At 6:20pm on Sunday night, on the eve of the first hearing in the Zac Lomax court case, Melbourne finally sharpened their pencil.
Storm chief executive Justin Rodski picked up the phone, rang Parramatta counterpart Jim Sarantinos and made an offer that seemingly couldn’t be refused. In exchange for the Eels releasing Lomax, Melbourne would pay out the remainder of Ryan Matterson’s contract – all $416,000 of it.
And as a further sweetener to end the stalemate – and to prevent everyone’s dirty laundry being aired in the Supreme Court – the Storm even threw in an extra $300,000 transfer fee.
To afford such a move and remain under the salary cap, the Storm had to be creative. That meant delaying Lomax’s debut until later in the season, paying him less than originally agreed or a combination of the two. It was a price everyone was willing to pay.
Finally, after months of argy-bargy and hundreds of thousands of wasted legal fees, everyone was on the same page. Except for Matterson.
To be fair, this was not a mess of Matterson’s making. Nor should he have been responsible for solving it. But at about 10:30am on Monday, after the first of three hearing adjournments that day, news filtered through that Matterson wouldn’t shift unless Melbourne would take him for 2027 as well. The deal was dead.
Zac Lomax leaves the Supreme Court on Monday.Credit: AAP
In a last-minute bid to salvage the situation, the Storm offered Parramatta a $750,000 transfer. Coincidentally, that was the same sum Sonny Bill Williams paid to be released from his Canterbury contract to join French rugby club Toulon in 2008. However, the Eels were never going to countenance any proposal that didn’t strengthen their roster.
“We’ve always maintained that if we get the right football outcome out of a deal, then we will do that deal,” Sarantinos said.
“It just so happens that the Storm is probably not the right counterparty because they don’t have, or they’re not prepared to offer, what we need to get that deal done up.”
At 9:10am on Tuesday – less than an hour before Parramatta’s legal lead, Arthur Moses SC, was scheduled to make his opening remarks – a settlement was reached. Melbourne would pay $250,000 of Parramatta’s legal fees in exchange for Lomax being able to return to the NRL in 2028. That’s 12 months earlier than the original agreement that Lomax struck with Parramatta, but still leaves him in league limbo.
So who, lawyers aside, are the winners from the arrangement?
Melbourne are no better off. They have to pay a big portion of Parramatta’s legal fees, as well as their own, as well of those of Lomax. Legal experts estimate the total spend could exceed $600,000 – money that’s been torched given it didn’t ultimately lead to Lomax’s signature.
The figure could be higher still if the NRL deems the cost of indemnifying Lomax, an inducement to sign with the Storm, should be added to their salary cap. Rival clubs, who sided with Parramatta during the imbroglio, are watching with interest.
Lomax has fared little better. While the court case hasn’t left him out of pocket, the Eels still effectively control whether he can return to rugby league. The winger could belatedly make a switch to rugby union, with still enough time to press claims for a Wallabies jersey ahead of the 2027 World Cup.
But he’ll have little leverage at the negotiating table if he sits down with French, Japanese or domestic Super Rugby clubs. Wherever he ends up, Lomax is taking a financial haircut.
It’s a mixed result for the NRL. On the one hand, Australian Rugby League Commission chairman Peter V’landys and NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo have been spared the ignominy of having all of their Lomax-related communications aired in court. Parramatta’s suspicions that head office sided with Melbourne will never be tested.
However, the loss of a player of Lomax’s talent is a blow to rugby league. Especially if he ends up in rugby, which has the chance to pick up a Blues and Kangaroos representative – and the endless headlines that come with him – at a bargain price.
The closest thing to a winner in this sorry affair is Parramatta. They remain without an adequate replacement for Lomax at a time when there isn’t a comparable player on the market. However, they have shown their fans, and the rest of the league world, that they will not be bullied.
“We stood up for what we felt was right,” Sarantinos said. “At no time did that mean that we weren’t prepared to try and find a deal, but we felt that was a critical step that we needed to take at that point in time to protect our club.”
The Eels took on the might of the Melbourne Storm and walked away with their reputation enhanced. Now they have to do it again on Thursday night when the two teams meet in their season-opener at Melbourne’s AAMI Park.
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