Lodge pays victims

MATT Lodge’s controversial NRL second chance looks likely to extend beyond this season, with the Brisbane prop taking out a bank loan to pay the victims of his 2015 New York rampage.

Lodge, 23, avoided a 12month jail term in the US over the attack with a plea deal but was hit with a $1.6 million damages bill from a civil suit. Broncos boss Paul White and Lodge’s father met the victims and their legal team on June 11 in the US, reaching a deal which White said both parties wanted to keep confidential.

Lodge said a figure, which would be paid upfront in one instalment, had given his family closure.