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Sydney Roosters vs Brisbane Broncos, teams, Matt Lodge exit from Broncos, payout, Kevin Walters

Sydney Roosters vs Brisbane Broncos, teams, Matt Lodge exit from Broncos, payout, Kevin Walters

Further details of Matt Lodge’s exit from the Broncos have emerged as the front rower braces to face his former side when Brisbane battle the Roosters on Thursday night.

The Broncos agreed to pay up to $1 million of Lodge’s salary to facilitate his departure from Red Hill, a move that came under intense scrutiny at the time.

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“You try not to be critical of Brisbane as a former player but I don’t think we can believe anything that’s coming out of that place at the moment,” Brent Tate said on ‘NRL Tonight’ in the wake of Lodge’s exit to the Warriors.

“Kevvie came out and said they’d stay and if Matt Lodge goes, honestly, I think clubs are built on trust and at the moment there doesn’t seem to be that at that club.

“There’s different messages coming from all different people within the ranks and I hope for Matt Lodge’s sake he gets to go to a club because he’s been so up in the air and I know how difficult that would be for a player who plays on passion and emotion.”

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Matt Lodge left Brisbane in 2021. (AAP Image/Darren England)Source: AAP

Now though, a report from news corp has revealed more details on Lodge’s exit while chairman Karl Morris also explained why Brisbane was willing to chip in to speed the process up.

“Matt Lodge was a redemption story and it was great to have him back,” Morris told news corp.

“He did all the tough work he had to do while playing for Redcliffe to get back into the NRL. He completely gave up the drink and was a model citizen while he was with us.

“For whatever reason, culturally, it didn’t work with him and the new coaching staff and we decided to part ways.

“Kevvie wants a certain type of player and person at the Broncos and he just didn’t suit the type of team Kevvie was trying to build.”

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Major “Reboot” need for Knights – Buzz | 01:08

the news corp report claims that Lodge’s character was not the best match for what Walters was trying to build at Red Hill, with suggestions he cut corners at training.

Lodge is also said to have been sprayed by one Broncos official for his attire around the club.

But speaking to news corp ahead of Thursday’s game, lock forward Pat Carrigan was full of praise for his former teammate.

“Lodgey always plays well and I’m sure he will step up against us, I’m excited for him,” he said.

“He’s a halfback in a front-rower’s body, he’s actually a very smart footballer and he taught me a lot about the game.

“I am grateful for a lot of the stuff Lodgey did for us younger blokes here. He gave us that introduction to first grade. We had some good battles on the training ground so he will be up for this one and we will be too.”

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Sports

Transfer Whispers; Ben Hunt future; Gold Coast Titans bid; Martin Taupau, Manly, Sea Eagles, news, updates

Transfer Whispers; Ben Hunt future; Gold Coast Titans bid; Martin Taupau, Manly, Sea Eagles, news, updates

Maroons star Ben Hunt is not short of suitors amid reports the Gold Coast Titans are ready to launch an audacious bid for his services.

news corp revealed that the Titans are considering a play to lure the Dragons captain north to from the 2023 season.

The Titans are believed to be one of six clubs trying to acquire Hunt’s services from at least the 2024 campaign.

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But considering he doesn’t come off contract with the Dragons until the end of next season, the Titans will have to wait until November 1st to submit an official offer.

It was reported last week that Hunt was set to sign a two-year contract extension with St George until the end of 2025.

“We have started the process to extend Ben, and we’re very hopeful we can keep him at the club long-term,” St George Illawarra chief executive Ryan Webb said.

Madge’s take on Tigers coaching plan | 02:04

“He is an important person on the field and has a tremendous impact off it.”

Hunt, who was leading the Dally M race before the count behind closed doors, signed a

mammoth five-year deal worth more than $5 million with the Dragons in 2017.

The 32-year-old has proven himself to be one of the premier players in the competition since, after starring in State of Origin again this year.

