{"id":494054,"date":"2026-02-21T06:14:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T06:14:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/494054\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T06:14:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T06:14:08","slug":"could-mattersons-injury-break-lomax-deadlock-nrl-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/494054\/","title":{"rendered":"Could Matterson\u2019s injury break Lomax deadlock? – NRL News"},"content":{"rendered":"

It seems that Ryan Matterson’s concussion issues could offer a bittersweet solution to the ongoing saga between Melbourne and Parramatta over Zac Lomax<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Parramatta’s Matterson has been battling a long history of head injuries throughout his NRL<\/a> career, and it seems his concussion struggles may now be at a crossroads.<\/p>\n

In 2018, Matterson suffered three head knocks in as many weeks, and he recalls the struggle vividly.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI couldn’t leave to go anywhere,\u201d Matterson told NRL<\/a>.com.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\u201cI was dizzy, I had sensitivity to light and noise. I was getting tired easily. With the head, it’s a touchy subject because not many people know about it, and only I, as an individual, know how I feel.\u201d
His concussion issues continued to follow him into his time at the Wests Tigers<\/a>, where he eventually left, citing how he felt the club mishandled his head injury concerns.<\/p>\n

After further dizziness and headaches in 2024, Matterson was forced to undergo neurological testing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Last season, he made just four NRL<\/a> appearances and has yet to feature in any of Parramatta’s trials this year.<\/p>\n

Now, with his ongoing health concerns, Matterson’s future at the Eels, and in NRL<\/a>, seems uncertain.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Despite being contracted until the end of this season, Parramatta granted Matterson permission to explore other options last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, finding a new home has proven difficult.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This uncertainty around Matterson’s future is coinciding with the legal battle between Parramatta and Melbourne over Zac Lomax’s release.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Parramatta is fighting to block Lomax’s move to Melbourne, arguing that the winger’s release from his four-year contract is contingent on the Eels’ written consent.\u00a0<\/p>\n

To resolve the situation, Melbourne and Parramatta have discussed a deal in which the Storm would help cover a portion of Matterson’s 2026 contract.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Sources close to the negotiations revealed that Melbourne believes it could contribute to Matterson’s salary without actually taking him on as a player.\u00a0<\/p>\n

However, the two clubs have struggled to agree on the specifics, with Melbourne offering $211,000 toward Matterson’s contract, plus $89,000 in cash.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Parramatta, however, insists on double that amount to cover the remaining obligations.<\/p>\n

This impasse is unlikely to be resolved before the Eels’ round one clash with the Storm.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Melbourne’s fight for the Origin winger is expected to intensify following an Achilles injury to Xavier Coates<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Matterson’s future now seems as precarious as ever, and should his ongoing medical issues force him into an early retirement, Parramatta may seek salary cap dispensation.\u00a0<\/p>\n

This would help alleviate some of the club’s financial burden and could provide the key to resolving the matter between the Eels and the Storm.<\/p>\n

Get set for the footy with the FREE Zero Tackle 2026 NRL Season Guide!<\/a> Packed with 130+ pages of player profiles, team previews, insights and analysis, the 2026 NRL Season Guide<\/a> is built for fans who want the full picture. Download your free Season Guide HERE.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It seems that Ryan Matterson’s concussion issues could offer a bittersweet solution to the ongoing saga between Melbourne…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":48628,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-494054","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\/494054","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=494054"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/494054\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=494054"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=494054"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=494054"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}