Warriors snare Broncos NRL prop Lodge
Just days after Brisbane coach Kevin Walters insisted Matt Lodge would be staying at the NRL club, the front-rower is headed to the Warriors.
On Thursday the Warriors announced Lodge would be joining them immediately, signing a deal until the end of the 2022 season.
The development comes despite Walters saying on Monday, "I have told Matt and his manager he is not going anywhere".
Lodge made 65 appearances for the Broncos after a controversial return to the NRL in 2018.
The former Wests Tigers youngster was arrested and charged in 2015 after an incident at an apartment in New York which led to a conviction for reckless assault.
Lodge is the third mid-season recruit for the Warriors after the arrivals of Chad Townsend and Dallin Watene-Zelezniak from Cronulla and Canterbury respectively.
The 26-year-old Lodge will join the Warriors squad on the weekend at their base in Terrigal and will not be rushed into the team for Friday's game against St George Illawarra.
"We like what he has to offer us as a big body in the middle of the park with his ability to play big minutes and his impressive great work rate," Warriors coach Nathan Brown said.
"He'll be a great addition to our squad."
Lodge is the second Brisbane player to join the Warriors this year after teenager Reece Walsh was released from Red Hill in April.
