Zac Lomax

[since77]

If boxing is any part of the reason Zac wants to leave, perhaps they could put him in the ring with a Tszyu brother to help him understand he is not, and never will be, a fighter.

I suspect however it's a much larger issue that none of us have any idea about. When was the last time a bloke wanted out of a club to take 200k less money while in the best form of his career? There's got to be a reason.

I think Flanno has got this one right. Zac is in career best form, and I for one am giving 99% of the credit to the coach for this. No other coach has managed to unlock his talent prior to this. And I'm thinking tough love had a lot to do with it. Maybe tough love that someone resented hearing.
So, if Zac wants to leave the coach who is the major reason for the superb form he is in, then unfortunately Zac cannot see reason. And to leave for the sh$tstorm that is going to be Parramatta over the next few years is crazy. If you go into their forums at the moment, they sound like we all did during the McGregor & Griffin eras.
Anyway if Flanno has decided he's happy for Zac to go - and he will for sure know all of the reasons - then I'm going to trust the coach on this one, and that's coming from someone who has been one of Zac's biggest defenders here over the last few years.

 

[JubileeJeffro]

i watched the interview with him for his 100th game jersey presso. He seems to be picking his words very carefully. States he loves his teammates but only really names blake lawrie. Theres definitely more too it than we are privy to or will ever find out.

noticed this also.. no coincidence Lawrie has been playing ordinary since Lomax has been pushed out to the wing..a lot of negative energy no doubt in their recent conversations together as best mates.
Lawrie needs to up the ante on his performance or he could well be the next one released.. particularly if we can land a marquee front rower with size.

 

[baggygreen man]

All the negativity over a guy who has probably slept in his RedV jumper and would bleed red and white. Take a gander at this you non believers.

https://www.dragons.com.au/news/202...ecieves-his-100th-nrl-jersey-from-his-family/

I did not see his current coach there, only his former junior one from his home town of Temora.

 

[FlickFlano]

You should look closer at the vid then.

 

[since77]

noticed this also.. no coincidence Lawrie has been playing ordinary since Lomax has been pushed out to the wing..a lot of negative energy no doubt in their recent conversations together as best mates.
Lawrie needs to up the ante on his performance or he could well be the next one released.. particularly if we can land a marquee front rower with size.

I actually thought he spoke well and seemed pretty sincere in that video, and it clearly meant something to him. Having said that, here's hoping he puts in a good word for Lawrie at Parramatta as I'd love to cut him loose. They can be best mates over there.

 

[baggygreen man]

You should look closer at the vid then.

Perhaps I was not looking for him. Nothing from his new coach about Zac and nothing from Zac either about Flanagan. We need to know why this guy has been forced out of the club he clearly loves.

 

[baggygreen man]

I actually thought he spoke well and seemed pretty sincere in that video, and it clearly meant something to him.

Brought the tuff guy to tears.

 

[Dragon David]

Lomax wanting out but giving his all in this years games so far and proving that he is very good in both the wing and centre positions and currently Dally M medal leader is totally bizarre. He has already signed with the Eels from 2025 for 4 years on reportedly a couple of hundred thousands of dollars less than what he could be earning from the Dragons.

Only he and those in the inner sanctum of the Club know what the reason or reasons are.

If it is because he wanted and wants to be a pugilist in a square ring as an adjunct to playing a sport that he has been playing for most of his young life and the club has refused this, to me it has only surfaced recently and not months ago at which time it would have been well and truly highlighted in all of the tabloids and on the TV media circus league shows - "Breaking News: Zac Lomax to be known as "Killer" Lomax as he endeavours to fit boxing into his Rugby League life". There was nothing - not from Lomax, the media and the Management of the Dragons. So I really don't think that this is his issue with wanting to leave this club which appears to me that his heart is still strongly tied to.

Hook dropping him might have given him the splits at the time last year Maybe Lomax was shitty because when he got dropped there was no-one supporting him (except for mainly Blake Lawrie).

When it was revealed that the Dragons had agreed to release Lomax from the remaining two years of his contract, he was playing out of his skin and while the Eels looked favourites to sign him, there was talk of maybe some other clubs wanting him and he kept on playing great footy. People have said that he might have an issue with Flanagan and if so unless the issue was not able to be solved, why didn't the Board say to Flanno that we should not release him and patch up any differences with him as he is a player that we must keep. Maybe though Lomax had a dig at the Management as well and they didn't take it very well and told Flanno that unless he apologises, steps could be taken to end his contract.

It could very well be that he had a dig at Flanagan or some of the players but again, why bother to play out of his skin and for the team. Players do in general have a go at each other and even at the coach but they are not strong reasons to want to leave and say that he doesn't want to be at the Dragons after this year. If the reason(s) for leaving are that strong, then why is he even staying for this year and yes we know that Flanno wants to have him playing for the rest of the year but then why not the next two years.

As I said at the start, this is a bizarre thing to me.

 

[RedVee]

I reckon he’s actually a huge sniff of playing FB at parra

If they are planning on moving Gutho into the centres that could be on

i watched the interview with him for his 100th game jersey presso. He seems to be picking his words very carefully. States he loves his teammates but only really names blake lawrie. Theres definitely more too it than we are privy to or will ever find out.

