A guarded Zac Lomax has refused to open up on the reasons behind his controversial switch to the Eels next year, but insisted his contract wrangle at the Dragons lingered from early in the pre-season.
Speaking for the first time since his decision to walk out on St George Illawarra, the State of Origin hopeful largely kept his motives to join Parramatta to himself, repeating: “I’m more than comfortable to answer next year’s questions next year.”
But in the midst of his best season which has him in contention for the Dally M Medal, the 24-year-old spoke fondly of the Dragons and said he was content with his call.
“I’m stoked my future is now sorted,” Lomax said. “I’m not the only one that’s made a decision based on a career and moved clubs. It happens every day in rugby league, and I’ve been here for a number of years and played 100 games at the club. That’s the way footy goes.
“With everything that went on with [my situation], I guess it went on for a little bit longer and it sort of gained a fair bit of momentum. It went on for a lot of the pre-season.
“It’s sort of been a tough one, too, because our performances haven’t shown that we’re building too much consistency, winning a lot of games over the past [few years]. I feel, for me, my focus is to change that in my period that I’m still here.”
Lomax agreed to end his Dragons contract early to sign a four-year deal with the Eels from next season, despite being due to earn $850,000 and $875,000 in his final two years at Kogarah.
Lomax’s Eels salary will average out at less per year than he was due to earn at the Dragons in 2025 and 2026.
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