Matthew Lodge (born 31 May 1995) is a
rugby league
Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 112 ...
footballer who plays as a for the
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby league, Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won ...
in the
NRL
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
.
He previously played for the
Wests Tigers
The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional Rugby league, rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a j ...
,
Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite com ...
and
New Zealand Warriors
The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...
in the
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
.
Background
Lodge was born in
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountains ...
.
He played his junior rugby league for St. Patricks Blacktown before being signed by the
Penrith Panthers
The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith that competes in the NRL. The team is based west of the centre of Sydney, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Penrith ...
.
Playing career
Early career
He played for Penrith's
NYC
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
team in 2012.
In September 2012, Lodge signed a contract with the
Melbourne Storm
The Melbourne Storm are a rugby league club based in Melbourne, Victoria in Australia that participates in the National Rugby League. The first fully professional rugby league team based in the state, the Storm entered the competition in 1998. ...
starting in 2013. He played for the Storm's
NYC
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
team in 2013 and 2014. He was named at in the 2013
NYC
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
Team of the Year.
![Matthewlodge](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Matthewlodge.jpg)
Wests Tigers
In June 2014, Lodge joined the
Wests Tigers
The Wests Tigers are an Australian professional Rugby league, rugby league football team, based in the Inner West and South West Sydney. They have competed in the National Rugby League since being formed at the end of the 1999 NRL season as a j ...
mid-season for the remainder of the season, joining their
NYC
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
squad. In Round 17 of the
2014 NRL season
The 2014 NRL season was the 107th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 17th season of the National Rugby League in Australia and New Zealand. The season started in New Zealand, for the Auckland Nines, replacing the Rugby Leagu ...
, Lodge made his
NRL
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
debut for the Tigers against his former team, the
Penrith Panthers
The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the western Sydney suburb of Penrith that competes in the NRL. The team is based west of the centre of Sydney, at the foot of the Blue Mountains. Penrith ...
. He made four first grade appearances for the year. He was described as a "110kg battering ram," who was "certain to feature in the regular squad next season." Later in the year, he was chosen to participate in the NSW under-20s pathway camp.
On 19 October 2015, Lodge was sacked by the Tigers after being arrested in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. He was due back in court for sentencing in December after entering a guilty plea.
Brisbane Broncos
After spending some time with the
Redcliffe Dolphins
The Redcliffe Dolphins are a semi-professional rugby league club based in Redcliffe, Queensland, Redcliffe, Queensland, Australia. Founded in 1947, they were accepted into the Brisbane Rugby League premiership (rugby league competition), Brisba ...
in the
Queensland Cup
The Queensland Cup, currently known as the Hostplus Cup for sponsorship reasons, is the highest-level regional rugby league football competition in Queensland, Australia. It is run by the Queensland Rugby League (QRL) and is contested by four ...
, Lodge signed a 1-year contract with the
Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite com ...
starting in 2018.
Lodge made 22 appearances for Brisbane in the
2019 NRL season
The 2019 NRL season was the 112th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 22nd season run by the National Rugby League. The Sydney Roosters became the first team to win back-to-back Premierships since the Brisbane Broncos in 1992 ...
as the club finished 8th on the table and qualified for the finals. Lodge played in the club's elimination final against Parramatta which Brisbane lost 58-0 at the new
Western Sydney Stadium
Western Sydney Stadium, commercially known as CommBank Stadium, is a multi-purpose rectangular stadium in Parramatta, within the Greater Western Sydney region, approximately west of Sydney CBD. It replaced the demolished Parramatta Stadium ...
. The defeat was the worst in Brisbane's history and also the biggest finals defeat in history.
On 19 February 2020, Lodge suffered an ACL injury during pre-season training for Brisbane and was ruled out for an extended period.
Lodge only featured in six games for Brisbane in the
2020 NRL season
The 2020 NRL season was the 113th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 23rd season run by the National Rugby League.
Teams
The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 14th consecutive year.
; Notes
:
:
:
Pre-season
...
as the club finished last on the table.
New Zealand Warriors
Lodge agreed a midseason switch from
Brisbane
Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...
to the
Warriors
A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste.
History
Warriors seem to have be ...
during the
2021 NRL season
The 2021 NRL season was the 114th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 24th season run by the National Rugby League.
Teams
The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 15th consecutive year.
Regular season
Ladd ...
.
In the final round of the
2021 NRL season
The 2021 NRL season was the 114th season of professional rugby league in Australia and the 24th season run by the National Rugby League.
Teams
The lineup of teams remained unchanged for the 15th consecutive year.
Regular season
Ladd ...
, Lodge was sent to the sin bin for a dangerous high tackle in the club's 44-0 loss against the Gold Coast.
In May 2022, Lodge was released from his New Zealand contract with immediate effect. Lodge was then paid out the remaining $700,000 of his contract in full by the club.
Sydney Roosters
Following his abrupt departure from the
New Zealand Warriors
The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as ...
, Lodge was signed to a short-term contract by the
Sydney Roosters
The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional Rugby league, Rugby League Football Club based in the Eastern Suburbs (Sydney) and parts of inner Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. The Roosters have won ...
, joining the club in July 2022.
Representative career
Lodge has played for the
Australian Schoolboys
The Australian Schoolboys refer to junior teams that represent Australia in various sports. The name is mainly used in rugby league, rugby union and baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players ...
.
In 2011, Lodge played for both the
New South Wales
)
, nickname =
, image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Australia
, established_title = Before federation
, es ...
Under 16s and Under 18s teams.
In 2013 and 2014, Lodge played for the New South Wales Under 20s team. Lodge was representing the NSW under-20s side when he was given a 3-week suspension after he was televised with the word "CUNT" clearly written on his wrist strapping.
On 2 May 2015, Lodge played for the
Junior Kangaroos
The Junior Kangaroos side represents Australia in the sport of rugby league. They are commonly known as the Junior Kangaroos, after the native marsupial of that name.
Since 2019, they are an under-23 side, with players selected from the NRL. The ...
against
Junior Kiwis
The Junior Kiwis side represents New Zealand in the sport of rugby league. They are commonly known as the Junior Kiwis, after the native bird of that name.
Since 2010, they are an under-20s side, with players selected from the NRL, Intrust Super ...
.
Assault charge and lawsuit in New York and NRL controversy
On 16 October 2015, Lodge was arrested and charged with assault after he threatened two German tourists, chased them into a New York apartment building, and attacked a man who attempted to help. He proceeded to break into and smash furniture in the man's apartment, including punching a wall through the bathroom door where a nine-year-old boy was hiding, before being stopped by police.
He was initially charged with felony burglary causing injury, but it was reduced to a misdemeanor charge of reckless assault as part of a plea deal. The victims then filed a civil lawsuit against Lodge for US$2 million in July 2016. In December 2016, Lodge avoided jail time, and was ordered to complete 200 hours of community service, quit drinking, and receive alcohol abuse and anger treatment.
Lodge signed a 1-year contract worth an estimated AU$85,000 with
Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite com ...
for the 2018
National Rugby League
The National Rugby League (NRL) is an Australasian rugby league club competition which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, the Australian Capital Territory and New Zealand. The NRL formed in 1998 as a joint partnership ...
season. The NRL were scrutinised for supporting Lodge and allowing the deal to happen while the victims have not been legally compensated.
References
External links
Brisbane Broncos profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lodge, Matthew
1995 births
Living people
Australian rugby league players
Brisbane Broncos players
Sydney Roosters players
New Zealand Warriors players
Redcliffe Dolphins players
Junior Kangaroos players
Rugby league props
Rugby league players from Sydney
Wests Tigers players