NRL
6 hours ago
Bad blood? Storm boss lifts lid on Lomax pursuit
By SEN
Melbourne Storm insist there is no bad blood between them and the Parramatta Eels despite multiple attempts to secure Zac Lomax failing.
It was confirmed on Tuesday that despite significant offers – reported to have been around the $750,000 mark – the Eels rejected everything tabled by the Storm in a decision which leaves Lomax and his career in limbo.
The Eels agreed to release Lomax from his contract just one year into a four-year deal at the end of the 2025 season. Lomax was heavily linked with the rebel rugby competition R360.
A condition of the release was that the 26-year-old was not allowed to join another NRL club until the end of his initial Eels contract. The Melbourne Storm pursued the winger which led the Eels to launch legal action.
This week Lomax and the Eels settled their legal dispute with the former Kangaroos and NSW representative agreeing to not return to the NRL until the 2028 season.
In a wonderful twist of fate, the Storm get their 2026 season under way against the Eels at AAMI Park this week but CEO Justin Rodski is adamant there is no ill-feeling going into the clash.
Lifting the lid on what had been happening in recent days, he told SEN: “We were in negotiations right up until the final minutes. In the end it was decided by all parties that court proceedings would not go ahead.
“We got an outcome but not one that delivered Lomax to the Storm. It was incredibly disappointing and frustrating that we didn’t get it done but we decided to part ways and get on with the season.
“In the end, the Eels were of the view they needed a football outcome. We did everything we could to facilitate that outcome. Including different avenues around players, cap relief and financial settlement.
“They determined that was not enough. There was a possibility of Ryan Matterson coming to Melbourne but unfortunately in the end he decided he didn’t want to come for one year.
“We did everything we could, we went down every avenue we could to convince Parramatta.
“I don’t think there is (bad blood), I don’t think it’s something we take personally. Both clubs are in a competitive environment and were protecting their interests.
“We couldn’t reach an agreement. We would love to win tomorrow don’t get me wrong, but at the same time there is nothing personal.
“We are (out of pocket) we invested a lot of time and money to recruit Zac. That is something we knew was going to be dealing with through the process as we explored the avenues. We went into this with eyes wide open.”
With Lomax now locked out of the game, it seems his only options will be overseas or to consider a defection to rugby union.
“There’s not many winners in this I hope he is not lost to the game,” Rodski continued. He has gone through an enormous amount. He is an incredible player. As a result of what’s happened I don’t know what he will do next or if he stays in the game.
“It’s incredibly unfortunate we couldn’t reach an agreement, but he signed that deed of release which restricted him to move without their consent, and we couldn’t provide Parra with what they wanted to get the deal done.
“We don’t make any excuses for doing everything we could to strengthen our squad off the back of losing a few good players.”
