Castleford Tigers have expressed an interest in signing Manly Sea Eagles forward Matt Lodge ahead of the 2026 season.
That’s according to the Daily Telegraph down under, who claim the forward is ‘weighing up’ offers from the Northern Hemisphere.
Lodge has reached the end of his contract with Manly in the NRL, with the forward being given the opportunity to stay on with the club.
Speaking in February when he signed his deal for 2025, Lodge explained how the contract allowed him to continue working on a building site away from rugby league, while also keeping his hand in rugby league.
That deal didn’t prevent him from making 12 appearances for Manly in the NRL last season, though, with Lodge becoming a regular member of the first team fold over the summer months. In fact, he started 10 of those outings and got over the line twice in August to hammer home his importance.
As such, the report claims he had been offered the chance to stay put on a similar package on the northern beaches.
However, the opportunity to move to Super League has provided him with options, with most clubs still having room to add players from abroad.
Super League overseas quota rules have been eased, allowing clubs to sign up to 10 players from down under. Hull FC, Leigh Leopards and York Knights are already full up and Castleford Tigers were before the release of Tex Hoy, but most outfits still have space on their quota for an addition such as Lodge.
The 30-year-old started his career with Wests Tigers in 2014 but after leaving the club at the end of the 2015 season, he had to drop down to the Queensland Cup before landing his next NRL opportunity.
That came with Brisbane Broncos in 2018, with the prop making 65 outings there. Since then he has represented New Zealand Warriors, Sydney Roosters and Manly, racking up 133 NRL appearances in total.
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