{"id":393103,"date":"2026-01-05T12:37:22","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T12:37:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/393103\/"},"modified":"2026-01-05T12:37:22","modified_gmt":"2026-01-05T12:37:22","slug":"parramatta-eels-sign-brian-kelly-on-two-year-deal-to-replace-zac-lomax","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/393103\/","title":{"rendered":"Parramatta Eels sign Brian Kelly on two-year deal to replace Zac Lomax"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Parramatta Eels<\/a> have signed outside back Brian Kelly on a two-year deal, securing his services through to the end of the 2027 season.<\/p>\n

A veteran of 190 first-grade games, Kelly joins the Eels following stints with the Titans and Sea Eagles. He looks set to fill the vacancy left by departing centre Zac Lomax<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Kelly’s versatility and running game bring much-needed depth and attacking spark to Parramatta’s backline after Lomax secured a release from the club after only one season.<\/p>\n

READ MORE: ‘Major dilemma’ hanging over Broncos amid title defence<\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE: Kokkinakis in tears after reunion with Kyrgios<\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE: ‘Hardly see the ball’: Weather ruins SCG’s Ashes finale<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Brian<\/p>\n

Brian Kelly of the Titans looks to break a tackle during his side’s clash with the Broncos. \u00a0Chris Hyde via Getty Images<\/p>\n

In a statement, Parramatta’s football manager Mark O’Neill highlighted the experience and tactical versatility Kelly brings to the club.<\/p>\n

“We had an opportunity to strengthen our outside backs, which was a positional area of need, and Brian certainly fits that need very well for us,” he said.<\/p>\n

“Jason [Ryles] and the coaching staff are looking forward to working with Brian, who adds a greater attacking dimension to our game.”<\/p>\n

Kelly’s resume includes representative honours with Country NSW, the Prime Minister’s XIII, and the Indigenous All Stars.<\/p>\n

After parting ways with the Eels, Lomax was touted as a marquee target for the rebel R360 competition.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Zac Lomax looks on during the 2025 NRL Pre-Season Challenge.\u00a0Getty<\/p>\n

Under the terms of his release, Lomax is reportedly barred from joining a rival NRL club for the remainder of his original contract, ruling out a return to the league for now.<\/p>\n

However, with R360 on ice until 2028, Lomax has been forced to look elsewhere for his immediate future, turning his attention to Super Rugby<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Last month, the Sydney Morning Herald<\/a> reported that the Brumbies had tabled a two-year offer to rival the Western Force for his signature.<\/a> The deal reportedly hinged on Rugby Australia providing a contract top-up to help secure the 26-year-old<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Having toured the Force’s facilities earlier in the month, Lomax continues to weigh up a move to the west.<\/p>\n

After failing to secure a Super Rugby deal by the end of the year, Lomax remains in footballing limbo, facing the 2026 pre-season without a home club.<\/p>\n

As both the Brumbies and Force ramp up their pre-season programs, the clock is ticking toward their round one showdown in Perth on February 14.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Parramatta Eels have signed outside back Brian Kelly on a two-year deal, securing his services through to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":393104,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-393103","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393103","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=393103"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/393103\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/393104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=393103"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=393103"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=393103"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}