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 Rugby League 
Wednesday, June 07 2023
I will be heading on: Veteran reveals hell be squeezed out of Roosters but has options for 2024

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.

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.”

Posted by: AT 01:24 am   |  Permalink   |  Email
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