

The Roosters are set to lose one of their most valuable middles, with rival clubs set to swoop on an experienced prop.

Matt Lodge is set to hit the open market with the veteran prop confirming he won’t be at the Roosters in 2024. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

Roosters prop Matt Lodge has confirmed he won’t at the club next year, with the veteran likely to be picked up by a rival NRL club in 2024.

Who that club is remains to be seen, but Lodge says he has “options” with a number of potential suitors likely to come knocking given his experience and ability in the middle.

Lodge had been in talks with the Roosters about extending his deal after he joined them midway through the 2022 campaign, but those fell through and seem unlikely to start back up given the club has locked in several key middle forwards.

Veteran Jared Waerea-Hargreaves recently signed a new one-year deal, while Penrith’s Spencer Leniu will join the club next year.

Matt Lodge is looking for a new club, with the prop forward conceding his time at the Roosters will likely be over at the end of the season. Picture: NRL Imagery

The Tricolours have lost Fletcher Baker to the Broncos, but Lindsay Collins is a big part of their plans going forward, which makes it too tough on the club’s salary cap to retain four star middles when they’ve already got so many big name players on the books.

“I think I’ll be heading on at this point,” Lodge said on Tuesday.

“Jared has decided he’s playing on and he deserves that because he’s been a warrior here for a long time, and I knew that when I came here.

“I’m just happy to play my role until whether it ends here at the end of the year or if it’s longer. I’ve enjoyed my time here and I am enjoying my time here so it’s good.”

Jared Waerea-Hargreaves was off-contract at the end of the year but decided to sign on for another season. Picture: Jason McCawley/Getty Images

Lodge signed a heavily discounted deal to join the Roosters last year after a messy exit from the Warriors, with a plan for him to stay there long term, but things changed and he’s now on the lookout for a fifth NRL club.

“I’m on a reduced thing but I can’t do that forever,” he said.

“I was probably under the assumption that I was going to stay longer when I did that, and we did speak about that, but the situation changed.”

Originally published as ‘I’ll be heading on’: Matt Lodge confirms Roosters departure at the end of the year