NRL 2024: How Matt Lodge lost a three-year Sydney Roosters deal to sign with Manly

Manly prop Matt Lodge has doused talk of a grudge match with the Sydney Roosters and their coach Trent Robinson, insisting he loved his time at the club and can hold his head high after his surprise departure.

Manly prop Matt Lodge has doused talk of a Saturday night grudge match with the Sydney Roosters and their coach Trent Robinson, insisting he loved his time at the club and can hold his head high after his departure.

Lodge spent just over a year at Roosters following his early exit from the Warriors, playing 18 games and fracturing his skull before being granted a release to join Manly last year.

His departure from the Roosters was somewhat controversial given Lodge believed he had a long-term deal in the works, only for the club to head in a different direction.

Lodge will now face the Roosters in a sudden-death final at Allianz Stadium, having played a barnstorming role for the Sea Eagles in their elimination final win over the Bulldogs last weekend.

Matt Lodge left the Roosters in controversial circumstances. Picture: NRL Photos

“To be honest, I loved my time there,” Lodge said.

“I still speak to a lot of the boys on the side. Talking to the coach, he’s very good and I learned a lot.

“We actually got on really, really well and had a great relationship there. It was just a business transaction at the end there.

“I was playing for a packet of chips and can of coke each week. That couldn’t last forever.

“It was just a business thing. I’m happy with how I finished there, can hold my head high and still be respectful.

“I loved it, I loved everyone in the building and they’re an elite club. There’s some great people in there, good guys.”

As for his relationship with Robinson, Lodge said: “No, I haven’t had a lot to do with him (since I left).

“But like I said, there’s a general respect there. I can say hello and that’s fine. 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 has been a key figure at Manly. Picture: NRL Photos

The other bloke who taught Lodge a fair bit about footy at the Roosters was Jared Waerea-Hargreaves, who will make his return this weekend after serving his latest suspension.

Their clash could be one of the deciding factors on Saturday night. Neither will concede an inch.

“He hated me and I hated him (when I first arrived), but we got along really well,” Lodge said.

“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. He’s someone I respect a lot.

“The club trusts him. That’s why he’s been there so long. No matter what he does throughout the year, he shows up, sets the tone and that’s a front-rower’s job.”

Lodge will head into their sudden death final knowing it could be his last match for Manly given his contract is up at the end of the year.

He has played so well in recent weeks, there has been talk he could earn himself an extension. First things first though. He has a final to win.

“There’s a lot of improvement in us and we have to be better to knock off the Roosters,” Lodge said.

Originally published as NRL 2024: How Matt Lodge lost a three-year Sydney Roosters deal to sign with Manly