The stand off between Melbourne and Parramatta over Zac Lomax could be resolved by the NRL.
It has been widely reported that the Storm is willing to hand over $200,000 as a transfer fee to the Eels, but financial compensation has been rejected, with Parramatta hellbent on a player swap.
A $200,000 compensation payment is considered to be a fair offer, with the Bulldogs last season paying $160,000 to Wests Tigers to get Lachlan Galvin out of his deal with the joint venture, which is the most recent comparable case..
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The Eels have put Storm stars Jack Howarth, Xavier Coates and Stefano Utoikamanu at the top of their list for a player swap but with Melbourne already losing several representative level stars in the off-season, a player swap is not considered to be the right play by last season’s losing grand finalists.
A transfer fee would not help the Eels in the open market, due to the constraints of the salary cap. That money would instead need to be used in football operations.
Ryan Papenhuyzen, Nelson Asofa-Solomona and Eli Katoa will not be in Storm colours for 2026 and club officials don’t want to let any more players leave.
Zac Lomax won’t return to the Eels. NRL Imagery
The Sydney Morning Herald reports the NRL will intervene if the Eels are not prepared to consider any “reasonable offers” by the Storm, or any rival club in the market for the 26-year-old.
Neither the Eels nor Lomax want to re-join forces, with the Eels moving on to sign Brian Kelly from the Gold Coast.
Lomax reportedly wants to return to the NRL, despite claims he was considering a move to rugby.
Super Rugby clubs the Western Force and ACT Brumbies were keen to sign Lomax, yet he changed his mind about a code switch after Christmas.
Lomax posted a photo of himself at a Melbourne Renegades Big Bash game over the weekend.