{"id":802325,"date":"2026-07-15T18:24:14","date_gmt":"2026-07-15T18:24:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/802325\/"},"modified":"2026-07-15T18:24:14","modified_gmt":"2026-07-15T18:24:14","slug":"nrl-guns-zac-lomax-and-mark-nawaqanitawase-drop-dual-code-bombshells","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/802325\/","title":{"rendered":"NRL guns Zac Lomax and Mark Nawaqanitawase drop dual code bombshells"},"content":{"rendered":"

Zac Lomax has reportedly snubbed an 11th hour approach to return to the NRL with the Melbourne Storm. <\/p>\n

Just months after the Storm\u2019s pursuit of Lomax blew up in the club\u2019s face, Code Sports <\/a>reports Melbourne were given the green light to approach the former NSW State of Origin star. <\/p>\n

It comes as bombshell news about Roosters miracle man Mark Nawaqanitawase also dropped with revelations he will not play for the Kangaroos or the Wallabies this year. <\/p>\n

Watch every game of every round of the NRL Premiership LIVE with no ad-breaks during play on FOX LEAGUE, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n

Lomax and Nawaqanitawase both have the ultimate goal of being named in the Wallabies squad for the 2027 World Cup. <\/p>\n

Lomax and the Storm were in talks<\/a> after the star winger sensationally requested an early release from his contract with Parramatta. <\/p>\n

The Eels granted Lomax a conditional release. The terms of the deal mean the Eels would have to agree to any contract if the former Dragons centre wants to return to the NRL before 2028.<\/p>\n

His move to the Storm fell apart spectacularly with the Victorian club ultimately forced to pay Parramatta legal fees worth up to $250,000 when the case went to the Supreme Court.<\/p>\n

Lomax made a highly publicised move to the Western Force in March. He was not considered for the Wallabies\u2019 37-man squad for Tests against France, Ireland and Italy as a result of a calf injury. <\/p>\n

According to Code Sports, the Storm were given approval by the Eels to chase Lomax again, but have been bluntly told the 26-year-old will not break his two-year deal with the Force and Australian Rugby. <\/p>\n

Lomax\u2019s move to the Storm would have reportedly opened the door for the club to release Jack Howarth to the Eels.<\/p>\n

Now both clubs are set to lose out in yet another messy twist to the saga.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Code Sports <\/a>reports Nawaqanitawase has also made a call to put his future with Japanese rugby club Saitama ahead of the opportunity to wear the Green and Gold.<\/p>\n

Nawaqanitawase had the opportunity to make himself available for selection for the Kangaroos\u2019 2026 World Cup squad \u2014 and also had an avenue to play for the Wallabies during the team\u2019s Spring Tour, beginning November 8.<\/p>\n

However, The Daily Telegraph\u2019s Dean Ritchie has told Sky Sports Radio Nawaqanitawase and his camp do not want to jeopardise the two-year, $3 million deal he has with the Saitama Wild Knights. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe won\u2019t play in the Rugby League World Cup and he won\u2019t go on the (Wallabies) Spring Tour either. He\u2019s going to say no to both jerseys,\u201d Ritchie said. <\/p>\n

\u201cSaitama want him there on November 1. They\u2019ve given him a bit more time post the NRL season, just to clear his head before he\u2019s ready to move to another country. <\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think Mark\u2019s camp want to unsettle the Japanese.\u201d<\/p>\n

Originally published as NRL guns Zac Lomax and Mark Nawaqanitawase drop dual code bombshells<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Zac Lomax has reportedly snubbed an 11th hour approach to return to the NRL with the Melbourne Storm.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":802326,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-802325","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\/802325","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=802325"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/802325\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/802326"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=802325"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=802325"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=802325"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}