EXCLUSIVE: Parramatta Eels great applauds club's 'not to be messed with' stance on Zac Lomax
Parramatta legend Peter Wynn has praised the club for the way it played hardball with runaway superstar Zac Lomax.
The club could have taken Melbourne's offer of $700,000 and simply given Lomax a release when he wanted out of his rich four year deal, but instead took the NSW Origin star to court and the club got its way via a settlement deal on Tuesday.
"The club has drawn a line in the sand and good on them for doing that," Wynn, a key member of Jack Gibson's premiership-winning Eels machine of the 1980s, told Wide World of Sports.
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"They have shown that they are not to be messed with by players and managers.
"It really disappoints me because I like Zac - we are both Temora boys and I was so excited when the club signed him for four years.
Zac Lomax has been left in exile by the Eels. Getty
"But like most Eels fans I expected him to honour it and now he has to face the consequences.
"To succeed, a club has to be strong at the top and the Eels have shown good management here."
The court ruled that Lomax cannot sign, train, work, or play with another NRL club until 31 October 2027 without the Eels' written consent.
This effectively put his career - and his proposed move to the Melbourne Storm - in limbo.
Wynn longs for the old school days under legendary coach Gibson at the Eels.
"Under Jack, if you didn't want to play for the club, they didn't want you there," he said.
"He's made his bed and now he has to lie in it."
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