The Eels have organised a meeting with disgruntled Dragons star Zac Lomax on Wednesday as they ramp up their bid to lure him to Parramatta immediately.
The Herald can reveal that Lomax has scheduled talks with Eels powerbrokers just 24 hours after he was granted a release from the final two years of his deal at the Dragons.
The Eels are preparing to offer Lomax a long-term deal until at least the end of 2027, but the sticking point will be the matter of how soon he will be able to link with the club.
The Eels have salary cap space to sign him as a centre immediately, but the Dragons will not release him this season unless they get an adequate replacement in return. They are looking for a back-up fullback and hooker.
The Dragons on Tuesday announced they had terminated the final two years of Lomax’s contract, allowing him to leave the joint venture club at the end of 2024 – or sooner if a suitable player swap can be arranged.
“The club will only consider a release this year if a player of considerable standing is offered in return which our head coach Shane Flanagan is comfortable with,” the club said in a statement released on Tuesday.
Lomax has been agitating for a release since being moved to the wing by Flanagan. He has had several requests for an exit this season denied.
Lomax has been on Parramatta’s radar for some time and they are keen to sign him immediately, although all attempts have been rebuffed by the Dragons so far.
Documents confirming two-thirds of Lomax’s remaining contract are to be terminated were lodged with the NRL on Tuesday.
St George Illawarra are adamant there will be “no financial contribution to be made by the club” in 2025 and 2026 to Lomax’s contract, which is worth about $800,000 a year as one of the club’s biggest earners. Lomax is the second-highest paid player at the Dragons behind skipper Ben Hunt.
“By finalising this decision now, it provides both Zac and the club with clarity regarding the future, allowing us time to strategise for the upcoming seasons,” Dragons CEO Ryan Webb said in the statement.
“This arrangement enables the Dragons to focus on refining our top 30 roster and utilising additional cap space, while Zac can pursue his future endeavours with another club.”
The Dragons have moved quickly to ensure their own rostering moves can’t be hamstrung by negotiations over Lomax leaving his contract early. Often, that situation results in a club paying a player to play for a rival long after they have left.
Flanagan has already met 24-year-old Wallabies star Jordan Petaia about a potential code switch as early as next season.
Penrith’s 2023 Dally M Rookie of the Year Sunia Turuva is also in the club’s sights as his management prepares to go to market after extension talks stalled with the Panthers.
The Dragons are prepared to go beyond the $350,000 Penrith are willing to offer due to salary cap restraints. Flanagan is a big admirer of Turuva and would consider him as a fullback-winger option.
St George Illawarra are the first club to express interest and want to meet with Turuva to gauge his desire to leave the three-time reigning champions. The club has also started its own extension talks with Tyrell Sloan.
Replies
Take Hands off our hands. Done deal and everyone happy. Greig is a must for retention based on age. Give the Ofa or Paulo instead
Weirdly I thought Dragons signed Ofa years ago but it was another Broncos forward. But can't remember the name.
Easy Brendan Hands and Daejarn ASI
bring on lomax
I think we have atleast 5 players that are in the Dragons best 17 and arent playing FG at Parra, or in our plans for the next 2 seasons.
A trade is a no brainer.
Sanders
Asi
Makatoa
Ogden
Simonsson
Then there is Matterson who would easily become Dragons best forward overnight who is playing about 25-30 minutes for us.
We also have Hands who BA seems to not trust at all, who I think is a FG level DH.
There is Greig who has a bright future and Id hate to lose but isnt playing regular FG and realistically probably should.
Matterson is on a fair bit of coin too. Is he worth the reported $600k a year? I would lean on no but he is important to our rotation due to his versatility. Makatoa and Ogden they would not take and i think are handy to keep for ourselves since we have two class Props, a good Prop in Ofahengaue and a good up and coming forward in Moretti.
Greig makes the most sense at this stage. He is not playing FG much, on a deal til 2026, has shown quality to even be picked in the NZ squad. But we have seen he is injury prone and is it worth investing if he cannot stay on the field. St. George Illawarra are more likely to take the risk.
I think versatility is good but not as important as a high-level first grade starting centre/winger.
Matterson is a fantastic player but the parts he brings are replacable from within our top 30.
Lussick is a good option as a bench forward, he bends the line, he can offload, sure he cant play 6 in a pinch but realistically we can figure something out to patch that hole.
Id definitely swap Matterson for Lomax, wouldnt hesitate. Matterson could end up captaining Dragons and they could grab his brother while they are at it.
I feel like signing Lomax would be our most high profile signature since Moses, hope they get it done and he joins asap
If the Panthers are offering Turuva 350k, and we have to be somewhere around 800k to get Lomax, I know who I'd be going after. Turuva is exactly what our team needs, someone to punch out huge metres from the back. He can play centre too.
Good to see you around, MeelK.
What about both? Turuva & Lomax.
Hey NOS, hope you are well.
Both would be a dream. We really need some upgrades in our backline.
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