{"id":528803,"date":"2026-03-09T12:27:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T12:27:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/528803\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T12:27:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T12:27:08","slug":"wallabies-gold-lures-rugby-league-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/528803\/","title":{"rendered":"Wallabies gold lures rugby league star"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A top rugby league player has switched codes after signing a two-year deal with Rugby Australia and the Western Force.<\/p>\n<p>NRL wing Zac Lomax has made the move to rugby union with immediate effect.<\/p>\n<p>The 26-year-old enjoyed a successful stint in the NRL with St George Illawarra and the Parramatta Eels, earning a total of 133 caps,\u00a0while also representing New South Wales in the State of Origin series and Australia.<\/p>\n<p>Lomax had been linked with a move to the proposed breakaway rugby competition R360 after walking away from a three-year contract with the Eels last year. However, plans for the new league have reportedly been delayed until 2028, leaving the outside back weighing up other options.<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-title entry-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sarugbymag.co.za\/boks-play-wallabies\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">ALSO: Boks to play Wallabies Down Under<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Force are expected to use Lomax either in midfield or on the wing as he transitions into the 15-man game. He is set to link up with the squad when they return to Perth following their Super Rugby Pacific clash against the Hurricanes in Napier on Friday.<\/p>\n<p>The Force have a bye the following week, meaning Lomax could make his Super Rugby debut when Simon Cron\u2019s side host the Chiefs in Perth on 28 March.<\/p>\n<p>The move could also open the door for a Wallabies call-up ahead of the 2027 World Cup on home soil.<\/p>\n<p class=\"post-title entry-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sarugbymag.co.za\/big-blow-tahs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">ALSO: Big blow for Tahs<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m incredibly excited and thankful to be joining the Western Force after reaching an agreement with Rugby Australia to make the switch to rugby union,\u201d Lomax said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis is a huge opportunity and a challenge I\u2019m really looking forward to embracing. Stepping into a new code will push me as a player and that\u2019s something that genuinely motivates me.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe chance to be part of what the Western Force are building and to test myself at the highest level of rugby union is something that really excites me. Like any player, the dream of one day representing the Wallabies on a truly international stage and potentially competing at a Rugby World Cup is a powerful motivation.\u201d<\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A top rugby league player has switched codes after signing a two-year deal with Rugby Australia and the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":528804,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":["post-528803","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528803","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=528803"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/528803\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/528804"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=528803"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=528803"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=528803"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}