Storm coach Craig Bellamy says it’s a “shame” that Zac Lomax has left the NRL to sign with Super Rugby side the Western Force after a drawn-out contract dispute and a blocked move to Melbourne.

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Lomax on Monday inked a two-year deal with the Force and declared his desire to represent Australia at the 2027 World Cup during a lengthy media conference on Tuesday.

Melbourne had tried to sign the former rep star after he was granted a release by the Eels just one season into a four-year deal under the assumption that he was joining rebel competition R360.

But the decision to delay that league until 2028 left him in limbo, with a clause in his release explicitly barring him from signing with a rival NRL club without Parramatta’s permission.

That ultimately scuppered his move to Melbourne despite the Storm offering financial compensation to the Eels.

“It’s a shame that we lost him,” Bellamy said.

“I don’t really know what happened at the end there, but I can understand his frustration and I can understand him leaving our game.

“That doesn’t make me feel better about it.

“I think we’ve lost one hell of a player to another code when we didn’t really have to. But even more importantly, we lost a really good person in our code.”

Lomax would’ve provided some all-star class to the Storm backline, although the early signs suggest they’ll be fine without him after Bellamy continued his incredible round 1 unbeaten record with a thumping win over the Eels.

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Eels react to Zac Lomax’s code switch | 01:02

Sua Fa’alogo was fantastic at fullback as the club moves on from Ryan Papenhuyzen, who retired from rugby league last year, with a major off-season change helping the young gun convince Bellamy that he deserved the spot.

“The big improvement in Sua’s overall being here is that he’s fit this year,” the veteran coach said.

“I’m not quite sure with his mindset last year whether he thought he was fit enough, but you’ve probably got to be the fittest guy in the team to play fullback. That’s the toughest position to play physically with the endurance.

“He came back a lot fitter this year, and I think that’s been the difference.

“We’ve given him first shot at it, but we’ve got a few other guys in our squad that can play fullback, so he’s not going to rest on his laurels.”

The Dragons have a good recent record against the Storm. Picture: Mark Metcalfe/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images

The Storm faces a tricky trip to Wollongong to take on the Dragons who were unlucky to lose in golden point to the Bulldogs in Las Vegas.

The Red V have given the Storm plenty of headaches recently, with the Dragons winning their past two including a gritty victory in the wet 12 months ago.

“They are a good side, they’re a big physical side,” Bellamy said, with Dragons duo Clint Gutherson and Damien Cook high on his radar.

“We’ll need to defend a lot better than we did last week, and hopefully we can do that.

“They’ve got some good players in that side and some good halves, and they’ve got good experience in the spine with Gutherson and Cook at fullback and dummy-half, so they’ve got the brains there as well.”

“He should be back in rugby league” | 04:07

UNTOLD STORY BEHIND BRUTAL PANTHERS CALL

Most NRL fans know the story of how Tom Jenkins resurrected his career at the Panthers last season, only to lose his spot in the finals despite scoring 13 tries in 21 games.

But only a handful of people know the painful truth about what he went through during the week leading into Penrith’s finals clash in New Zealand.

Jenkins had been one of the feel-good stories of the year after returning to the golden west without any guarantees before a brilliant pre-season earnt him a spot in the side where he was one of their most consistent players.

Tom Jenkins had to smile for the cameras last year knowing that he’d been dropped. Picture: Rohan KellySource: News Corp Australia

It’s why on September 8, five days before their game against the Warriors, the reliable outside back spent nine minutes fielding questions from journalists about how awesome it would be to play his first finals match.

What the media didn’t know on that Monday morning was that Jenkins had just been told by coach Ivan Cleary that he wouldn’t be in the 17 and he’d been replaced by Paul Alamoti, who had a terrific finals series.

“I like to be an honest person so it was hard to be misleading,” Jenkins told the NewsWire, with the winger not giving anything away at the time even though it must have been so uncomfortable.

“It’s also part of footy. You naturally have to swallow your pride at times and do what’s best for the team. At the time, that was what was best. Ivan and I had the conversation and I knew what was happening.

