Zac Lomax responds to Ben Hunt drama as NRL star finally confirms reason for Dragons exit

Zac Lomax has delivered the Dragons another slap in the face after echoing Ben Hunt's sentiments about leaving the NRL club. Lomax is in camp with the Kangaroos ahead of Australia's Pacific Championships final against Tonga at CommBank Stadium on Sunday, but has spoken for the first time since his Dragons career officially ended on November 1.

The 25-year-old was granted a release from the final two years of his St George-Illawarra contract and agreed to join Parramatta from 2025, before enjoying the best season of his career on the wing for Shane Flanagan's Dragons this year. Lomax's form earned him a maiden State of Origin call-up for NSW as well as a debut Test cap for the Kangaroos and has left plenty of fans questioning why he was wanted a move to the Eels and a switch to play centre.

Lomax has been reluctant to go into too much detail about the reasons for his switch while still employed by the Dragons. But now that the NRL winger of the year is officially an Eels player, he's opened up about the move and suggested he sees more chance of enjoying success at Parramatta than at the Dragons in 2025.

It's essentially the same criticism Hunt underlined when speaking about his release from the Dragons. Hunt and the Dragons mutually agreed to terminate the final year of his $950,000 contract last week, with the club's former skipper saying he wants to go to a team that he thinks can win a competition, and revealing he would be open on a return to the Broncos.

Hunt has made no secret of his desire to return home to play in Queensland but his comments suggested he doesn't see the Dragons as a genuine premiership contender in 2025. And Lomax backed that sentiment from his former teammate after also taking a swipe at the Dragons' prospects next season.

Zac Lomax echoes Ben Hunt's comments about Dragons exit

"I back his decision," Lomax said about Hunt's exit from the Dragons at Kangaroos training on Monday. "He just wants to go and win. He obviously doesn't feel at the moment that he's going to be able to do that at the Dragons. "I've done the exact same thing so we're both on the same page."

Parramatta only narrowly missed out on claiming the wooden spoon as the worst team in the NRL this season, while the Dragons were on track to play finals until a late-season collapse. However, Lomax is confident the Eels have a good enough squad to improve on their 15th-placed finish in 2024 and said he's "stoked" to be leaving the Dragons after spending seven years at the club and needing a fresh challenge.

"I'll miss them (Dragons teammates) so much because I've been there for a number of years, but I'm stoked my time there is up," Lomax said. "I needed a different way in my footy career, and I feel for me it was the best decision I could have made. I'm super looking forward to it.

"I just wanted to get out of my comfort zone. I'd been there for a long time, but ultimately I wanted to win. I don't feel where that team (Eels) finished this year is how they're going to go next year. I feel that with the team and the club at Parra, we're going to have a really successful year."

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Lomax says his enthusiasm to join the Eels has not been dampened by Clint Gutherson's expected exit, after the club captain was granted an early release and looks set to go the other way to the Dragons. "I wish him all the best," Lomax said. "I mean it would obviously be ideal to have him there (at the Eels), absolutely, he's got an impact and influence on the team and the players, but the club as well. Obviously the club's going in a different direction at the moment and us players will buy into it as well."

And Lomax reiterated his intention to play in the centres for Parramatta in 2025, despite his exceptional form on the wing this year. He says new Eels coach Jason Ryles has already indicated as such in their previous conversations. "I'm thoroughly enjoying playing wing here (at the Kangaroos) but at this stage, I'll be playing number four," Lomax added. "We (Ryles and I) have spoken about it."

with AAP