An NRL forward who has previously been linked with a move to Super League has reportedly been handed a ‘lifeline’ with a new club Down Under.
Forward Matt Lodge has reportedly signed a train-and-trial deal with St George Illawarra Dragons, cutting short any chance of him making a switch to Super League – something that had previously been reported.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, Lodge has been thrown an ‘NRL lifeline’ with the Dragons putting the 29-year-old on a train-and-trial deal at the club.
Lodge has previously represented five clubs during his NRL career, which started in 2014 with Wests Tigers and then Brisbane Broncos after a spell in the Queensland Cup. Lodge represented the Broncos over 60 times but has since spent the past three seasons at three different clubs.
He was without a club after reportedly refusing a two-year contract with Manly Sea Eagles on the NRL’s minimum wage. Now, he’ll have to force his way onto the Dragons’ roster after signing his train-and-trial deal.
Matt Lodge signs NRL deal after rejecting Super League
With the forward off contract at the end of last season, there has been plenty of speculation about where he would end up with Fox Sports claiming that Super League would be his “most likely destination”.
Previously, Lodge had rejected a $150,000 per season deal and explained the importance of providing for his family as a reason why.
He had told the AAP: “It’s up in the air (where I end up) because I am not signed and the club (Manly) was talking about trying to make some room. I love it here. (But) at the end of the day people have got to understand I have four kids and have to pay the bills.
“I had a team in juniors and I played there my whole life. But this is different, it puts food on the table for the family and we put our bodies through a lot.”
Then in November Lodge made clear his intent that he would not be coming to Super League as he told The Daily Telegraph: “I will definitely be playing in the NRL next year.”
Whilst he has signed a train-and-trial deal with the Dragons, there is no certainty that he will make the club’s top 30 and actually play in the NRL this season.
