'Victims of a mirage': 'Hoodwinked' players can return to NRL, says Peter V'landys

Zac Lomax and Ryan Papenhuyzen are welcome to return to the NRL, said league boss Peter V'landys, after rebel rugby competition R360 announced its kick-off date had been postponed until 2028.

The new competition had been scheduled to kick off in October next year, featuring six men's and four women's teams.

R360 is aggressively attempting to recruit top talent from domestic and international structures in rugby league — especially the NRL — and rugby union.

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In response, the NRL ruled players and agents would be hit with ten-year bans if they defected.

However, in light of the recent news, V'landys told AAP, Lomax and Papenhuyzen a free to come back to the 13-man game.

"They were just victims of the mirage," V'landys said.

"[It's] no surprise. Their current business model was never going to work. It's a shame so many people were hoodwinked."

Fronted by former England star Mike Tindall and backed by significant private investment, the new competition is poaching talent by offering lucrative pre-contracts despite currently lacking approval from World Rugby.

The competition had been attempting to lure stars like Lomax, Papenhuyzen and Payne Haas with reported multimillion-dollar offers.

The delay now leaves Lomax and Papenhuyzen, who sought releases from their respective contracts with the Eels and Storm, in limbo for two years.

The news also means Haas is now effectively compelled to remain in the NRL for the immediate future.

In a statement, the R360 board and its investors cited a need for "stronger market conditions and greater commercial certainty". Seemingly affording the competition more time to secure World Rugby approval.

"The decision to shift our launch to 2028 is a strategic decision based on timing," Tindall said in the statement.

"Launching under compressed timelines would not meet the standards we set for R360, nor would it deliver the long-term commercial impact that the sport deserves."

Franchises are planned for major international hubs like London, Miami, Tokyo, Dubai, Boston, Cape Town, Lisbon and Madrid.