Last of the enforcers: Lodge sets scene for JWH showdown
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Matt Lodge has declared that no current NRL forward is worthy of being labelled an enforcer as the Manly prop prepares to face Roosters veteran Jared Waerea-Hargreaves and the club he once believed would be his long-term home.
Lodge, who played alongside Waerea-Hargreaves at the Roosters in 2022 and 2023, will lock horns with the Kiwis prop for the last time in Saturday night’s semi-final at Allianz Stadium and admitted: “We’ll probably hate each other on the night”.
However, until his decision to join Manly, Lodge had expected to still be playing for the Roosters.
“It was unreal, I loved my time there and I learned a lot,” Lodge said.
“I was probably an inch away from staying for another three years, but that kind of went south. It was just a business transaction at the end there.
I was playing for a packet of chips and can of coke each week. That couldn’t last forever.
Asked if he expected to finish his career at the Roosters, the much travelled forward said: “I probably thought I was going to finish at the Broncos too. But there was a different plan. It turns into such a business thing”.
The 29-year-old still goes fishing with some of his former Roosters team-mates and keeps in contact with Waerea-Hargreaves, whom he had a fierce rivalry with while playing for the Broncos and Warriors.
“He hated me, and I hated him, but we got along really well,” Lodge said. “We had a good time together and we still check in every now and then.
“I’m sure we’ll probably hate each other on Saturday night as well. That’s what front-rowers do. He sets the tone for them, he is the benchmark and he always shows up in the [big] games. He’s someone I respect a lot.
“The club trusts him, that’s why he’s been there so long. No matter what he does throughout the year, he shows up, sets the tone and that’s a front-rower’s job.”
Waerea-Hargreaves, who began his career at Manly and has played the most premiership matches for the Roosters, would be making his 336th appearance for the 1908 foundation club against Manly if not for suspensions totalling 27 matches.
The 35-year-old, who will join Hull KR next season, is returning from a four-match ban in what could be his last NRL match if the Sea Eagles – for whom he played six matches in 2009 – defeat the Roosters.
Yet Lodge ruled out trying to bait Waerea-Hargreaves, saying the six-again rule has sped up the game too much for forwards to be able to gain a physical edge over an opponent.
They're fired up early
“The game is too hard to do that these days. It’s too fast,” he said.
I think the biggest overrated thing in footy is to call someone an enforcer.
“I don’t think anyone is to be scared of. The game is too quick.”
Lodge, who has played eight NRL matches this season after returning from a knee injury sustained just weeks after joining the Sea Eagles mid-2023, played a significant role in last Sunday's 24-22 elimination of the Bulldogs.
Challenged by coach Anthony Seibold to bend the Canterbury defensive line during their second half stints, Lodge and Taniela Paseka helped change momentum as Manly fought back from 22-12 down.
Captain Daly Cherry-Evans scored from a scrum move in the 56th minute and winger Tolutau Koula showed his electrifying speed and footwork to snatch victory with a try seven minutes from fulltime.
Koula scores one of the great finals tries in one boot
“Me and Nela [Paseka] were having a chat about 10 or 15 minutes into the second half, and we said, ‘we’re going to have to get going here if we want to win’,” Lodge said.
“That was the plan, try to roll up the field a bit. They were trapping us in our 30m [zone] for the majority of the game. As soon as we started rolling and got over the advantage line, it brought our stars into play.
“That’s the good thing about this team. If we can hang in there and keep it a tight contest, we’ve got the class to come up with stuff like that. It’s happened a couple of times and there’s some special players in our backline.
“I don’t think by any means we played our best footy, we played tough and gritty and came away with a win.
"There’s a lot of improvement in us and we will have to be better to knock off the Roosters.”
Match: Roosters v Sea Eagles
Finals Week 2 -
home Team
Roosters
3rd Position
away Team
Sea Eagles
7th Position
Venue: Allianz Stadium, Sydney
