{"id":515235,"date":"2026-03-03T04:27:12","date_gmt":"2026-03-03T04:27:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/515235\/"},"modified":"2026-03-03T04:27:12","modified_gmt":"2026-03-03T04:27:12","slug":"jason-ryles-reacts-to-zac-lomax-court-hearing-press-conference-details-parramatta-eels-contract","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/515235\/","title":{"rendered":"Jason Ryles reacts to Zac Lomax court hearing, press conference, details, Parramatta Eels contract"},"content":{"rendered":"

Eels coach Jason Ryles said he has \u201ca little bit\u201d of sympathy for wantaway winger Zac Lomax after the club\u2019s legal proceedings against him came to a close on Tuesday<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Lomax settled with Parramatta after agreeing not to return to the NRL without the club\u2019s consent before the 2028 season, having received interest from the Storm after a potential move to R360 fell through. <\/p>\n

The agreement means Lomax is back in contract limbo, although the Eels reiterated they are willing to work with him and his agent to find a new club for the 26-year-old as long as they get an adequate return.<\/p>\n

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday after the court case was finalised, Eels coach Jason Ryles said he was glad both parties could \u201cmove on\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were on the field so we\u2019ve just got off and just found out. It\u2019s good that there\u2019s a resolution and we can all move on now,\u201d Ryles said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHonestly I don\u2019t actually feel too much because we\u2019re on to preparing for a game this week and it\u2019s just one of those things when players move on, the place moves on really quick. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo that\u2019s happened since I played and it still happens now as a coach. It\u2019s the same thing here. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve moved on really quickly. We had to, and we\u2019re preparing for the game this weekend, so that\u2019s where our focus lies at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ryles said he had a \u201clittle bit\u201d of sympathy for Lomax when asked by reporters, but again stressed that the latest development was \u201cpretty fresh\u201d and that he had not had time to really reflect on what it all meant as a result.<\/p>\n

MORE: What every NRL team could offer to land Zac Lomax<\/a><\/p>\n

Lomax saga ends with shocking outcome | 06:57<\/p>\n

For now, Ryles\u2019 focus is on this week\u2019s season-opener against the very team they had been locked in negotiations with over the past few days.<\/p>\n

At one point, the Eels and Storm were said to be \u201cvery close\u201d<\/a> to coming to an agreement which could have seen Lomax play his former teammates on Thursday night.<\/p>\n

Ryles admitted \u201cearly on\u201d he thought there was a possibility that scenario would unfold, but added that as the legal saga \u201cdragged out\u201d, he started to think it would no longer eventuate.<\/p>\n

Chief executive Jim Sarantinos said outside court on Monday that the Eels \u201cdemonstrated through this process we\u2019re not going to be steamrolled\u201d and when asked what message the club\u2019s actions sent, Ryles had a similar message.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was something that was above where I sit and there was a contract in place and there\u2019s not a whole heap more to say about it. I think the club just held its ground and did what was within their rights and we move on,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were informed pretty early and we can\u2019t sit around and wait and see what a court case is going to do. We\u2019ve got to move on with our roster and get ready to play footy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking of which, Ryles said he will have input on what sort of players the Eels could look to get in return for Lomax.<\/p>\n

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Why Matty thinks Parra are on the rise | 01:57<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it\u2019s pretty fresh at the moment. We\u2019ll just wait and see what happens,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Separate to the Lomax saga, one player the Eels have been linked to is Warriors forward Mitch Barnett, who was granted an early release from his contract on compassionate grounds<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Like the Eels, the Warriors are also after some sort of compensation for Barnett<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s certainly someone we\u2019d potentially look at,\u201d Ryles said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s an Origin forward. I think that\u2019s an area of our roster that we can certainly strengthen. I think us, like many clubs, will be obviously looking in that space.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ryles\u2019 press conference came after the Eels opened the door for rival clubs to sign Lomax, but only if they provide an offer which \u201cwould strengthen our football program\u201d.<\/p>\n

Eels Chairman Matthew Beach said in a statement released by the club on Tuesday that Parramatta\u2019s decision to take legal action was \u201cnever\u201d about stopping Lomax from returning the NRL.<\/p>\n

Paulo reacts to Lomax saga result | 07:18<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was about ensuring that the terms of Zac\u2019s release, which Zac agreed to after seeking legal advice, were adhered to,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs I have said before, contracts are an important part of the NRL as they are for every member of the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe consent order made by the Court order confirms that the restraint that Zac agreed to when he signed the Deed of Release will have legal effect. A key term of the restraint was the requirement to obtain the written consent of the Eels before Zac could sign with another NRL club.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beach went on to add that despite Lomax trying to manoeuvre his way out of his contract, the Eels still believe he is a \u201cgood young man\u201d and are \u201cwilling\u201d to work with him and his agent to find a resolution that ends with the NSW Blues winger playing in the NRL.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile this period has presented some unique challenges, we felt strongly about standing up for what we believed to be right, and we appreciate the passion, unity and alignment we have seen from our members, fans, sponsors and everyone within the Club,\u201d added Beach.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Eels coach Jason Ryles said he has \u201ca little bit\u201d of sympathy for wantaway winger Zac Lomax after…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":515236,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-515235","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\/515235","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=515235"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/515235\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/515236"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=515235"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=515235"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=515235"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}