Ryan Matterson has hit out over suggestions he was the reason Zac Lomax’s move to the Melbourne Storm fell apart.
Lomax was granted a release last November from the remaining three years of his Eels deal, with the former NSW State of Origin star agreeing that he would not play for another NRL team before October 31, 2028 without written consent from Parramatta.
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The Storm were hopeful of recruiting Lomax, but negotiations soured before a court battle began — which ultimately cost Melbourne $250,000 in legal fees paid to the Eels.
In the end, Parramatta and Melbourne powerbrokers were unable to strike a deal, with the Daily Telegraph’s David Riccio revealing it was Matterson who proved the deciding factor.
“The Ryan Matterson factor is the biggest factor, it’s the mitigating factor,” Riccio said on NRL 360.
“Initially there was a $300,000 offer put to the Parramatta Eels and on top of that the Storm were willing to cover $410,000 of Ryan Matterson’s contract.
“It was a one year deal with an option of a second.
“Ryan wanted the guarantee of a second year, not just the option. The Storm would not guarantee the second year and it’s fallen over because Ryan won’t go to the Storm.”
Code Sports then reported Melbourne were “shocked” by Matterson’s stance believing they had already “bent over backwards” for him.
Matterson, 31, played eight games for the Warrington Wolves in 2025 on a loan deal, but has returned to the Eels to see out the final year of his $700,000 contract.
The second-rower on Wednesday hit out at suggestions he was to blame for the deal collapsing.
“For several weeks I have been away from the club managing concussion symptoms under the care of a neurologist who has guided me throughout my ten year career,” Matterson said in a statement posted on his Instagram account.
“During this time, a deal that did not directly involve me was negotiated for several months by Parramatta and Melbourne.
“Over this period I was not once formally consulted.
“The first official notification I received from anyone came last Friday from Melbourne Storm, for which brief discussions were held and concluded the same day.
“It wasn’t until Sunday afternoon where a deal was tabled and I was expected to make a career-defining decision hours before a high profile court hearing the following morning.
“I respect both clubs and hold no ill will toward anyone involved, including Zac.
“However, it has been difficult to see the public narrative unfold in a way that suggests I was central to a process I was not part of, particularly without being given prior notice or reasonable time to consider a decision of this magnitude, whole also managing a serious head injury.
“I was not part of these negotiations. Yet, it seems I am the one being held responsible for the outcome.
“I was the last to know and the first to be blamed.”
Nine Newspapers have now reported that the Storm offered two of their own players during negotiations to get Lomax: Josiah Pahulu or Lazarus Vaalepu, two fringe front-rowers. Pahulu was an off-season recruit not selected for Round 1, who has played 22 NRL games, while Vaalepu has 11 first-grade games to his credit but was also not picked for Thursday night’s season-opening game against the Eels at AAMI Park.
The Eels, meanwhile, were praised for standing their ground during the legal saga, with Fox League’s Paul Crawley declaring Tuesday’s developments a “win” for the club.
“Where? What have they got to show for it,” Riccio responded
To which NRL360 host Braith Anasta replied: “respect, dignity, credibility. They have stuck to their guns”.
“For the Parramatta administration, this is a club that for decades has lacked leadership, and Matthew Beach and Jim Sarantinos deserve so much credit for doing the right thing by their club, by their football team and by the game,” Crawley then continued.
“It could be the making of Parramatta as a premiership force again.”
Riccio, however, argued the Eels were a weaker team since Lomax’s departure.
“They are down an Origin player, they are currently down an Origin player,” he said.
“That’s what they wanted, they wanted a player.”
Rugby league legend Gorden Tallis then hit, declaring the Eels made a statement to the competition.
“Why would you give an Origin player to a club that has played in 10 grand finals… that’s the loss,” Tallis said.
Anasta echoed the opinion: “That would have been a loss… they are happy to honour the contract, they didn’t want to take a second tier player from Melbourne.
“They didn’t want to give Melbourne a loaded gun with one of their best players who decided to walk out on them, to compete against them not only in Round 1 but as premiership threats.
“Parramatta look great at the moment, I love what they’re doing. A lot of what they’re doing on the field has to do with what they are doing off it and the stance they are taking.
“The coach they have hired and they are backing themselves, that to me says a lot to the playing group as well.
“Knowing that ‘you know what? You want to play with us, you play with us’.”
Attention then turned to Lomax himself, with the panel turning the blowtorch on the representative star and his management for chasing R360.
“There needs to be some accountability taken by him and his team here, I would never put my player in a position like that,” Anasta said.
“But if you peel it all back, it was high risk from the get go. There was nothing there and Peter V’landys said it himself.
“There was a risk of your playing not returning for 10 years, and you’re happy with that? You’re gambling, they went all in and they got a duck egg.”
Originally published as ‘First one blamed’: Parramatta forward unloads over Lomax rumour