Zac Lomax Leaves Parramatta Eels with Unknown Destination
Rugby player Zac Lomax has been released from his contract with the Parramatta Eels, marking the end of his time with the club following speculation about his possible move to R360, an emerging rugby league. The club’s official announcement confirmed Lomax’s immediate departure “to seek opportunities outside the NRL”. This news follows the departure of Ryan Papenhuyzen, star of the Melbourne Storm, who had also been linked to the new rugby competition. Lomax, 26, joined the Eels from St George Illawarra after the 2024 season, on a contract reportedly worth around $700,000 annually. The release of the NSW Origin player was agreed to by the Eels, on the condition that he not join a rival NRL club without their permission. Lomax’s anticipated release frees up space in the salary cap for the Eels, who recently re-signed Josh Addo-Carr and are awaiting the arrival of Storm player Jonah Pezet for a season before his move to the Broncos. Attempts by R360 to lure Brisbane, NSW and Australia star Payne Haas have been reported, with a salary exceeding $3 million per season. Despite attempts by the head of the Australian Rugby League Commission, Peter V’landys, to discredit the concept as a “competition pulled out of a Corn Flakes box”, the NRL has threatened players with 10-year bans for defecting to the rebel league. Most major rugby nations, including Australia, are prepared to blacklist players from representing matches if they sign agreements with R360. Argentina, Fiji and Japan were not signatories to that commitment, and Melbourne’s chief executive, Justin Rodski, suggested the latter as a possible option for Papenhuyzen. The Japan national rugby season begins in December 2025.“One thing I do know is that he needed to take some time away from the game without any pressure to make a decision before November 1st or anything like that, so that he could properly assess what he wanted to do with his life, not to mention his professional sporting career.” The Storm fullback and Lomax are managed by Clinton Schifcofske and, although the agents have been threatened with the same 10-year NRL ban, it is unclear whether this could be enforced if those signing are not contracted NRL players. The R360 league, privately owned, registered with the United Arab Emirates Rugby Federation, is set to introduce teams in London, Miami, Tokyo, Dubai, Boston, Cape Town, Lisbon, and Madrid and hold a player draft in July. Former English rugby star Mike Tindall is the face and co-founder of the competition, which aims to align six men’s and four women’s teams in its inaugural season.“I don’t know if he’ll end up playing for R360, or if he’ll end up playing at another NRL club, or playing rugby in Japan,” Rodski said on Friday.
Justin Rodski
