Matt Lodge will represent the sixth club of his NRL career, with the prop reportedly signing a one-year deal to move to the North Queensland Cowboys.
Lodge, who has spent the last three years at the Manly Sea Eagles, knocked back a one-year extension for 2026 on the Northern Beaches, claiming at the time he wouldn’t play for minimum value.
The prop has struggled with injuries during his time at Manly, having previously played for the Wests Tigers, Brisbane Broncos, New Zealand Warriors and Sydney Roosters.
He almost left Manly 12 months before his time at the club came to an end, but wound up snubbing a chance at the St George Illawarra Dragons for 2025.
Instead, Lodge, who was expected to finish his career in the English Super League after attracting interest, will take a gamble on the move to Townsville per a news.com.au report.
The Cowboys are in the process of reworking their squad, with coach Todd Payten under enormous pressure following a lacklustre 2025 campaign.
All the attention around North Queensland has been centred on their 2027 side, given the number of players still to sign after the November 1 deadline recently passed to negotiate with off-contract players from rival outfits.
However, it’s understood Payten was still concerned about his middle third depth for 2026 and so decided to make the play for Lodge.
Lodge will fill some of the void left by the retiring Jordan McLean, with the former Kangaroo hanging up the boots at the end of 2025, while North Queensland also have questions around how much longer Jason Taumalolo and Coen Hess will play on for.
Taumalolo and Hess are both expected to play roles in 2026 alongside the recently re-signed Griffin Neame and club captain Reuben Cotter,
Meanwhile the Cowboys also have the likes of Kai O’Donnell, Sam McIntyre, Thomas Mikaele, Kaiden Lahrs, Harrison Edwards and Dolphins recruit James Walsh who can fill roles in the middle third.