Zac Lomax meets with rival NRL club as new theory emerges around Dragons exit
NRL fans were stunned by the Dragons' call on Lomax on Tuesday.
Zac Lomax is wasting no time trying to find a new NRL club for next season, with The Sydney Morning Herald reporting the wantaway Dragons star is meeting with Parramatta coach Brad Arthur and Eels officials on Wednesday. The development comes less than 24 hours after the Dragons announced they were releasing Lomax from the final two years of his contract in 2025 and 2026, following a mutual agreement between club and player.
Lomax is currently on $800,000 per season and will continue playing with the Dragons in 2024, but the agreement means the club won't have to pay out the 24-year-old when he leaves. Lomax has reportedly been unhappy at having to play on the wing instead of his preferred centre position, with the Eels understood to have the salary cap space to pay him a centre's salary if he makes the switch.
Tuesday's bombshell Lomax development left the NRL world stunned, with the panel on NRL 360 discussing what it meant for the player, the Dragons and interested rival clubs. The Australian's Brent Read said the move was a win for both parties, with Lomax getting his wish for a move away and the Dragons not having to pay $800,000 per season for a winger.
Theory emerges around Zac Lomax's push to leave Dragons
And the veteran league reporter put forward a theory that the Dragons star wouldn't have pushed so hard for a release from his current club, if he wasn't confident of earning the same kind of money at a rival team. “I’m sure behind the scenes, they’ve been feeling out people to know what he’s going to get,” Read said on NRL 360. “I’m sure he’s not doing this without knowing 'I’m going to get a pretty good whack wherever I end up'. Parramatta is the obvious one."
Read revealed that Eels officials had actually contacted Dragons powerbrokers before news of the Lomax split was announced on Tuesday to express their eagerness to enter into discussions with him. It's understood the Eels are willing to offer him a deal until the end of the 2027 season.
The Dragons have made it clear they will only allow Lomax to leave this season if they receive a player of similar quality in exchange. Shane Flanagan's side are said to be prioritising the middle forward and hooker positions for any potential reinforcements. NRL 360 co-host Paul Kent says he doubts Lomax will move this year, but said the split suited all parties.
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“Look, it’s a positive for Zac Lomax,” Kent said. “He’s obviously made his intentions known fairly early in the season that he wasn’t happy playing wing and was seeking a release. I know a lot of fans aren’t fans of these sorts of things happening. The fact is contracts are there to basically keep both sides of the party honest. And that’s what they’ve done. They’ve come to an agreement. So good luck to him. I doubt very much they will find someone this year. But the opportunity is there.”
Zac Lomax in the 'shop window' for rival clubs
Kent suggested Lomax would be eager to showcase his best form for the Dragons to maximise his value on the open market. “He’s putting himself in the shop window. He’s playing for the new contract," Kent added. "He’s not going to try and just sort of coast through the season and just mail in his performance to try and get through the year.
“He’s playing for money and look, he’s on 800. What’s going to be interesting is if a rival club comes in and says, mate, we’ll take you, but we’ll give you 600, because I’m sure this deal from Dragons is we’re not going to supplement wherever you go.”
The decision to release Lomax from the final two years of his contract is reportedly set to give the Dragons a war chest of around $3 million to recruit talent. Among the names being mentioned as replacements for Lomax are Wallabies star Jordan Petaia and Panthers winger Sunia Turuva. The reigning premiers can reportedly only afford to offer the Fijian flyer $350,000 per season - an offer the Dragons would be comfortably able to beat.
