{"id":414039,"date":"2026-01-15T06:33:15","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T06:33:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/414039\/"},"modified":"2026-01-15T06:33:15","modified_gmt":"2026-01-15T06:33:15","slug":"melbourne-storm-pursuit-of-zac-lomax-could-spark-nrl-feeding-frenzy-player-swap-parramatta-eels-compensation-xavier-coates-will-warbrick","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/414039\/","title":{"rendered":"Melbourne Storm pursuit of Zac Lomax could spark NRL feeding frenzy, player swap, Parramatta Eels compensation, Xavier Coates, Will Warbrick"},"content":{"rendered":"

Don\u2019t expect the Melbourne Storm to be the only club to knock on Parramatta\u2019s door to inquire about Zac Lomax.<\/p>\n

Melbourne came under fire from rival clubs at a NRL chief executives\u2019 conference <\/a>over their play for Lomax, but Hall of Fame halfback Cooper Cronk believes other rival teams will come knocking.<\/p>\n

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Lomax was granted an early release from his Eels deal with three years left to run in the hope of joining R360. Those plans, however, were curtailed when the rebel league pushed back their start date by two years. <\/p>\n

While the Eels granted Lomax a release, it came with conditions. He is not to play for another NRL team until 2029 unless Parramatta agree.<\/p>\n

For that to happen, the Storm will need to stump up. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think Melbourne have a right to have a go at him but the Eels have rights to Lomax,\u201d Cronk said on the Kayo Sports NRL Podcast.<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, it\u2019s up to the Eels. If they get some juicy compensation, by all means, but if it\u2019s not juicy enough, hold onto Lomax.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt has to be good \u2026 They hold all the power here. Every club can knock on the door of Parramatta and say I want Zac but it has to be beneficial for the Eels. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s purely up to the Eels and Jason Ryles and what they want to do. If they feel like they\u2019ll get something worthwhile letting Zac go, by all means (let him go). But until that moment happens, this story will keep bubbling along until someone comes up with something.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey (Melbourne) are not the only club who will be knocking on the Eels\u2019 door. This will continue on.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The Eels are in need of outside backs following Lomax\u2019s exit but Cronk is adamant the Storm will not be interested in a swap deal that sends either of their star wingers in Xavier Coates or Will Warbrick to Parramatta.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is the like for like replacement but it\u2019s not going to happen so if the Storm offer a mid-tier player and some cash, if I\u2019m the Eels, I\u2019m saying no. I want Xavier Coates,\u201d Cronk said.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously you\u2019re thinking someone like Coates and Warbrick would be someone they\u2019d (Eels) be after as an outside back,\u201d Ennis added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe other one is front row. Junior Paulo isn\u2019t getting any younger and the Storm have some good young forwards though.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, Ennis was skeptical in the Storm\u2019s interest in Lomax.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat are they chasing Lomax for?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you have (Sua) Fa\u2019alogo at fullback and Coates and Warbrick on the wings, where will you play him?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCentre,\u201d Braith Anasta replied, who suggested the Storm\u2019s left centre in 2025 Jack Howarth may be better suited in the back row.<\/p>\n

:I know we\u2019ve been through this but I would assume that\u2019s what they\u2019re after him for because Jack Howarth isn\u2019t a natural centre and you can see Melbourne are lacking firepower on their edges I believe.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Don\u2019t expect the Melbourne Storm to be the only club to knock on Parramatta\u2019s door to inquire about…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":414040,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-414039","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\/414039","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=414039"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/414039\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/414040"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=414039"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=414039"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=414039"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}