The Warriors have been criticized for their decision to pay Matt Lodge in full for $ 700,000, which will remain at its limit for the next 18 months while he plays elsewhere.
Lodge was released from the last year and a half of his contract because he did not want to live in New Zealand, but the NRL 360 panel questioned why the Warriors chose to pay him in full and hurt his own salary limit until in the end. of 2023.
“This story is weird and I can’t understand it. next year, “Braith Anasta told NRL 360.
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“It’s none of my business. What happened here?”
Phil Rothfield believes the Warriors fans deserve to know why he was paid to Lodge in full to leave the club on the fence.
“I’ve been chasing this story all day and it’s still a $ 700,000 question mark,” Rothfield said.
“That was the size of his golden handshake. If a football player comes in with his employer or any employer and says, ‘I’ve had enough and for personal reasons I don’t want to move my family to New Zealand, say it’s okay, the contract is over. ”
“But for some reason and Warriors CEO Cameron George won’t tell me. I texted him. I called him. He’s hiding behind confidentiality clauses.
“But there are a lot of fans in New Zealand who want to know why he got $ 700,000. He’s ruining his cap for the rest of this year and next.”
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Matt Lodge received a large payment that has the Warriors’ salary cap until 2023. Source: provided
Paul Kent asked the NRL Integrity Unit to investigate why if the club and the Lodge had done nothing wrong he was allowed to leave with such a large sum of money.
“That’s what’s going on in his cap, whether he’s there or not,” Kent said.
“Secondly, you have to ask, the fact that the payment is in favor of Lodge suggests that Lodge has not done anything wrong.
“But the fact that the club won’t give any details on why they decided to release him immediately and pay him, I think at least the NRL Integrity Unit should take a look.”
Rothfield revealed that the NRL is investigating the details of the Lodge release.
“I spoke to Andrew Abdo today and he has spoken to the NRL salary cap auditors and they will take a look,” Rothfield said.
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“Buzz, they’re not just payroll auditors, something has happened,” Kent said.
“Something has happened to cause a fracture here.
“Lodge said he did not want to return to New Zealand. That was his public comment.
“But you don’t say that and then they say, well, we’ll only pay you $ 700,000. Something has happened to make the Warriors feel compelled to release him and pay him.”
Anasta wondered why a player who decides to leave a club before his contract expires is entitled to such a large part of his remaining contract.
“If a player comes in and asks for release and it’s on their terms because they don’t want to go to New Zealand, they won’t get 95 per cent of the payout or almost 100 per cent,” Anasta said. .
“You don’t even get close.”
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Rothfield explained that clubs usually try to sell the player to another club to take over part of their salary so that it does not stay in their head.
“If they are trying to transfer him to another club, they will contribute part of that salary to a new club,” Rothfield said.
“He has now left the Warriors in desperate trouble with Addin Fonua-Blake for up to four weeks out with a foot injury.
“Lodge is not there. Nathan Brown is desperate. They have won one in five. They are desperate for victories.
“The Warriors think they think they are here at Redcliffe and their fans have returned home to New Zealand, so the outrage will not be as bad as it could have been.
“But these fans, these members, these sponsors deserve an explanation. $ 700,000.”
Kent agreed that the Warriors should have tried to get another club to take part of the $ 700,000, so that it would not stay in their head.
“They need it from a football standpoint to find out why the $ 700,000 won’t be at its limit next year because the club decided to let a player go,” Kent said.
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“They didn’t even take it to the market and try to sell it to someone who would charge part of the payment. He was released immediately. ”
Brent Read noted that the clubs will be lining up for Lodge now because he was in good shape and is being paid in full for not playing for the Warriors.
“He’s been one of their best players and for any club now it’s a surprisingly attractive proposition because the Warriors have thrown away most of their money this year and most of their money next year,” Read said.
“You’ll get it very cheap.”
“Give him a packet of cookies and you’ll get it,” Kent joked.
Anasta asked why players like Lodge sign for the Warriors with no intention of ever living in the country where they are.
“Why would I sign for the Warriors if I didn’t want to live in New Zealand,” Anasta asked.
“Surely when you sign a contract with the Warriors and we’ve heard it from other players, you have to expect that at some point you have to live in New Zealand.”
“He signed during the Covid when the Warriors were based in Queensland and, secondly, they kicked him out of the Broncos’ gate,” Kent replied.
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“It simply came to our notice then.
“Now I don’t know if there are other clubs, but basically give him a packet of cookies and now you’ll get it because basically the Warriors pay him $ 700,000.”
However, the family excuse does not come close to Anasta, as the NRL is a professional environment that requires coaches and players to move.
“There are a lot of players who have kids in our game and young families and that’s part of that,” Anasta said.
“You’re making good money. It’s New Zealand. It’s not Europe.
“I’m lucky with him (to get paid). He won the lottery.”
Kent quickly pointed out that Lodge has done nothing wrong, but fans of the Warriors and the NRL deserve to know the reasons for the unusual terms of his release.
“Let’s be clear here, Lodge hasn’t done anything wrong,” Kent said.
“There’s no suggestion that he did anything wrong, but you still have to wonder why the club or what the club is afraid of allowing him to go and still carry his salary in his cap.” They paid him in full and they let him go straight to the market where all the other teams already know he will receive a full payment from the Warriors.
“It doesn’t make sense. And it looks like something has happened at the club more than with Lodge.
“It looks like the money from the club’s fault and the Integrity Unit should be looked at.”
“Clearly because if it was a problem that Lodge had, they wouldn’t have paid him,” Read said.