‘Get a bank guarantee’: V’landys’ warning to Zac Lomax over R360 ‘pirates’

Zac Lomax should be seeking a bank guarantee from R360, otherwise “he will be jeopardising his whole career on a wild promise”, according to ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys.

Lomax was granted a release by Parramatta on Sunday, fuelling speculation he was set to sign for the upstart rugby competition.

V’landys confirmed the NSW Origin winger would be hit with a ten-year ban from the NRL if he joined the new league, but insisted the harsh penalty was designed to punish the “pirates” wanting to gut the NRL competition rather than the players themselves.

“I’m a custodian of the game – naturally I’ll look after the clubs and the fans, and I’ll take the harshest action not against the players, but against these ‘pirates’ who want to come in and take advantage of the players,” V’landys said.

Lomax parted ways with the Eels despite being just one year into a four-year, $2.8m deal.

Eels general manager of football Mark O’Neill, chief executive Jim Sarantinos and coach Jason Ryles called an urgent meeting with Lomax after they returned from an overseas fact-finding mission earlier this month.

The 26-year-old had been heavily linked to the new competition and O’Neill and Sarantinos wanted to bring the matter to a head, rather than risk Lomax cutting and running a month or two into the 2026 NRL season.

Lomax was up front with Parramatta when he was first linked to R360 in August, and confirmed he was open to playing if the competition gets up and running.

Parramatta appreciated the player’s honesty and willingness to sign an agreement preventing him signing for a rival NRL club before his Eels deal ended in 2028.

“It had been well publicised Zac was one of the players linked to R360, and he had come through the front door with us when that talk first came up, and basically said, ‘There’s been some conversation, and if it gets off the ground, it’s something I’m interested in looking at’,” Sarantinos said.

“About a week or so ago, there was another conversation had with Zac about an immediate release.”

O’Neill added: “We didn’t want to get to March or April, then a player seeks a release, or doesn’t want to be there. We wanted to know now.”

Lomax’s exit comes after Ryan Papenhuyzen last month quit the Melbourne Storm with a year to run on his deal. Broncos prop Payne Haas is also being heavily linked to R360, which is reportedly set to kick off next October.

V’landys said players breaking their NRL contracts were risking their livelihoods.

“I feel sorry for Zac, I feel sorry for Ryan Papenhuyzen, I think they’re being ill-advised and they’re jeopardising their whole careers on wild promises,” V’landys said on Monday.

“What I would be strongly recommending to them is to get irrevocable bank guarantees that they will actually get paid.

“Anyone can make wild promises. Nobody has done any due diligence on any [R360] business model.

“Even if the competition gets off the ground, there’s no guarantee it will generate the revenue to be able to pay the players ... get a bank guarantee they can’t revoke, otherwise these players are heading down a slippery slope.”

Sarantinos said Lomax was content to waive the right to join a rival NRL club.

“He had a contract with us through to the end of 2028, there was no disputing this, and Zac didn’t contest or challenge it – there are principles we felt should be honoured; our fans will appreciate that stance,” Sarantinos said.

The next question for the Eels is what to do with the salary cap money freed up by Lomax’s exit. More than a dozen players had been pitched to the Eels within 12 hours of the Lomax news becoming public knowledge.

O’Neill said the club was happy to give several young outside backs the chance to impress over the summer, while the money could yet be used to fill another position, including a middle forward.

Nelson Asofa-Solomona has been linked to the club after he was freed by Melbourne. The towering Kiwi enjoys a tight bond with Ryles from their time together at the Storm.

“We have had no conversation with Nelson,‘” O’Neill said. “He knows ‘Rylsey’, but I don’t even know if Nelson wants to play rugby league. We won’t be rushing into anything. We want to get it right.”