CONFIRMED: Storm asked NRL to bully Eels into Lomax deal

Explosive courtroom documents obtained by The Sydney Morning Herald has revealed that the Melbourne Storm asked the NRL to "apply the blow torch" to Parramatta to release Zac Lomax.

A slew of documents released in the Supreme Court revealed that during a phone call between Storm chair Matt Tripp and Eels supremo Matthew Beach on January 13, that the Eels again rejected a $200,000 release fee.

“During the telephone call, Mr Tripp referred to the possibility of punitive steps being taken by the NRL against Parramatta Eels in relation to its salary cap if Parramatta Eels did not agree to the proposal being put forward by the Melbourne Storm,” according to a document the Eels tendered to the court.

“This assertion by the Melbourne Storm was intended or had the tendency to exert pressure on the Parramatta Eels in circumstances where the NRL had never communicated such a stance to the Parramatta Eels.”

It was further revealed that an alleged text from Storm CEO Justin Rodski to NRL CEO Andrew Abdo on January 21 was used to try and have the NRL pressure the Eels into a release.

“Hi Andrew, not getting anywhere at this point, can you apply the blow torch on parramatta [sic] to get this done.

Rodski added: “Lomax staying in the NRL is obviously a win for the game.”

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/nrl/storm-asked-nrl-to-apply-the-blow-torch-to-get-lomax-transfer-done-20260213-p5o224.html

It's what we always suspected. The Storm trying to bully their way into a deal that would favour them. They should be expelled from the competition.

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          • Macy,

            Foxsport has just published an article on it, but not by Crawls.

            Our club told us they wouldn't roll over, and they would fight the good fight.

            Boy, did they mean what they said. The gloves are off now.

            • Yes! Hoe, I don't think I've ever been this proud of our clubs actions! 

              guess Lomax made a huge mistake confusing our 'kindness' with stupidity' or allowing ourselves to be treated like trash by storm or in fact a complete push over by NRL! 

              good on us no matter how this rolls. Club have stood up for whats completely right for their fans 💛💙

              • Macy, we may not have billionaire benefactors who can conjure up a PLV-approved $17m roster that somehow fits in a $12m cap. But our unity and alignment up top speak volumes.

                And as the saying goes, compassion and kindness should never be mistaken for weakness.

                • Too right Hoe!!

    • On FB, they posted the story but have turned off the comments 🤣🤣🤣

      • ... And so Analyst here's comes the brakes

        Or this article by SEN which apparently seemed to feel Tripp's disgusting words re actions to our Salary Cap was totally unworthy to include

        https://apple.news/Akj_SxP6jTOy8UQ0GzDY2Vg

  • In Arthur Moses, we trust

  • There could be far more to come.

    The SMH pointed out,"The documents (via court discovery) don’t reveal how the $211,000 would result in salary cap relief."

     

  • This is fascinating to watch. Watch Abdo come out first and say nothing really, except to support the legal process.

    Will this now overshadow the season opener?
    A PR disaster whichever way you look at it.

  • For everything vlandys said about 360 being a cereal box comp, this has every characteristic of something straight out a cereal box. Comical.

This reply was deleted.

More stuff to read

HKF replied to SuperEel 22's discussion CONFIRMED: Storm asked NRL to bully Eels into Lomax deal
"Oh but it happened before the new laws so doesn't count, cough, cough."
3 minutes ago
Randy Handlinger replied to SuperEel 22's discussion CONFIRMED: Storm asked NRL to bully Eels into Lomax deal
"1EE members need to start a fan led petition across all fans to remove Vlandys
Agreed. Let's wait on court then start a blog for tactics,and submissions"
3 minutes ago
Randy Handlinger replied to SuperEel 22's discussion CONFIRMED: Storm asked NRL to bully Eels into Lomax deal
"The "Bring the Blowtorch" message was as familiar as fuck. This is not a first time ask. 
Is there an Aussie analog to american RICO laws? I reckon there is a criminal conspiracy here to be found"
7 minutes ago
Randy Handlinger replied to SuperEel 22's discussion CONFIRMED: Storm asked NRL to bully Eels into Lomax deal
"Getting busted before has held us in good stead for this fight. We should be pretty clean...god I hope so. If not, it will come out"
14 minutes ago
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