An emotional Matt Lodge says his early return to the NRL was a show of support for his younger Brisbane teammates who are struggling through the club’s worst ever season.
Following Friday night’s 28-10 loss to South Sydney, the Broncos have now won just one game in their past 11 which has crippled the spirit of the club.
Lodge returned to the field for the first time since round seven in the loss, and said he had been frustrated watching the season unravel from the sidelines.
“It’s been a shit year with a couple of injuries. I was probably going to play next week but just did my best for the boys,” he said.
“It’s hard to watch mates on a losing streak like that and you can’t do nothing about it. Especially some of the younger boys.
“You don’t want to bring them into first grade into a losing culture like this.
“They haven’t seen the good times yet but a lot of those guys will if they ride this out.
It is probably a shit experience for them to be a part of this first up but they have got a lot of good times ahead.
“I just wanted to get out there and help change the result and stick together.”
Cohesion and trust continue to be an issue during a particularly difficult season for the Broncos, who now face four of the top five teams on the run home.
However, Lodge is confident there is light at the end of the tunnel and the view will be worth it when their luck turns.
“It’s going to get better,” Lodge said.
“It’s like a reality TV show. Everyone is coming at us at the moment and it’s annoying… we just love playing footy.
“We just need to start winning again and get rid of that stuff and stick together.
“It will be good to show those guys what it’s like to be winning in Brisbane because there is no better feeling but at the moment it is not happening.
“There is definitely light at the end of the tunnel, we are not going to be like this average for that long.
“It’s a rough patch at the moment but we’ve got trust in the club and everybody there and the players coming through so we won’t be in this position for long.”
