Eels Blogs

When Zac Lomax approached the Eels hierarchy in 2025 that he would like to depart the club only one year into a four year deal, it was clear the representative winger was going his own way.

Parramatta, while not exactly keen to release a marquee signing so soon after joining the club, have got a clear view of wanting players to be all in. There is no equivocating, no half-committing. In or out.

So with Lomax stating he wasn't exactly committed to the cause, the decision was made to grant him a conditional release. That condition of course being that the Eels retain his NRL contract and have veto power if he wishes to return to the NRL with another club before the completion of that contract.

Athletes, particularly in rugby league due to both the violent nature of the sport and its relatively small commercial market, have a limited opportunity to make money which their bodies will then pay for later.

CTE and the results of head impacts aside which are well documented and continue to be an issue, relatively young men who have entered rugby league retirement will deal with the results of their sport for the rest of their lives.

Taniela Tuiaki and Jharal Yow-Yeh will never run again. Even Eels legend Nathan Hindmarsh has dealt with the results of his 330 game career, having a hip replacement before the age of 50.

So no one begrudges them wanting to make money.

But the Lomax case is a now a case study of how to blow up your career with one decision. R360 was, is and remains a pipe dream. No coaches, no clubs, no stadiums. A narrative pushed in the media with little substance.

It's the NFT of the sporting world.

Yet Lomax was advised by his manager that this was a good bet. That manager, Clinton Schifcofske, should honestly have his agent accreditation stripped following this. His advice was beyond reckless and he's left his client up a creek without a paddle.

While the Melbourne Storm willing to take on a player with this much baggage, it's clear the Eels aren't going to budge without a significant player transfer. And all credit to the Eels management for voicing that publicly to put pressure on the Storm.

It also seems the Lomax and his agent are ignorant to rugby league history. It's not the first time the Eels have played hardball with a player who has walked after signing a deal.

Jamie Lyon disappeared from the club in 2004, before fleeing to England where he spent 3 years to allow his contract to expire before returning to the NRL. I know this is an oversimpification of the Lyon saga, but the result was a 3 year stint in the cold north of England.

Yet Lyon was just 22 when he left. A 3 year overseas stint meant he returned at the peak of his playing powers.

Lomax is 26, turning 27 this year. If he were forced to sit out his contract or play overseas, it's likely he'd only return at the end of his professional career, well short of the money and acclaim he'd have achieved had he remained with the Eels.

Perhaps another parallel to be drawn is with another former Dragon in Gorden Tallis, who signed with the Broncos during Super League, but following the delay of the Super League season, chose to sit out the final year of his Dragons contract than play for the club.

Again, not a like-for-like, given Tallis had a contract with another club. But it goes to show again that ignoring what has happened to other players in the past means you can end up making the same mistake.

At the end of this saga. Whether Lomax ends up landing in Melbourne because the Storm cough up their own marquee player to the Eels, or he's forced to sit some or part of his contract, or he ends up returning to the blue and gold, Lomax has only damaged himself.

Parramatta has received the full support of the other 15 clubs not involved in this matter. The NRL would be incentivised to back Parramatta's stance given it's an NRL contract Lomax is seeking to break. Perhaps most interestingly has been the lack of visibility of the RLPA. 

The RLPA has steadily resisted calls for intra-season transfer windows, arguing it hurts players. Well Lomax has just undermined all that by walking out on a long term contract before returning and then asking to switch states, all within a 3 month period.

Ultimately though, it seems regardless of the outcome, Lomax is set to earn less than he was at the Eels, while putting himself in a poor position for any future contract negotiations with other clubs, who would be hesitant to offer him a long-term, high money deal, knowing he's likely to up and move when the situation doesn't suit.