‘Leave him alone': Matt Lodge not charged by match review committee for tackle that could end Brandon Smith's season
Smith suffered suspected medial ligament damage to his right knee, with early fears that he could miss 6-8 weeks in what was his first game back from an ACL injury that ended his 2024 campaign.
The former Rooster made the move to South Sydney earlier this season and was five minutes away from getting through his first match when he was caught awkwardly in a tackle close to the line.
Brandon Smith suffered a suspected MCL injury - contact mechanism on outside of lower leg fairly textbook for MCL/syndesmosis damage.
Early assessments from the Rabbitohs suggest he will miss 6-8 weeks - likely moderate to high grade injury. Rough in his first game back. pic.twitter.com/JoEL09EiwZ
— NRL PHYSIO (@nrlphysio) July 6, 2025
Smith knew something was wrong immediately, with play stopped as the club's medical staff helped him off the field where he limped up the tunnel.
No penalty was given at the time, and Lodge hasn't been charged for dangerous contact despite plenty of people thinking he had performed a hip-drop tackle.
Smith, however, posted on social media that Lodge had done nothing wrong.
'So happy to be back,' Smith posted on Instagram on Sunday night.
'Wasn't how I wanted it to go, but back playing the game I love.
'Just want to make sure everyone understands Matt Lodge done (sic) nothing wrong. It was an accident.
'We are friends, and if you watch, you can see nothing was wrong so please leave him alone. This stuff happens all the time.
'Much love and thanks for all the nice messages.'
Lodge's weight landed on the ground before his upper body appeared to pin Smith's leg, which caused the injury.
The match review committee looked at the incident and deemed the tackle didn't meet the criteria of a hip drop, with Souths coach Wayne Bennett not overly pleased with the call on Sunday night.
'It's up to (the NRL) to decide, but we're not playing with a lot of luck, and we didn't get any there from that decision either,' Bennett said, having voiced his frustrations over hip-drop inconsistencies earlier this year.
'I'm frustrated by a lot of things right now, but it's not going to do me any good.
'He's happy that it's only six to eight weeks instead of eight months. At least he can see the light at the end of the tunnel this time.'
There were no charges from Sunday's matches.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Australian
3 hours ago
- The Australian
Carl Veart appointed coach of Australia's under-17 team
'Fatigued' after a lengthy and sometimes arduous stint as Adelaide United coach, Carl Veart is set for a much-needed reinvigoration in his new role in charge of Australia's under-17 team. Not offered a contract extension by Adelaide after five years as the club's A-League mentor, Veart's services were quickly up snapped by Football Australia, with his proven ability to develop and nurture young talent – including former Reds prodigy Nestory Irankunda – a key factor in his appointment. 'I (was) quite outspoken during my time at Adelaide about providing opportunities for young players,' Veart said on Monday from the Emerging Socceroos Championships in Bundoora. 'Before I was an A-League coach, I worked in this (youth) system for eight or nine years, working with those young players, so it's something that I'm very passionate about. 'I'm also very passionate about our national teams as well.' Veart, 55, said his new role had come at the 'right time' for him. 'I spent a long time in the A-League, and I started to fatigue with that a little bit, so this is a refresh for myself, and I'm really looking forward to the years ahead,' he said. 'The difference is now I'm working for tomorrow with young players. When you're working with senior players, it's all about the result and getting the result today. 'Now it's about providing these players with a strong platform to go on and have successful careers, and it's about giving them guidance and direction to what it takes to make that high level.' The former Socceroos striker was thrilled that several A-League clubs were giving younger players opportunities to shine. 'We've always said that up to 16-17 years of age, Australia does exceptionally well, and we needed to fix that gap from 17 to 20, and I think the A-League has done that, especially in the past 18 months,' Veart said. 'It's providing more opportunities for our younger players to get that exposure so they can develop quicker.' Read related topics: Adelaide Marco Monteverde Sports reporter Marco Monteverde is a Brisbane-based sports reporter for NCA Newswire. He worked in a similar role for The Courier-Mail from 2007 to 2020. During a journalism career of more than 25 years, he has also worked for The Queensland Times, The Sunshine Coast Daily, The Fraser Coast Chronicle and The North West Star. He has covered three FIFA World Cups and the 2000 Sydney Olympics, as well as a host of other major sporting events in Australia and around the world. @marcothejourno Marco Monteverde
