{"id":434153,"date":"2026-01-24T09:30:18","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T09:30:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/434153\/"},"modified":"2026-01-24T09:30:18","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T09:30:18","slug":"blew-up-in-his-face-anasta-questions-nrl-role-in-lomax-eels-contract-stand-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/434153\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Blew up in his face\u2019: Anasta questions NRL role in Lomax-Eels contract stand off"},"content":{"rendered":"

We already knew talks between Zac Lomax and his former employers at Parramatta had broken down.<\/p>\n

Now, with the Eels<\/a> indicating they\u2019re prepared to pursue legal action<\/a> in the NSW Supreme Court to enforce the terms of Lomax\u2019s 2025 contract release, one of rugby league\u2019s highest profile player agents has spoken out.<\/p>\n

Speaking on the Kayo NRL Podcast, Braith Anasta showed little sympathy for Lomax who had originally sought a release from the Eels to pursue opportunities with rebel rugby competition R360 at the end of 2026, only for that competition to be delayed by at least two years.<\/p>\n

Anasta also questioned the involvement of NRL bosses who this week attempted to exert public pressure on the Eels to accept a compromise that would allow Lomax to return to the NRL in 2026, most likely with 2024 and 2025 grand finalists the Melbourne Storm<\/a>.<\/p>\n

MORE: NRL prepared to step in to allow Lomax to play for Storm<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWhy do the NRL need to get involved here?\u201d Anasta asked.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cZac turned his back on the game, he said \u2018see ya later\u2019 knowing there was going to be a ban, knowing how strict (Peter) V\u2019landys was on the decision to go to R360, knowing he was walking out on a contract and letting down a team, a club and their fans as one of their best players.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018One of the biggest calls ever in our game\u2019<\/p>\n

Anasta, who recently negotiated for one his own players Jonah Pezet\u00a0to join the Eels in 2026, ironically from the Storm, said Parramatta deserved to hold all the power in the ongoing contract stand-off with Lomax.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhy should Parramatta not have the power to make whatever decision they want right now?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI love Zac, I get along with him really well, but we all make decisions in our life as professional athletes that we know have repercussions.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe made one of the biggest calls ever in our game, and it blew up in his face.<\/p>\n

\u201cParramatta have the power for good reason, they deserve that power and it\u2019s up to them now, the NRL don\u2019t need to get involved.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"We already knew talks between Zac Lomax and his former employers at Parramatta had broken down. Now, with…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":365809,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-434153","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\/434153","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=434153"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434153\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/365809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=434153"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=434153"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=434153"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}