The party was well and truly on in Queensland as Hunt ran away for a long-range, game-winning try in the Origin decider in Brisbane last month.

But considering his age, it’s believed that he could commit to a smaller deal.

If Hunt does sign with the Titans, he would potentially line-up in the halves alongside another key signing in Kieran Foran.

The New Zealand international has signed a two-year deal which is reportedly worth $400,000 per season.

Dragons captain Ben Hunt is reportedly eyeing a move to the Gold Coast Titans. (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

Before entering contract negotiations, Hunt revealed that he was happy playing under the “right coach” in Anthony Griffin at the Dragons.

“It’s no secret I enjoy being coached by Hook (Anthony Griffin),” Hunt said.

“I know we’ve had some setbacks for the past two games, but we’ve got the right foundation in place – and we have the right coach.

“I’m loving my time at the club and enjoying myself. I know I’m also getting to the back end of my career and want to win (a premiership).

“My manager will meet with the club next week so we’ll see what happens. I still think I’ve got at least three years of footy in me. I’m contracted for next year, and I’d like another two after that.

“I’ve been lucky with injuries. I don’t see why I can’t go until at least the end of 2025.”

Carrigan cops 4-game ban for tackle | 02:14

RABBITOHS SET TO LAUNCH BID FOR MANLY ENFORCER

The South Sydney Rabbitohs have reportedly entered the race to secure Sea Eagles’ prop Martin Taupau’s signature for the dawn of the 2023 season.

According to Zero Tackle, the club believe that Taupau would be a suitable replacement for departing prop Mark Nicholls, who will join the Dolphins for their inaugural season.

The Bunnies are reportedly set to table the 32-year-old a two-year contract which will see him at South Sydney until the end of the 2024 season.

The Eels were close to locking in Taupau for the rest of the season, however the Sea Eagles chose to wart the move in a last ditch attempt at securing a spot in the top eight come finals time.

If Taupau is to link up with the Rabbitohs for the 2023 season he would he would add to the club’s depth in the forwards joining the likes of Thomas Burgess, Liam Knight, Tevita Tatola, Davvy Moale and Daniel Suluka-Fifita.

With the Manly prop now in the latter stages of his career, a two-year deal with South Sydney could very well be his last in the NRL.

While the Dolphins have expressed an interest in Taupau, the experienced prop ideally wants to play for a club based in Sydney.

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Sports

Rugby sevens, injury news, Samu Kerevi, update, Wallabies vs Argentina, rugby championship

Rugby sevens, injury news, Samu Kerevi, update, Wallabies vs Argentina, rugby championship

The Wallabies’ worst fears have been realized, with Samu Kerevi expected to miss the rest of the year due to a knee injury.

It’s understood Kerevi, 28, suffered an ACL injury during Australia’s narrow 7-5 victory over Kenya in their Commonwealth Games pool match over the weekend.

Kerevi took no further part in Australia’s campaign, where John Manenti’s side lost in the semi-finals to South Africa.

Rugby Australia had been cagey about details regarding Kerevi, eager not to let the cat out of the bag.

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Kerevi told reporters he felt “alright” and added “I’m always confident [to be fit to play] but I’ll get a doc on it and see. It was just a big bang but then once it settled down it was fine.”

But the Suntory center is expected to miss the remainder of the year, with sources confirming the 41-Test center is expected to spend at least six months on the sidelines.

Kerevi is said to be devastated, believing he has let his teammates down.

The Wallabies were happy for Kerevi to take part of Australia’s sevens campaign after the former Queensland Reds captain made a promise to his teammates from the Tokyo Olympics that he would try and help them win gold in Birmingham.

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Samu Kerevi was injured at the Commonwealth Games. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)
Samu Kerevi was injured at the Commonwealth Games. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

“It was a tough decision in the end but I gave my word to these boys, if I was available to be back I’d be back here,” Kerevi told news corp in the lead-up to the Games.

