As a long-time fan of the Brisbane Broncos, there were plenty of times where I and others were asked to play the “loyal solider” when it appeared we were under attack from all sides.

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The example that immediately springs to mind was the Super League war. That was strike one for me.

My club were front and centre in leading the push for the breakaway competition. The fabric of the game of rugby league was being torn apart and the Brisbane Broncos had the most blood on their hands.

The second “strike” was the signing of Ben Barba.

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I found it tough to stomach that my club would actively pursue a player with the baggage Ben Barba brought with him.

I despised the club for signing Barba. I found it hard to watch the team. They put winning ahead of club values and integrity.

I mulled over walking away there and then and regret the fact I didn’t.

Fast forward to November 2017, and NRL CEO Todd Greenberg green lights Matthew Lodge’s return.

I am floored. If there was ever a moment when a backbone was needed by the leader of the NRL, it was now.

I could not have been more wrong. Todd Greenberg, as he did with the Ben Barba incident when he was at Canterbury, handled this issue poorly.

Jessica O’Halloran, journalist for The Daily Telegraph, opens with the following in her article on the situation.

“There is a young boy in the United States who still has night terrors because NRL player Matthew Lodge tore apart his family’s apartment. “Mum, I’m too young to die,” the then nine-year-old said after Lodge punched a hole through the bathroom door he was hiding behind with his mother. “A US judge ordered Lodge to pay $1.6 million damages for that night when he repeatedly punched the little boy’s father in the head.”

Read it again. If you don’t feel that knot in your stomach, read it again. And again. And again.

Retweet if you believe that Brisbane Bronco and violent offender Matthew Lodge should not be allowed to play in the @NRL until he starts paying compensation to his victims (two women, a man and a child). — Jessica Halloran (@JessiHalloran) February 19, 2018





As a father of two young children, this story perhaps hits home harder than it does with those who are not parents, though I’ve never been more sickened in my life as a rugby league fan.

An innocent family, with a young boy, has been caught in the cross-fire this time of a want-to-be thug who is paid to play rugby league (that’s right Matthew, you’re a want-to-be thug).

I walked away from the Brisbane Broncos as a fan once they saw it appropriate to sign Matthew Lodge.

This was the third strike for me, the loyal fan. I will not cop it any more or invest my time, emotion and money in supporting the Brisbane Broncos. I am done.

In rare instances in sport, winning in my opinion is not everything.

Unconditional loyalty in my life is limited two things: my family and my country.

Everything else is conditional and earned.

Thank you for the memories to the Brisbane Broncos club, and the Queensland Maroons.

I walk away from both teams happy with my decision and knowing that the time is now right to move on and start a new chapter as a rugby league fan.

To navigate this next journey with my wife and two kids by my side as fans of the Red V.

All the best.

John Martin is a freelance sports journalist and founder of skiptake.com