Roosters inform Matt Lodge he will not play for them, told to play reserve grade for rest of season

One of the NRL’s most controversial figures has seen his career at yet another club fall by the wayside, and with this latest move, he’s left with nowhere to go.

Matt Lodge has been a powerhouse up front for the Roosters. NRL Imagery

Roosters prop Matt Lodge has already reconciled the end of his career in the eastern suburbs, but now the club have put another nail in the coffin.

Previous reports indicated that the former Bronco had already been given permission to leave the club owing to not being part of coach Trent Robinson’s plans for the rest of the season, but Fox Sports reports that Lodge has now been informed that he must spend the rest of the season training and playing with the club’s reserve grade side, the North Sydney Bears.

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The James Hooper column suggests that the club’s backflip is based in acrimony with Lodge’s agent Isaac Moses, who wanted the Roosters to pay Lodge out for the rest of 2023 and allow him to leave immediately.

It comes after Lodge himself confirmed last month he would leave the club next year, saying he has “options”.

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.

Lodge’s experience in the middle would suit a number of clubs. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

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

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.”

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.”

– with NCA NewsWire

Originally published as Roosters inform Matt Lodge he will not play for them, told to play reserve grade for rest of season