News.com.au
3 hours ago
- News.com.au
Wimbledon 2025: Novak Djokovic vs. Alex de Minaur
Alex de Minaur is out to spoil Novak Djokovic's party when the two lock horns in their round of 16 clash at Wimbledon. The 11th seeded Aussie will enter the contest as the underdog as Djokovic seeks to move a step closer to creating history. Djokovic vs. de Minaur preview Novak Djokovic is looking to create even more history as he chases a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam crown as the seven-time Wimbledon champion looks to break his tie with the long-retired Margaret Court. The sixth seeded Serbian has breezed dropped only one set through his opening three matches and set up a showdown against the 11th seeded Aussie by demolishing Davis Cup teammate Miomir Kecmanovic 6-3, 6-0, 6-4 in one hour and 47 minutes. His victory was not only his 100th on the historic grass courts, but also put him into the fourth round for the 17th time in his 20th appearance. De Minaur, like Djokovic, has only dropped one set through his opening three matches and knows the challenge he's set to face. 'Novak has completed the game, right? He's broken all the records. It's amazing for him to still be showing up and still showing that fire and desire to win more,' he said. 'So it's going to be the ultimate challenge, and I'm excited for it.' The winner of the contest will take on either Italian 22nd seed Flavio Cobolli or former Wimbledon finalist Marin Cilic. Head-to-head Novak holds a 2-1 lead over de Minaur with the Aussie's only taste of victory coming in the 2024 United Cup. The meeting will be the first time they've locked horns on grass with Djokovic winning one clash on clay while they've split their two hard court contests. It will be the second time they've faced off at a grand slam with Djokovic sending the Aussie packing from the 2023 Australian Open in the Round of 16.
News.com.au
5 hours ago
- News.com.au
‘A bit too much': Willie Rioli's shock revelation after threat ban fallout
Port Adelaide forward Willie Rioli has revealed he almost quit the game after being caught sending threats to opposition players but he's stayed to continue to champion the cause of indigenous players. Rioli was suspended for a game in May and hit with fines after revelations of a social media threat to Western Bulldogs defender Bailey Dale with a further two instances of similar aggression to opponents coming to light. He earned support from Port chairman, David Koch, who suggestion Rioli was subjected to 'culturally insensitive' remarks, which was shot down by the Bulldogs in a war of words between the two clubs. It was putting Port in the spotlight for the wrong reasons, and the fallout from the incident moved Rioli to contemplate walking away. 'Definitely it gets to a point where it's a bit too much sometimes,' Rioli told Port's club podcast, Peeled. 'And yeah I have spoken to my manager and the club a couple of times about walking away from the game, which I am not shy to talk about. 'More so ... trying to not be putting any more pressure on the club. Get them out of the spotlight as well, in terms of not have to deal with my issues so much as a person off-field.' Remarkably, Rioli even said he took a 'bit of the blame' for a drop off in indigenous player numbers, a feeling dating back to copping an 18-month suspension for tampering with his marijuana-tainted urine sample while at West Coast. 'I do hold a bit of blame myself a little bit for some of the stuff I have been through, in terms of clubs not trusting Indigenous players,' he said, declaring righting that wrong, and improving perceptions was why he's still playing. 'I felt that was my driver to come back to footy ... be the light in terms of 'we can go through this'. 'I look at the drop in terms of Indigenous players in the competition ... that gives me the motivation to stick around longer, to help the next generation do better than what we are doing or what I am doing. 'I want the next (Indigenous) generation to be better than what we are right now. 'And I want them to have their confidence to make mistakes and not be judged by their mistakes.'
