Calls for Zac Lomax to backflip on Eels deal as NRL cub savaged over 'horrible' scenes

NRL fans are questioning whether Zac Lomax will look to backflip on his decision to join the Eels from the Dragons after Parramatta were thrashed by the Dolphins in woeful scenes on Friday night. Lomax is arguably the form player of the comp and produced another sparkling display as the Dragons stunned the Warriors 30-12 in Wollongong.

In his first game back in his preferred position of centre this year, Lomax scored a trademark try from a Ben Hunt bomb, while also running for 184 metres from 21 carries. Calls are growing louder for the 24-year-old to be picked for NSW in State of Origin on the wing, where he has lined up in six of the Dragons' seven games so far this season.

Questions are also being asked about what really sparked his decision to request a release from the Dragons, given he's in career-best form, looks happy at the club and is taking a significant pay cut to join Parramatta. The widespread theory is he wants to play centre rather than wing, but Shane Flanagan's decision to play him on the flank has sparked his incredible career resurgence and led to calls for a State of Origin debut.

As many have pointed out, there has to be more to the story about why Lomax wants to leave the Dragons. The 24-year-old is set to link up with Parramatta next season on a four-year deal, which is worth significantly less than what he is on at the Red V.

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But some have pointed out that Lomax might be having second thoughts about joining Parramatta given their shocking performance later on Friday night. Brad Arthur's side led 8-0 early, but were blown off the park as the Dolphins ran riot in a 44-16 victory.

The rampant Dolphins, who were without sick coach Wayne Bennett in Darwin, ran in eight tries and 40 points in the second half alone. Five of those tries came in a 14-minute period as the Eels fell in a heap, just as they did after half-time in their round five loss to Canberra.

Speakling afterwards, Arthur declared some of his players simply gave up. "We're a part-time footy team at the moment," he said. "We pick and choose when we want to play. We pick and choose in the 80 minutes when we want to make a tough choice or a soft choice.

"That second half wasn't good enough. It just all got too fast for us and it got too hard and we gave up. It's as simple as that. There's only a handful of players in this club at the moment that pick to choose to come every week with the right mentality and toughness."

Could Zac Lomax look to backflip on Parramatta Eels deal?

The Eels are now 3-4 on the season and 13th on the ladder, while the Dragons surged into the top eight (perhaps temporarily) with their fourth win of the year (4-3). It must have Lomax questioning why he is leaving the Dragons for less money to join a club in a worse position.

Lomax's deal to join Parramatta was only announced last week, meaning the move might actually still in the new 'cooling off' period that the NRL introduced this season. The Dragons would therefore have 10 days to try and convince Lomax to stay, and stranger things have happened in rugby league.

"I think he needs to be discussed," Flanagan said of Lomax potentially playing State of Origin. "Let's be fair dinkum about it, he's just in form. In Origin you need to have players like that. He comes up with big plays in big moments. I think he's got the temperament to play Origin. It will (take) a good winger or centre to keep him out."

with AAP