There is a book in this sometime

 

[baggygreen man]

Lawrie needs to up the ante on his performance or he could well be the next one released..

He is one of our few in the pack that has consistently run 100m plus this season despite fewer mins and the obvious angst he must be feeling over Lomax. Block has always played above his weight.

 

[baggygreen man]

he might have an issue with Flanagan and if so unless the issue was not able to be solved, why didn't the Board say to Flanno that we should not release him and patch up any differences with him as he is a player that we must keep.

 

[FlickFlano]

He could have stayed, it is obvious that Flano can get thim to perform and that Zac can peform for flano. Regardless of personalities/greivances they are demonstrating an ability to work through that.

Bottom line, Zac had a contract for 2025/2026 and chose to leave .. He could have stayed if he wanted to.
If he were forced out as you suggest then there is no way the clause around not paying freight would have stuck.

 

[Dragon David]

By the way, if a head coach cannot win a premiership within at the most 5 consecutive years at the same club, he won't win one. This will be Brad Arthur's 11th year at Parramatta as their head coach. Yes he did get them to play the grand final in 2022 and got beaten unluckily by Penrith but he still did not win within those 5 years. He actually became the interim head coach of the Eels in late 2012 - they finished last.

So if Lomax believes that Arthur will win him a premiership winning ring, I doubt it very much and it is more likely that Arthur won't be at the Eels in 2025 if the way the Eels are going so far this year is any indication.

 

[TheRev]

if a head coach cannot win a premiership within at the most 5 consecutive years at the same club

Thats a bit depressing to know! I do feel like most coaches dont inherit 'this' much of a mess.. 10yrs of absolute mis-management... poor board, woeful football staff, roster completely left to rot.. big hole in junior development pushing through... possible recruits have been turning us down for 5yrs or so... thats before Flanno even started..... thats going to take time (and some luck) to turn around... if its even possible..

In terms of threatening for a premiership... I feel like best case scenario is 3-4yrs down the track, when if we retain Latu and a few of his mates.. maybe they are the equivalent of Nanai, Luki, Finefeuiaki etc.. maybe Rumble or Williams or King-Togia are weapons.. on top of outside recruitment finally landing some names,,, in particular a halfback.. because I think someone like Reed is 7-8yrs away from being a Top4 teams halfback... thats a best case scenario... so much would need to go right.

 

[Dragon David]

Thats a bit depressing to know! I do feel like most coaches dont inherit 'this' much of a mess.. 10yrs of absolute mis-management... poor board, woeful football staff, roster completely left to rot.. big hole in junior development pushing through... possible recruits have been turning us down for 5yrs or so... thats before Flanno even started..... thats going to take time (and some luck) to turn around... if its even possible..

In terms of threatening for a premiership... I feel like best case scenario is 3-4yrs down the track, when if we retain Latu and a few of his mates.. maybe they are the equivalent of Nanai, Luki, Finefeuiaki etc.. maybe Rumble or Williams or King-Togia are weapons.. on top of outside recruitment finally landing some names,,, in particular a halfback.. because I think someone like Reed is 7-8yrs away from being a Top4 teams halfback... thats a best case scenario... so much would need to go right.

We know that in the case of Shane Flanagan that he coached the Sharks initially for 6 weeks at the end of 2010 after Ricky Stuart resigned and then he was installed as the full-time coach for 3 years from 2011-2013 and we know that he didn't win a premiership during those years at the Sharks. After a year long investigation in 2013 over the supplements program he was suspended from coaching the Sharks in 2014 due to his "involvement" in the supplements program in 2011. So he was reinstated at the Sharks from 2015 - 2018 and in 2016 he won the premiership and that means he fitted in the 5 years thingo I said.

I would like to look at all of the other coaches to see how they went when they first coached a club but would take too long to do.

 

[True_Believer]

He could have stayed, it is obvious that Flano can get thim to perform and that Zac can peform for flano. Regardless of personalities/greivances they are demonstrating an ability to work through that.

Bottom line, Zac had a contract for 2025/2026 and chose to leave .. He could have stayed if he wanted to.
If he were forced out as you suggest then there is no way the clause around not paying freight would have stuck.

Spot on. He requested a release before the season started. We know this because Flanno had answered questions around it and said that they'd both agreed to wait until after a month into the season and then have another discussion. This tells me that Flanno didn't want to release him after the first request - "lets wait a month and see how you feel then".

As you said, he had every opportunity in that month to change his mind. But he didn't. And as you said, both are proving they can work together.

I think this is less about Flanno (given the rest of the team's desire to work for Flanno and they are buying into what he's selling - see interview with Sloan) and more about Zac's attitude. I think he's spat the dummy at some point and has been digging his heels in (I suspect this started last year). He made the decision to leave over the off season and has committed to that. Whether we wanted to keep him or not, I think this is purely on Zac.

