Dragon David
First Grade
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Well that's a twist. Why there I wonder?Was just old by a mate, who got told by a mate ,yes it's all trueCanberra is preferred destination
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Well that's a twist. Why there I wonder?Was just old by a mate, who got told by a mate ,yes it's all true
Interesting (if true) considering how much he says he loves the Wollongong life style that includes the beach, etc. Canberra is very different. And (if true) and Zac really does want to go at the end of this season, I'd say you can give us Tapine, Fogarty, or Timoko or you can f**k off. Ricky loves Timoko and Kris too, so I'm not sure there's legs in this considering Zac will want to play centre.. unless Ricky is thinking Zac to 1.Was just old by a mate, who got told by a mate ,yes it's all true
No idea, but possibly since they lost Wighton, they would have capacity to pay him the money, can't see Roosters paying him that, nor Parra, they have Moses & Brown on good coin.
Webster banging on again. Sure we’ve been crap but really, how many players have we let go that have killed it somewhere else, played rep and won premierships.Why the Dragons can’t let Zac Lomax walk out the door
Andrew Webster
Chief Sports Writer
March 11, 2024 — 3.40pm
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When Shane Flanagan first got his feet under the desk at St George Illawarra, there were two players he needed to unlock: Tyrell Sloan and Zac Lomax.
Sloan had to learn there were two parts to playing fullback: knowing when and where to inject himself in attack but, more importantly, how to put his body on the line in defence.
https://archive.md/ViSKS/again?url=...lomax-walk-out-the-door-20240311-p5fbbv.html#
https://archive.md/ViSKS/again?url=...lomax-walk-out-the-door-20240311-p5fbbv.html#
Tyrell Sloan has scored the first try of the new era at the Dragons under Shane Flanagan.
To give the 21-year-old a harder edge, the coach wanted to dispatch him to the boxing gymnasium of his former Sharks captain, Paul Gallen, but a broken thumb suffered in last year’s Koori Knockout — and the fact Gallen is on the books at Cronulla — meant the idea was put on ice.
Instead, Sloan worked during the pre-season with sports psychs on the mental side of his game, learning to be more resilient, and the result was there for all to see in the first-round win over the Gold Coast Titans: he scored three tries and, more importantly, missed just one tackle.
Early days, of course, but he looked a different player to the one who wept in Latrell Mitchell’s arms after a heavy defeat in last year’s Charity Shield; a different player to the one who had asked for a release the year before that.
Lomax, though, is a different story. He is Flanagan’s toughest project.
Zac Lomax is the project player Shane Flanagan is trying to unlock.CREDIT: GETTY
Sure, he smashed out 266 metres from 26 runs, scoring a try and was generally the best of the back five, who had Des Hasler’s men on the back foot at the start of each attacking set for most of the night.
But Lomax’s nose remains out of joint because he did all this from the wing, not his preferred position of centre, which isn’t even his preferred position because he’s long considered himself a fullback. It’s hard to keep up.
Whether Lomax stays at the Dragons beyond next season remains to be seen, but it’s clear there’s growing tension between player and club.
Flanagan says he won’t release the 24-year-old this season but will open discussions about his future after round four. If the player was happy, they wouldn’t be having discussions at all.
Two stories in the last week suggest there’s trouble in WIN Stadium paradise.
The first was raised on Fox Sports about a meeting between Lomax and Flanagan in which the coach delivered some home truths. Actually, some hard facts: that, statistically, Lomax ranked “22nd or 23rd” out of the 34 centres in the game.
It was a telling figure, and a sobering one for Lomax, but the mere fact that details of such a personal meeting between player and coach were leaked suggests the Dragons have had enough of the narrative around their moody outside back.
The second story was broken by the Herald on Sunday and it was about the Dragons chasing Wallabies star Jordan Petaia, who is off contract at the end of the year. A potential fullback or centre, he’d be a perfect replacement if Lomax found another club.
So not only are the Dragons prepared to start talks about releasing Lomax, but they also have their eyes on a ready-made replacement. After one round.
Reds and Wallabies star Jordan Petaia is in the Dragons’ sightsCREDIT: GETTY
Surely, the better outcome for the Dragons and Lomax is for them to hug it out and live happily ever after. For Lomax to become the superstar centre/fullback/winger he was born to be and the Dragons to be his happy place for the rest of his career.
How many more local juniors will the Dragons let go? How many will they let go and then pay for them to come back?
Kogarah-born prop Hame Sele showed all the promise in the world when he was playing for the Dragons’ NYC side, representing Australian schoolboys and NSW under-20s along the way. He played two seasons of NRL before being set free, his career parked at the crossroads. Penrith picked him up, and he showed enough to earn a contract with South Sydney.
Last year, the Dragons signed him on a three-year deal.
Local junior Luciano Leilua is back at the Dragons on a big-money contract.CREDIT: GETTY
Hurstville United junior Luciano Leilua played with Sele in the same NYC and Australian teams before graduating to the NRL side, only to be cut adrift after four seasons. He returns this season after four seasons at the Wests Tigers and Cowboys, ready to wreak havoc on an edge.
He’s also on a three-year deal: $900,000 this season and then $700,000 a year for 2025 and 2026.
Apart from the Tigers, only the Dragons could set free quality local juniors before paying more to entice them back to their club.
Often, players need a change to realise their potential, but most just require the right kind of coaching and support to turn them into quality players.
That Sele and Leilua return as vastly better players than when they left speaks to the dysfunction that’s existed at the joint-venture for years.
Both are expected to line up against the Dolphins in Redcliffe on Sunday night, along with last year’s player of the year, Blake Lawrie. How long has it been since the Dragons could inject that type of talent into their forward pack?
Which brings us back to Lomax, who hails from Temora and has come through the Illawarra junior system.
He’s on $800,000 a year until the end of 2026, but both Parramatta and the Roosters are reportedly interested in getting him sooner.
The easy option for Flanagan would be to let a cranky player go, but he assures me he wants to make it work with Lomax.
If that’s the case, it’s on Lomax to make it work with the Dragons. Imagine how much better it will be for both parties if they do
Just posted this on the Fox Sports feedback website......
I believe that Webster is a dragon supporter.
I dont think O'Connor was a local junior, he came in from Union I believe, and the Morris twins would be a good start to who we have let go.
Fitzgibbon, Patten, Kite, Bailey (not premiership but huge loss), Ryles (Grand Final), probably a lot more
Dragons reject request for Lomax to talk to Eels and rival clubs
Parramatta recently contacted the Dragons to enquire about Lomax’s contract status, with St George Illawarra saying the 24-year-old did not have their blessing to explore his options.www.brisbanetimes.com.au
Well the only way we release Lomax from next year if winger is his best spot for the team and he is in too much coin for that and the balance of the team and cap etc going forwardDragons reject request for Lomax to talk to Eels and rival clubs
Parramatta recently contacted the Dragons to enquire about Lomax’s contract status, with St George Illawarra saying the 24-year-old did not have their blessing to explore his options.
Correct, the only one that can shut this down is Lomax, Flanno is not going to budge and since when is it acceptable for management to ask for a release when the player has 2 years left on his contract regardless if the player likes what position he is playing or not. So it was the Roosters, then Raiders now its the Eels.