“I’m blessed enough to be in this position and get selected for these Games. I’m pretty ecstatic about that.

“It’s pretty special to be part of this group and to represent Australia. It’s something I’ll always, always remember.

“But more than just participating, we want to be here and do well and win a medal – win a gold medal. That’s our goal and the boys are working hard towards that.”

After featuring in the No.12 jersey in all three Tests against England in July, Kerevi was always set to miss the opening two matches of The Rugby Championship against Michael Cheika’s Argentina because of his Commonwealth Games commitments.

The world class center was to link back with the squad ahead of the home Tests against the Springboks later this month, but that won’t be the case now.

There was an inherent risk about returning to the sevens program, particularly with the added miles in the legs required to succeed in the abbreviated game, but Wallabies coach Dave Rennie would have been sweating on his fitness, such is his importance to the team.

Speaking at the Wallabies’ squad announcement last month, Rennie said Kerevi had his blessing to play at the tournament and added that it would have only changed were they stretched to the limit in the centres.

England down Wallabies at Suncorp | 00:40

“Obviously Samu going away to the sevens, to the Commonwealth Games, we thought that was really important,” Rennie said.

“The initial talks we had a few months ago was if we got injuries maybe we wouldn’t let him go, but it’s important for our country to send away a strong side that’s got a chance of winning a medal – and the sevens boys have been going well of late and Samu will only add to that, so we’re committed to that.

“With Izzy Perese out injured, he’s (Irae Simone) coming in just to fill a role in the Argentinian tour and we’ll get Samu back after that.”

Kerevi’s long-term injury will put extra pressure on Hunter Paisami to perform, with the Reds center likely to wear the No.12 jersey against Los Pumas in Mendoza on Sunday (AEST).

Quade Cooper, meanwhile, is firming for a recall to the starting side, having missed the 2-1 series loss to England after suffering a calf injury during warm-up ahead of the opening Test.

Kerevi’s absence will allow Rennie to see how Cooper operates without his battering ram on the outside.

While Cooper won all five matches he featured in last year for the Wallabies, he benefitted from having Kerevi in ​​the midfield who acted as the great foil on his outside.

Now without the muscle of Kerevi to steady the ship if necessary Cheika’s Pumas will undoubtedly target Cooper and try and take away his space.

Argentina are coming off a thrilling 2-1 series victory against Scotland, in what was Cheika’s first Tests as coach after taking over from Mario Ledesma earlier in the year.

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Entertainment

The billion-dollar TV war between House of the Dragon, The Rings of Power, The Sandman and Andor

The billion-dollar TV war between House of the Dragon, The Rings of Power, The Sandman and Andor

An epic battle is about to be waged and it’s not between warring houses or mythical creatures.

It’s the fight between mega TV franchises, and it’s going to mean a very exhausting few months for audiences who are being asked to deeply invest in not one but four huge genre series, which between them have cost something in the region of a billion dollars.

The main event is the showdown between a game of Thrones prequel, House of the Dragongo to Lord of the Rings prequel, The Rings of Power.

And if you think the media are hyping up this TV war, consider this: at this time last year, Amazon announced it would premiere The Rings of Power on September 2, 2022. It gave everyone 13 months’ notice. Then HBO swooped in and picked August 21 as the date for House of the Dragonas though spoiling for a fight.

The two shows will air their finals in the same week. That’s a deliberate choice – and not everyone may emerge victorious. It’s going to be a sh**fight.

It’s like if Marvel and Warner Bros decided to release an Avengers and Justice League movie on the same day.

Both shows are gambling huge money on the pulling power of two established brands with rusted-on fans. But will audiences commit to two very demanding, complex fantasy shows?

Or will fans decide they prefer elves over dragons, or scheming royals over the rise of Sauron, and reserve the other little time they have every week for something entirely different, maybe a workplace comedy? Each series is wooing the same pool of fans.

