Storm boss Frank Ponissi has spoken about the ongoing Zac Lomax saga, admitting the “vast majority of people are disappointed” it will head to court.
Parramatta commenced legal action against Lomax last month after negotiations between the two clubs broke down over a potential move for 2026.
Lomax requested and was granted a release from the final three years of his contract with the Eels to join R360, but when the rebel rugby union competition’s start date was delayed, it left the superstar winger in limbo and looking for a new home.
The 26-year-old signed a clause as part of his release from Parramatta that meant he could not join another NRL club until the end of 2028 – when his deal was set to expire – without the Eels receiving adequate compensation in return.
Melbourne have attempted to offer a transfer fee of $300,000 which was rejected by the Eels, while potential player swaps had also been floated.
Ryan Matterson’s name has become part of the discussion, according to The Sydney Morning Herald, with the Eels keen to offload him to free up salary cap space.
However, unless something changes in the next few weeks, the two clubs look set to square off in the Supreme Court to determine Lomax’s future.
“It’s going to court, which the vast majority of people are disappointed with,” Ponissi told SENQ’s Coz and Heals on Wednesday morning.
“We’d love Zac at our football club, we’ve got space in our cap and we’ve got space on our list, so it would be a wonderful opportunity.
“We’ve trained the whole pre-season without Zac Lomax so if the result comes Zac’s way, it will be a fantastic bonus – but if he can’t, we’ve prepared without him.
“It would be disappointing, but there’s not much we can do about it at this stage.”
Lomax is one of the game’s elite outside backs, representing both NSW and Australia over the past two seasons while playing for the Dragons and Eels.
However, he has walked out early on two contracts in the space of two seasons, which has left many within the game questioning Lomax’s loyalty.
While the messy saga drags on, Melbourne are ramping up preparations for their first trial game and round one clash, which will come against the Eels on March 5.
Ponissi is adamant that, despite the departures of Ryan Papenhuyzen and Nelson Asofa-Solomona in the off-season, the squad is still in a strong position and the recent call from Craig Bellamy to extend as coach until 2028 is a further boost.
“We’ve had a fair bit of stability over the last three or so years, which is unusual in the modern game,” the Storm’s general manager said.
“We went through a very similar change at the end of 2022 when we lost three very experienced players in the Bromwich brothers and Felise Kaufusi to the Dolphins and we lost Brandon Smith to the Roosters – that was all in one off-season.
“We’ve been through it before and I think at times, your squad does need a change.
“Obviously we hate losing players like Papenhuyzen or big Nelson and unfortunately we’re not gonna get Eli Katoa this year [due to injury]. To lose those types of players is hard, but it’s just the game we’re in and you have to evolve.
“The new players have given us a lot of energy and particularly the young players coming through our pathways, they have brought enthusiasm and it’s probably what convinced the coach to keep going for a couple of years.
“He’s enjoying what he’s doing at the moment. There’s a real good vibe in the club on and off the field, we’ve had a terrific pre-season and the younger players have come in and given that enthusiasm and energy that has rubbed off on Craig.
“He’s in a really happy place at the moment and he asked himself the question ‘do I really want to walk away from this’ and the obvious answer was no.”
Last year’s grand finalists will play their first pre-season fixture this weekend against the Canberra Raiders, with a host of young guns including Hugo Peel, Cooper Clarke and Gabriel Satrick all named to start for the Storm.
Leave a Reply