Eels grant Zac Lomax immediate release as R360 move looms

Parramatta have granted Zac Lomax an immediate release amid speculation the star winger will defect to Rugby 360.

Lomax has played his last game for the Eels after they released him from the final three years of his contract, worth about $700,000 a season. One of the terms of the release is that Lomax can’t play for another NRL club without Parramatta’s express permission.

Given the NRL has threatened Rugby 360 defectors with 10-year bans, Lomax probably won’t play in the 13-man code again.

“The Parramatta Eels can confirm that Zac Lomax has been granted an immediate release from his playing contract to pursue opportunities outside the NRL,” the Eels said in a statement on Sunday night.

“The club would like to thank Zac for his contribution during his time with the Eels in 2025 and we wish him all the best for the future.”

Lomax has not told the Eels what his plans are, but the club suspects he will join the breakaway rugby competition. The 26-year-old spent only one year in the blue and gold after agitating for – and eventually being granted – a release from the Dragons.

Lomax took a pay cut to sign with the Eels after shifting from centre to wing with the Red V and making his NSW Origin and Australian Test debuts in 2024.

Parramatta’s other representative winger, Josh Addo-Carr, agreed to a one-year extension on Thursday that will keep him at the club until the end of 2027. It is likely that Bailey Simonsson – who appeared to fall out of favour with Eels coach Jason Ryles last season before the pair settled their differences – is in the box seat to take the other wing spot.

The Eels had been open to releasing Lomax when the spectre of R360 was raised given Ryles’ ongoing overhaul of the club’s salary cap, which began with skipper Clint Gutherson and prop Reagan Campbell-Gillard being released from lucrative deals.

Parramatta have since signed rising Storm pivot Jonah Pezet on a one-year deal to partner Mitchell Moses in the halves before the ex-Melbourne half links with Brisbane.

Lomax’s expected code switch comes with the likes of Ryan Papenhuyzen and Warriors veteran Roger Tuivasa-Sheck also heavily linked with R360.

Papenhuyzen, who shares the same management as Lomax, was granted a release from the final year of his $925,000 Storm deal last month but is yet to confirm his next move after telling Melbourne he planned to take a break from the game.

Tuivasa-Sheck is contracted to the Warriors for 2026 and declined to comment on his future or the prospect that he was playing his last game for Samoa during the recent Pacific Championships.

Brisbane prop Payne Haas is another high-profile R360 target weighing up a potentially life-changing contract worth as much as $3 million a season, a figure the Broncos won’t be able to match despite a willingness to upgrade Haas’ existing $1.1 million a year deal.

R360 organisers have flagged a start date of October next year, with rumours the rebel league is planning to announce an initial batch of marquee players in the coming weeks.