The fact they both happen to be high fantasy shows would’ve been unthinkable 25 years ago, when the genre was considered a nerds-only niche.

And yet the biggest cultural flashpoints in this relatively young century have been fantasy ones. Harry Potter is a juggernaut of books, movies, theme parks, merchandise and stage shows. game of Thrones has dominated the TV zeitgeist in a way that nothing else has to the same degree of obsession, including The Sopranos and breaking bad.

Part of that is because game of Thrones came along at a time of increased online pop cultural discourse, when TV recaps and Reddit were on the rise, which fueled the level of fervor around the show. The series spawned an online industry.

But it’s also because fantasy epics are now mainstream and every studio and streamer wants one, or two or three or four or five. And they’re willing to pay for it.

The Rings of Power has the honor of being the most expensive TV series ever made. In addition to the $US250 million Amazon paid for the rights to JRR Tolkien’s Second Age, the production budget was reportedly $US465 million. At eight episodes, that’s $US58 million per episode.

Keep in mind that The Rings of Power doesn’t have any big name actors who would be commanding large paycheques, so that money is going almost entirely into the production, splashing big on the world-building.

When that first trailer dropped during Comic-Con, you couldn’t argue that it didn’t at least look spectacular.

House of the Dragonwhich will stream in Australia on Binge and Foxtel*, is comparatively paltry, coming in between $US150 million to $US200 million for the 10-episode season, which equates to under $US20 million per episode.

Fantasy shows don’t come cheap, especially when there are 17 dragons involved.

In the middle of all this are two scrappier though no less ambitious contenders in the wings, The Sandmana long-awaited adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s legendary comics, and Andorto Star Wars streaming series.

Such is the insanely timed state of things that a Star Wars TV show is not even the second most anticipated upcoming streaming series.

Which is probably why this morning Disney blinked, saw the unhinged landscape and went, “Yeah, nah, we don’t want in on that,” and pushed Andor‘s release by three weeks into late September. Wise choice.

disney would have done Andor no favors if it had kept its original August 31 premiere date, sandwiched between House of the Dragon and The Rings of Power. It’s not high fantasy but sci-fi is a very close genre cousin.

By moving it to September 21, Andor will drop three episodes at once and it’ll have a bit of clear air. Disney will be hoping that fans will have made their House of the Dragon and The Rings of Power choices and settled in, ready to consider a third option.

And Netflix also has a horse in the race, The Sandmanwhich is releasing on August 5. Netflix would be hoping that The Sandman is releasing early enough to avoid the main fray.

The Sandman is a high-stakes story about Dream, the being responsible for our subconscious state, who is captured and held captive for a century, unleashing chaos across the realms.

It’s not the most accessible narrative and the title has been in various stages of production since the 1990s, having landed across the desks of several filmmakers and onscreen talent, including Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Roger Avary and Terry Gilliam.

It’s only now, after the runaway commercial successes of Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogies and the original game of Thrones series that TV executives even have the confidence to greenlight and fund a show based on a relatively esoteric comic series. The Sandman reportedly cost $US165 million to make.

Decision-makers have witnessed the appetite for genre art and they want to tap into that audience desire by throwing lots and lots of money behind these works.

Everyone is trying to find the next game of Thronesincluding game of Thrones. HBO is feverishly hoping House of the Dragon will be able to recapture the same obsessive fandom as the original series.

of course, game of Thrones only happened because of Jackson’s Lord of the Rings.

Like Jaime and Cersei, it’s all very incestuous. Also like Jaime and Cersei, everyone is about to head into battle. Wonder whose head is going to be crushed by a caving ceiling.

The Sandman is on Netflix from August 5, House of the Dragon is on Binge and Foxtel from August 21, The Rings of Power is on Amazon Prime Video from September 2 and Andor is on Disney+ from September 21.

*Binge and Foxtel are majority owned by News Corp, publisher of this website

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