NRL star Zac Lomax released by Eels ahead of rumoured rugby union switch

Zac Lomax has been granted a release from the final three years of his NRL contract with Parramatta following speculation the representative winger would defect to R360.

The club on Sunday confirmed Lomax (6’3, 105kg) would leave immediately “to pursue opportunities outside the NRL”.

His departure follows the exit of Melbourne’s star fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen, who had also been linked with a move to the breakaway rugby union competition set to launch late next year.

Lomax, 26, had joined the Eels from St George Illawarra after the 2024 season on a deal reportedly worth some $700,000 annually.

The NSW Origin gun’s release was agreed to by the Eels, on the basis he would not join a rival NRL club without their permission.

Lomax’s premature exit frees up space in the salary cap for the Eels, who recently re-signed fellow winger Josh Addo-Carr and have Storm playmaker Jonah Pezet arriving for a one-season cameo before his move to the Broncos.

There have been reported attempts from R360 to lure Brisbane, NSW and Australian star Payne Haas on a salary north of $3 million a season.

Despite Australian Rugby League Commission chief Peter V’landys’ attempts to rubbish the concept as a “competition out of a Corn Flakes box”, the NRL has threatened players with 10-year bans for defection to the rebel league.

Most major rugby union nations, including Australia, are prepared to blacklist players from Test representation if they sign R360 deals.

Argentina, Fiji and Japan weren’t signatories to that commitment, with Melbourne CEO Justin Rodski floating the latter as a possible move for Papenhuyzen.

The Japan domestic rugby season starts in December 2025.

“Whether or not he ends up playing for R360, or if he ends up playing at another NRL club, or playing rugby in Japan, I don’t know,” Rodski said on Friday.

“One thing I do know is that he needed to take some time away from the game without any pressure on making a decision by November 1 or anything like that so that he could properly assess what he wanted to do with his life, let alone his professional sporting career.”

The Storm fullback and Lomax are both managed by Clinton Schifcofske and while agents have been threatened with the same 10-year NRL ban, it’s unclear if this could be enforced if those signing aren’t contracted NRL players.

The privately-owned R360 league, registered to the United Arab Emirates Rugby Federation, is set to feature teams in London, Miami, Tokyo, Dubai, Boston, Cape Town, Lisbon, and Madrid and hold a player draft in July.

Former England rugby star Mike Tindall is the face and co-founder of the competition, which aims to field six male and four female teams in its inaugural season.