How Zac Lomax went from being 'the gifted one' to NRL purgatory with one failed gamble

Zac Lomax went from being "the gifted one" to NRL purgatory in a rollercoaster few years that will almost certainly define his legacy in the game.

The 26-year-old on Tuesday agreed not to return to the NRL with a club other than Parramatta prior to the 2028 season, settling a bitter legal dispute just hours before it was due to hit the NSW Supreme Court.

The athletic Illawarra junior was at the top of his game just a few months ago, but now his sporting career hangs in the balance.

READ MORE: Despite issue threatens to hijack NRL as coaches fume

READ MORE: Panthers probed by NRL over ex-star's Mad Monday bust

READ MORE: Players fined $25k each for early World Cup exit

He took a gamble by quitting his Eels contract at the end of last season to pursue the big bucks on offer from rebel rugby competition R360.

The Eels agreed to release him with the stipulation he could not play against them until 2029.

When R360 fell over and the launch date pushed from 2026 to 2028, Lomax found himself in no-man's land.

Melbourne tried to bring Lomax to the Victorian capital but ultimately failed to give the Eels anything of equal value in return.

The Storm offered financial compensation up to $300,000 to the Eels, but the Sydney club wanted a suitable player swap instead, which was not forthcoming.

"Over the past two months, we have worked with the Storm in an attempt to reach an agreement that would enable Zac to play with their club," Eels chairman Matthew Beach said in a letter to members on Tuesday.

"At no time was an offer presented that could be implemented in a way that provided appropriate value for our football program, and ultimately no agreement could be reached.

Watch the 2026 NRL season live and free on Nine and 9Now.

"I want to be clear: this legal case was never about preventing Zac from returning to the NRL. It was about ensuring that the terms of his release — agreed to by Zac after legal advice — were honoured. Contracts are fundamental to the integrity of the NRL, just as they are for every member of our community.

"We believe that Zac is a good young man and we remain willing to work with Zac and his agent, openly and transparently, to explore a pathway that allows him to return to the NRL while ensuring appropriate value for our club."

It means Lomax may be back in the NRL before 2028, but only if a rival club can offer up a player the Eels want in exchange.

At this point it would take an Origin-class player, given Lomax's form at the time he left Parramatta.

Last year he was in the top few best wingers in the competition.

He endured an ugly standoff with Dragons coach Shane Flanagan throughout 2024 as the latter saw Lomax as a winger, while the player himself wanted to stay at centre or have a crack at fullback.

Lomax ended up on a wing upon Flanagan's insistance and the move resulted in a long-awaited State of Origin debut for the player in 2024.

He was picked in Brad Fittler's Blues team, on a wing. Years earlier Fittler had dubbed Lomax "the gifted one" after coaching him in a junior Origin team.

"Zac is capable of doing anything; he's the gifted one," Fittler said in 2018.

"It will be interesting to see where his career goes, but he's a really good footy player."

Fittler could not have predicted what's transpired over the past six months.

Whether it was poor advice from someone close to him or a decision he came to by himself, Lomax's call to prematurely leave the Eels could not have come at a worse time.

He will be 28 years old by the time his NRL exile ends and he will no doubt still have suitors in 2028 if he decides to return to league, rather than join R360.

But two years out of football can only hurt his development and hinder any chance he had of furthering his representative career.