“Naturally, it was hard talking about my first finals series and how exciting it is when you’re not playing, but I was just trying to keep an open mind because you never know what might happen.

“If there was an injury, Ivan put the confidence in me that I could go out and do the job.”

Jenkins was a revelation for the Panthers on the wing. Picture: Jeremy Ng/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images

Jenkins appreciated Cleary’s honesty and that he told him so early in the week.

“There was a lot of disappointment there and I was spewing that I missed out,” he said.

“But in saying that, I appreciated Ivan’s honesty and how early he told me. He got on the front foot and didn’t beat around the bush. He explained it and I was OK with it.

“Naturally, you’re upset because you want to be there, but that’s footy and you can’t change some things.”

The brutal selection call was justified as Alamoti came in and dominated, with the powerful outside back scoring three tries and busting 15 tackles in their big win over the Bulldogs in the second week of the finals.

It’s why Jenkins says his coach made the right call, and it’s why he spent the pre-season working on ways to elevate his own game.

“It was more of a case of how I could improve my game,” he explained.

Madge hits back at Round 1 criticism | 02:05

“I spoke with the head of performance here on what to improve and how I can get my body right for the season, whether that was putting on weight, getting stronger or different things.

“I implemented a few things over the pre-season but nothing too drastic.”

The footy gods work in mysterious ways, with Jenkins not named in the original starting squad last week, only for him to be picked on the left wing where he scored a double in the win over the Broncos.

“I found out early last week. It wasn’t a big thing. It was a simple case of him (Cleary) telling me that I was going to start,” he said following a much better meeting with his coach.

“That was exciting and something that I was keen for and ready to take that challenge.”

‘Top four at least’ Panthers pristine | 06:48

He has kept his spot in the team ahead of Izack Tago for Saturday’s game against Cronulla, with Jenkins and the Panthers looking for a much different result compared to what happened last year in Bathurst when they were embarrassed by the Knights.

“It was so disappointing to go out there and put on that kind of performance. It’s never something that you want to do,” he said, with that loss turning their season around.

“I wouldn’t say that’s been brought up because it’s in the past and we’re more focused on what we can do this year.”

‘NOWHERE ELSE I’D RATHER BE’ AS DOUEIHI EXTENDS WITH TIGERS

Wests Tigers halfback Adam Doueihi says “there’s nowhere else I’d rather be” after he signed a contract extension that will keep him at the club until the end of the 2029 season.

It’s a major boost for the Tigers just a day before they open their season against the Cowboys at Leichhardt Oval.

Doueihi was already locked in until the end of 2027 but has extended his stay for a further two seasons, which rules him out of any potential move to one of the NRL’s two new franchises.

The Lebanese international made his NRL debut with the Rabbitohs in 2018 but has spent the past six seasons at the Tigers, with Doueihi overcoming several serious knee injuries throughout his career.

The Wests Tigers have re-signed halfback Adam Doueihi. Picture: Matt King/Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images

But his long-term future is now sorted, with the 27-year-old keen to build on his partnership with five-eighth Jarome Luai as the pair continue to evolve under coach Benji Marshall.

“I’m really excited to be locked in with the Tigers for the next four seasons. It’s a special place for me and my family. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be,” Doueihi said.

“We’re building something special here amongst this group and I’m looking forward to ripping in this year and putting all our hard work into practice.

“I’m loving playing alongside ‘Romey’ (Luai) in the halves and working with Benji. We’re in a great position as a group to continue growing and improving.

“I’m grateful to Benji and the club for the faith they’ve shown in me over the last few years, I’m looking forward to repaying that on the field.”

Benji’s law: “There’s the f***ing door!” | 01:27

Doueihi has played several roles in the backline and even spent time at lock forward, but he is settled in the No.7 jersey and shapes as a key part of the Tigers’ squad as they continue their journey to the finals under Marshall.

“Really happy for the club that we get to extend Adam until the end of 2029,” the coach said.

“It’s a credit to Adam’s character and work ethic to bounce back from injuries and put himself in a position to sign an extension with us.

“Not only do we value what Adam brings us on the field, his leadership and influence off it are just as important.

“We’re so pleased to have Adam and his amazing family stay on with us.”