Brisbane great Glenn Lazarus says he will get rid of his Broncos memorabilia in disgust if “drunken thug” Matt Lodge is named captain of the embattled NRL club.
And former Broncos star Ben Ikin has taken aim at his former club’s “deplorable” player roster management, saying it has created a leadership vacuum.
Reformed prop Lodge is reportedly in line to take over the captaincy from Darius Boyd in 2020 as part of coach Anthony Seibold’s sweeping club review following their embarrassing NRL finals exit.
Lodge has turned his life around since avoiding a jail sentence after an October 2015 New York attack and snapping up a Broncos lifeline last year.
But it appears Lodge still has not done enough to earn two-time Broncos premiership winner Lazarus’ acceptance.
“It makes my blood boil to think that Matthew Lodge could be the potential captain of that football club,” he told Macquarie Sports Radio.
“When you look at the Broncos’ history and the people that came before him, I would be absolutely disgusted to see Lodge leading the club.
“In fact, I would go to some lengths in regards to getting rid of a lot of the Broncos stuff that I have kept.
“Given the situation the club is in, surely we can come up with something better than that, someone that people look up to and not see as a drunken thug.”
Seibold has put a broom through his leadership group and is set to recommend to the Broncos board that Lodge be the next skipper, overlooking the likes of experienced players Matt Gillett, Alex Glenn and Andrew McCullough.
And young forward Pat Carrigan – who has played just 19 games after making his NRL debut in 2019 – is expected to be elevated to the leadership group by Seibold next year.
Ikin admitted it would not be a good look for Lodge to be unveiled as Broncos captain.
However, he was more frustrated by his ex-club’s recruitment and retention plan, saying it had created a lack of leadership options.
“The senior list management at that club for a while now has been deplorable,” Ikin told Fox Sports’ NRL 360.
“They’ve left a leadership hole.
“There are so many holes in that roster in key positions to the point where they’re going to go into the market late to try and find themselves a playmaker for next year in a squad that’s out of balance, that’s got too much strike and not enough game management.
“If they end up with a playmaker that can help them become a better team next year than they were this year, it’s a fluke.
“It’s not good management. It’s an out-and-out fluke.”