Cowboys import Matt Lodge on his Manly exit, a new start and how close he came to captaining the Broncos
He is one of the bad boys of the NRL. But controversial former Manly and Broncos prop Matt Lodge insists he is a team player ready to make a statement at his new club — the Cowboys.
New Cowboys recruit Matt Lodge has declared he’s no spent force and is determined to turn North Queensland into a premiership force after his shock exit from the Sea Eagles.
In his first interview since signing a one-year deal with the Cowboys, Lodge said it was his call to leave Manly for a career shift in the tropics that will take him out of his comfort zone.
The controversial prop also scoffed at suggestions he doesn’t fit into team culture — he is joining his seventh club — admitting his infamous New York rampage in 2015 has “followed me everywhere”.
Lodge recently parted ways with the NRL’s most powerful agent in the game, Isaac Moses, to link with Sam Ayoub, who manages Cowboys legend Johnathan Thurston.
Thurston’s long-time agent helped broker the Townsville move and Lodge, returning to Queensland after his stint at the Broncos from 2018-21, wants to join forces with Jason Taumalolo to fire the Cowboys to the finals.
“People call it a lifeline, but I was always alive,” Lodge says with a laugh.
“I had a top 30 deal at Manly, a club that was five minutes down the road from my family’s house. I chose the Cowboys because I still care about and love my footy.
“I knew deep down, moving away from my comfort zone and making some sacrifices, would be the best thing for me.
“I’ve prepared like a park footy player, but played in the hardest competition in the world for a couple of years now.
“I thought I owed it to myself to get in the best shape I can and see what I can do at the Cowboys. I’m excited.”
The 30-year-old’s NRL career appeared to be over earlier this year when he was initially overlooked by Manly, only to be signed to a development deal.
Lodge staged a stunning resurrection, finishing the season as a starting front-rower at the Sea Eagles, who subsequently offered him a full-time contract for the 2026 season.
Lodge also had interest from Super League clubs, but likes the challenge before him at the Cowboys, who have been rocked by injuries to Jeremiah Nanai and Griffin Neame and the retirement of towering prop Jordan McLean.
“I left my long-term manager (Moses),” Lodge said.
“I didn’t have an agent for a while but a few weeks ago I engaged someone else and they brought me a few deals.
“I loved it at Manly. It was my local team.
“I had a deal there but they made it clear the Souths prop (Davvy) Moale was their priority signing this year and they’ve obviously signed him for four years.
“The Cowboys was definitely the hardest move, logistically, but something about it felt right. Their squad excites me. And I thought it would help my footy.
“So when a team was investing in me and doing all they could to get me up (to Townsville) and help our family out, I felt like it was time to look after us.”
There’s one bugbear for Lodge: the view that he is toxic for team culture.
The 118kg prop is the ultimate NRL journeyman. North Queensland is his seventh club after stints at Melbourne, Wests Tigers, the Broncos, Warriors, Sydney Roosters and Manly.
Trouble has rarely been far away.
He received a $1 million-plus payout to exit the Broncos and was famously embroiled in an explosive spat with Warriors owner Mark Robinson, who paid him $700,000 to leave the club.
But his influence in the dressing room can be powerful.
At Brisbane, he was sensationally put forward for the club captaincy — the Broncos board ultimately voted against it — and his 47 games in 2018-19 was evidence he is a bona fide NRL enforcer at his best.
The 133-game NRL veteran insists he will not be a problem child at the Cowboys, claiming his off-field drama in America a decade ago has hovered over his career like a black cloud.
Lodge, then just 20, was arrested at gunpoint by New York police after an alcohol-fuelled incident and he spent two weeks in the infamous Rikers Island prison.
Ever since, Lodge has felt like rebuilding his NRL career — and his image — has been an uphill battle.
“It’s been a rollercoaster, especially since that well-documented night,” Lodge said.
“Sometimes it is hard moving around.
“I had the same junior club my whole life and was fiercely loyal, but my career was always never going to be the same after what happened in 2015.
“It’s followed me everywhere.
“It’s made some things very challenging, but I’m still here.
“I guess the positive is with six clubs, I have always managed to get the starting number eight or 10 jersey, so I must do something right.
“On a positive note, I really have enjoyed learning and working with some of the best coaches of all-time, like Wayne Bennett and Trent Robinson, and seeing all different environments.
“Now, I’m just a loving dad trying to pay the bills and support a family with four kids.
“After what happened, I’ve worked hard to make something of my career and I thought I owed it to myself to give it a red-hot crack before leaving the NRL.
“I still feel great, my medical with the Cowboys was great and I’m healthy to keep going hard.”
The Cowboys, who finished 12th this year, need a hardhead to hit back as a finals contender and Lodge is adamant he is not washed-up. The loss of Nanai and Neame for round 1 brings him into the frame for the season opener in Las Vegas.
“I’ve played NRL since I was 18, everyone probably thinks I’m 40 but I just had my 30th birthday,” said Lodge, who shares the same May 31 birthday as Taumalolo.
“When I feel like I can’t go with guys anymore I’ll walk away myself. But it’s definitely not now.
“I’m here to earn the respect of everyone first at the Cowboys and then if I’m lucky enough to get a spot, I will have a simple role and I need to do it well.
“Todd Payten (Cowboys mentor) is a smart coach and he was a great prop himself, so he can help bring out the skills that I was allowed to use previously.
“Reed Mahoney, big Jase (Taumalolo) and Reuben Cotter are as competitive as they come.
“They can push me.”
Lodge has also dabbled in boxing in recent years.
The 193cm giant has won two professional fights in the past year and while his focus is on the Cowboys, he would relish an off-season heavyweight blockbuster with former NRL rival Nelson Asofa-Solomona, who has quit the Storm to become a pro boxer.
“I’m fully committed to the Cowboys, but I do enjoy boxing, it’s a sport that excites me,” he said.
“Come the off-season, bring on ‘NAS’ (Asofa-Solomona). Of course, he is a dangerous man with some major power, but he doesn’t scare me and I’m up for a heavyweight challenge.
“If he wants to bang, bring it on. I would love to get in the ring with him.”
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Originally published as Cowboys import Matt Lodge on his Manly exit, a new start and how close he came to captaining the Broncos
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