The St George Illawarra Dragons have ruled themselves out of a bid for Bronco Matt Lodge.
According to Nine's The Mole, the Dragons are not interested in the controversial prop's services for 2021.
It comes amid reports that the Broncos are prepared to pay as much as $1.6 million to see the back of the 25-year old.
Lodge has four years to run on his contract worth around $800,000 a season – meaning rivals could secure him for around $400,000 per year.
The Red V reportedly considered signing Lodge at a bargain price but instead opted for Eels prop.
Lodge has played 65 NRL games, originally playing for the Wests Tigers from 2014-2015.
He was restricted to just six first-grade appearances in 2020 due to ongoing knee injuries.
Reports have claimed that a Sydney club could land the prop for an astonishingly low price. #NRLhttps://t.co/nzWIqbLSeo
— ZeroTackle.com (@zerotackle) December 13, 2020
If he has ongoing knee injuries? That’s going to be a big problem to any club.