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The victims of a violent home invasion in New York by rugby league player Matthew Lodge say they feel betrayed by the National Rugby League for allowing him to play while their court ordered compensation remains unpaid.
Joseph Cartwright and his partner Ruth Fowler have spoken to 7.30 about their frustration that Lodge is yet to apologise or show them remorse for his drunken rampage in 2015.
Lodge is also yet to pay back a cent of the $1.6 million in damages he owes to the couple and other victims.
Freshly released CCTV footage obtained by the ABC shows for the first time the moments in the early hours of the morning when Lodge chased two women into a New York apartment building.
Mr Cartwright lived on the ground floor of the Upper West Side apartment building and attempted to come to the women's rescue, but an intoxicated and agitated Lodge put him in a head lock and wrestled him to the ground before punching him repeatedly.
"We don't want to ruin his life, we want him to take responsibility for his actions," Mr Cartwright said.
"He has not written to us to apologise, [there's been] no communication from him in any form whether it's remorse, apology or wondering whether we're well. Nothing.
"From our view there is no sense of remorse, [and] how can there be redemption without remorse?"
The talented 22-year-old forward is just days away from pulling on his boots in Thursday's season opener for the Brisbane Broncos after more than two years out of the game.
The Broncos and the NRL have stood by Lodge, arguing he has worked hard to turn his life around — including quitting alcohol and recently becoming a father — and deserves a second chance.
Lodge has not spoken to the media, but said he was excited to be back in a video posted on the Broncos website.
"It's been a long few years … had a fair stint out and it taught me a lot of lessons, so I'm pretty grateful for the experience and I think I can come back from it a lot better as a player and as a person," Lodge said.
But his victims are furious that his return to professional football is being portrayed as a redemption story for a troubled young man.
"It feels like he's being revered, that he's the second chance, he's going to be a hero or somebody kids look up to and that doesn't feel right," Ms Fowler said.
Ms Fowler was forced to hide in fear in her locked bathroom, desperately trying to protect her nine-year-old child Henry as Lodge repeatedly tried to bash down the door.
Lodge continued to smash up the apartment until he was arrested at gunpoint by New York police.
"It's really disappointing, especially the feeling now that he seems to feel like he's a victim and he's gone through a lot and he has suffered while not taking responsibility for what he did to us," Ms Fowler said.
After his rampage, Lodge was sacked by his then club Wests Tigers and avoided a jail sentence after he consented to community service and treatment for anger and alcohol abuse in Australia.
But his victims were deeply unsatisfied with that court verdict.
The couple launched a civil lawsuit in which Lodge was ordered to pay them $1.6 million, but he has so far failed to do so.
Their lawyer Renan Varghese, from New York firm Wigdor LLP, said they are considering further legal action in Australia to attempt to recover the money.
"We're looking at actions through the Australian courts and outside of the courts to ensure that Mr Lodge is held accountable," Mr Varghese said.
Mr Cartwright and Ms Fowler say the attack has changed their lives forever, forcing them to move out of their home of 20 years because they felt unsafe and their son Henry required counselling and continues to struggle with the trauma.
The Broncos, the NRL and Lodge's manager Isaac Moses were all contacted for comment.
Topics: law-crime-and-justice, nrl, sport, united-states, australia
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