Matt Lodge can make up for his indiscretions, writes Yvonne Sampson
March 2, 2018
I SPENT two hours in a closed room alone with Matt Lodge.
It was a confronting, confusing, yet fascinating experience.
The Matt Lodge I met didn’t resemble the volatile and aggressive young man whose reputation almost ruined his rugby league career before it began.
The blonde Broncos hulk sat quietly in the Broncos’ brand new headquarters.
He spoke in a measured tone while timidly inching his chair further away from me.
By the end of the meeting he was on the other side of the room.
Was he nervous? Or was he avoiding my questions?
It seems avoidance is something Matt relies on when challenged.
I wanted to hear what happened on the night he went on a violent rampage in New York.
He claims he doesn’t remember, he blacked out.
He doesn’t want to talk about being arrested at gunpoint, and thrown in the infamous Rikers Island Jail.
He blames the episode on sleeping pills given to him by a club doctor.
What do his parents, both respected police officers think of his crimes? He shrugs his shoulders.
Fox League spoke to Manhattan couple Joseph Cartwright and Ruth Fowler, the terrified family who were trapped in their apartment on that night.
They claim a violent and frightening Lodge forced his way into their home, chased their traumatised nine-year-old son saying “you are too young to die”.
Joseph and Ruth also allege Lodge has never offered an apology or shown a sense of remorse. The New York couple believe their million-dollar civil lawsuit is not about revenge, it’s about being accountable.
They say the Broncos recruit is trying to escape justice, while their family still suffer from the emotional fallout from that night.
As we enter the 2018 season, Lodge has so far avoided the ethical and very emotional debate on his return to the NRL.
Instead it’s been the responsibility of the game’s greatest leaders to explain why Lodge was registered. — NRL CEO Todd Greenberg, Broncos boss Paul White and head coach Wayne Bennett.
These are all-powerful men who have forged careers on values and integrity.
They have supported Matt Lodge’s return, and have offered their assurance rugby league is the best place for his rehabilitation and ultimately his redemption.
Our game has an exceptional history of helping players accept and acknowledge responsibility. If you own your mistakes, inevitably the fans and the sport will welcome you and eventually they will cheer for you.
Privately, Lodge has worked incredibly hard to turn his life around.
He’s a driven, talented and hugely grateful young man who enjoys his work with the Broncos community and wants to provide for his young family.
But does he deserve a Brisbane Broncos jumper?
At
The Courier-Mail season launch on Tuesday, club legend Gorden Tallis said there was a time when the Broncos would not have signed a troubled player like Lodge.
The club got rid of guys like him. They didn’t deserve to represent the famous club.
My private meeting with Lodge was arranged by his manager to gain some understanding about him and his past before filming an interview for Fox League.
I learned that Lodge grew up in a strong family unit, and adores his younger brother who was struck down with life-threatening meningococcal disease.
At 14, Lodge was caught for underage drinking at his local pub and taken to the police station where his mother was on duty.
He has always been a promising rugby league prospect and was first recruited by the Panthers, then picked up by the Storm, before finding himself at the Wests Tigers.
His ability has never been questioned, but his respect for the game has.
Matt gets emotional twice in the two hours I am with him — once when he talks about his brother and again when he talks about his baby son.
The little boy he allegedly chased in New York still wakes up at night, terrified he’ll be ripped from his bed by a scary stranger.
I hope Lodge knows now he’s part of a bigger family, one as supportive and significant as his own.
As controversial as his signing is, the Broncos family will eventually welcome him home to Suncorp Stadium.
He just needs to give them a reason to cheer.
http://www.couriermail.com.au/sport...n/news-story/81dd34fa38a7adfb05a4ba0bfcf64ff2
That's our Vonny
