{"id":822081,"date":"2026-07-25T02:21:17","date_gmt":"2026-07-25T02:21:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/822081\/"},"modified":"2026-07-25T02:21:17","modified_gmt":"2026-07-25T02:21:17","slug":"zac-lomax-flies-to-png-chiefs-deal-set-to-be-finalised","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/822081\/","title":{"rendered":"Zac Lomax flies to PNG, Chiefs deal set to be finalised"},"content":{"rendered":"

Zac Lomax<\/a> has been spotted on his way to Port Moresby on Saturday and is edging closer towards a return to the NRL<\/a> in 2028.<\/p>\n

Fresh reports from CODE Sports reveal Lomax is on his way to the Melanesian country to finalise a deal with the PNG Chiefs<\/a> and become another star signing in the expansion club’s arsenal.<\/p>\n

Lomax is set to sign a deal worth around $700,000 for upwards of three years if he likes what he sees in his time in Port Moresby.<\/p>\n

\"BRISBANE,BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA – MAY 28: Zac Lomax of the Blues celebrates with team mates after scoring a try during game one of the Men’s State of Origin series between Queensland Maroons and New South Wales Blues at Suncorp Stadium on May 28, 2025 in Brisbane, Australia. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Lomax had a turbulent ending to his time at the Parramatta Eels<\/a>, spilling out into court following a contract dispute between the Western Sydney club and the Melbourne Storm<\/a> prior to their meeting in Round 1 this year.<\/p>\n

Following a request to join the Storm immediately in March, Lomax has rejected a recent offer from Melbourne and will finish his time at the Western Force in 2027.<\/p>\n

Although it signals the former NSW winger is ready to return to the NRL<\/a> in 2028, with the Chiefs well and truly in front to seal his signature.<\/p>\n

Lomax will play out his rugby deal next year in hopes of a Wallabies call-up at the end of the year, making him a dual international on the biggest stage.<\/p>\n

If Lomax puts pen to paper, he will add to the formidable roster already built for the Chiefs’ inaugural season in 2028, including Jarome Luai<\/a>, Alex Johnston<\/a>, Connor Watson<\/a> and Matty Lees<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Joey Manu has also recently been linked to the Chiefs, while the Storm gave Cameron Munster<\/a> permission to speak with the club amid heavy interest from the expansion side.<\/p>\n

Manu recently returned to Australia<\/a> after visiting PNG, growing speculation that he is also close to signing a deal following his French rugby contract ending next year.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Anthony Seibold<\/a> was also on Lomax’s flight to Port Moresby, and is reportedly set to sign an assistant coaching role under Willie Peters<\/a> at the club.<\/p>\n

\"NRLSYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – MARCH 04: Sea Eagles coach Anthony Seibold walks on the field during the round one NRL match between the Manly Sea Eagles and the Canterbury Bulldogs at 4 Pines Park on March 04, 2023 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Cameron Spencer\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Peters and Seibold have a strong relationship from their time together at the Rabbitohs and Knights in the past, with the former analytical Manly coach able to offer plenty for Peters.<\/p>\n

It is understood Seibold has no interest in returning to the head coaching limelight, and is happy plying his trade as an assistant in the NRL<\/a> coaching landscape.<\/p>\n

Following a shaky start to its 2026 campaign, Manly parted ways with Seibold and replaced by assistant coach Kieran Foran<\/a>, who has now done enough to warrant a three-year deal at the coaching helm for his ‘Fozball’ heroics.<\/p>\n

With the Chiefs already locking down a strong cluster of star players, it is expected they will go on an all-out raid on the player market on November 1, when players off-contract at the end of 2027 can speak to rivals.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Zac Lomax has been spotted on his way to Port Moresby on Saturday and is edging closer towards…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":294169,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-822081","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\/822081","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=822081"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/822081\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/294169"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=822081"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=822081"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=822081"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}