Rugby league is back for another year. And along with the tremendous tries and brutal tackles, the boys behaving badly have returned as well.
This years entrant is former star junior Matt Lodge.
By now you will have heard of his exploits. The end of season footy trip where he followed, stalked and tormented a female German tourist. When she stopped in for help, he then proceeded to attack the family that had open their door to the young lady.
In the process, he assaulted a man, scared the living daylights out of his wife and child, and managed to threaten the lives of all three family members.
Included in this was the direct threat on life he directed towards the couple’s nine-year-old son. At the time, mother and son were taking refuge in a bathroom to avoid the menacing and violent threat matt had become by entering their home.
After the struggle with police, Lodge was hauled away and enjoyed a two-week stint in a notoriously tough new York jail. Utilising the vagaries of the us justice system, he managed to plead guilty to an agreed charge. Subsequently the family took Lodge back to court for a civil trial and were awarded a handsome settlement.
Although at the severe end of the behavioural yard stick, Lodge’s poor choices and behaviour have not been enough to keep him out of the game.
In November of last year, Matt was approved by the NRL hierarchy to return to the field after having a contract with the Brisbane Broncos accepted.
While the opinionated debate has raged in the last weeks of a quiet off-season, Lodge will be on the park during Round 1 of the season.
While in no way diminishing the seriousness of the problems with his behaviour, Lodge is in a lot of ways no different to many of his peers who will also grace the field during Round 1.
These peers include Russell Packer, who although is getting closer to rugby league redemption, still went within a whisker of taking a man’s life by beating the life out of him while drunk.
So for all the outrage and debate around Lodge and his right to play, at the end of the day really he is no different to many other of his peers.
And really he is no different to the rest, just another troubled soul playing rugby league.
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