And before the whole "but why treat Hunt and Lomax differently" defence comes out, think about it. Flanno has in the past stated that you need at least one established half in the spine for the team to be even remotely successful. We already have that and at the time he spoke to Hunt we only had Amone and Bud to look forward to as alternatives - far from experienced or even remotely competitive - at least in the time Flanno had available to make an improvement. And outside of Flanno Jnr (who we initially signed as a utility), our market sweep for a genuine partner in the halves has been woeful. Hunt, in this current team, is irreplaceable. If we were to be even remotely competitive it was imperative that we keep him.

Zac on the other hand is not irreplaceable. It's more likely we can purchase a replacement or bring players through to replace Zac. I mean we've got Corey Allen due to come back next year and we have a number of wingers in reserves that we are banking on the step up (CT did a fantastic job on Friday). And this is why I think Bird has been slotted into the centre position - to cater for the inevitability of Zac leaving. It's at least adequately covered in the event we don't end up purchasing someone else. Yes he's playing well, but where has this been for the last however many years? And even if you believe the coach and structures have made a difference, surely Zac could have seen that over the last month and decided he wanted to stay?

I just think Hunt is more integral to the success of the team than Zac is. It's as simple as that. Even Hunt can see the difference Flanno has made to the team and club.

 

[justadragon]

Probably a forlorn hope but- dammit- he's too good to let go without a fight.

Lomax was wined and dined by Brad Arthur and the thought occurred to me he might have a clause in his Parra contract that allows a get out if Arthur isn't the coach.
Parra with Arthur in the saddle are definitely on the slide- can't blame it all on Moses not being there- and the Darwin debacle might be the beginning of the end for Brad after 12 unproductive years at the helm.

If boxing is the only reason he went to the Eels for less, then we're probably no better off and he'll just go somewhere else. On the other hand, he looks genuinely happy with his team mates at the Dragons so he may reconsider particularly if some sort of compromise on the boxing can be reached in a new contract eg not the for the next two years.

I'm not sure if the cooling off period has ended, if it has and there was no further from the Dragons, then its a done deal.

 

[justadragon]

noticed this also.. no coincidence Lawrie has been playing ordinary since Lomax has been pushed out to the wing..a lot of negative energy no doubt in their recent conversations together as best mates.
Lawrie needs to up the ante on his performance or he could well be the next one released.. particularly if we can land a marquee front rower with size.

If Lawrie is sooking on because of the Lomax issue and his form has slumped, then he is a complete idiot in failing to recognise that the coach puts players where he thinks will best suite the team, not their ego, and he would want to watch himself as well.

 

[Auntie.Gerald]

no player owns the jersey

its been a good lesson for Lawrie and JDB

its by the numbers.............and if the numbers are not matching your opponents on game door or preferably dominating......then next man up !

 

[The Silverdale Phantom]

Spot on. He requested a release before the season started. We know this because Flanno had answered questions around it and said that they'd both agreed to wait until after a month into the season and then have another discussion. This tells me that Flanno didn't want to release him after the first request - "lets wait a month and see how you feel then".

As you said, he had every opportunity in that month to change his mind. But he didn't. And as you said, both are proving they can work together.

I think this is less about Flanno (given the rest of the team's desire to work for Flanno and they are buying into what he's selling - see interview with Sloan) and more about Zac's attitude. I think he's spat the dummy at some point and has been digging his heels in (I suspect this started last year). He made the decision to leave over the off season and has committed to that. Whether we wanted to keep him or not, I think this is purely on Zac.

And before the whole "but why treat Hunt and Lomax differently" defence comes out, think about it. Flanno has in the past stated that you need at least one established half in the spine for the team to be even remotely successful. We already have that and at the time he spoke to Hunt we only had Amone and Bud to look forward to as alternatives - far from experienced or even remotely competitive - at least in the time Flanno had available to make an improvement. And outside of Flanno Jnr (who we initially signed as a utility), our market sweep for a genuine partner in the halves has been woeful. Hunt, in this current team, is irreplaceable. If we were to be even remotely competitive it was imperative that we keep him.

Zac on the other hand is not irreplaceable. It's more likely we can purchase a replacement or bring players through to replace Zac. I mean we've got Corey Allen due to come back next year and we have a number of wingers in reserves that we are banking on the step up (CT did a fantastic job on Friday). And this is why I think Bird has been slotted into the centre position - to cater for the inevitability of Zac leaving. It's at least adequately covered in the event we don't end up purchasing someone else. Yes he's playing well, but where has this been for the last however many years? And even if you believe the coach and structures have made a difference, surely Zac could have seen that over the last month and decided he wanted to stay?

I just think Hunt is more integral to the success of the team than Zac is. It's as simple as that. Even Hunt can see the difference Flanno has made to the team and club.

TY.

My vote for zac related post of the week so far. Packed with facts, intuition and sound reasoning.

It asks me o consider why he is sticking to decisions he made awhile ago under very different circumstances.

A kind of denial that SGI and has grown and evolved at exhilarating speed.

We all see it, why can’t Zac?

Winning a premiership in say the next 3 or 4 years, that’s the pinnacle of a rugby league career and who is to say he can’t Churchill?

He knoweth not what he does.