The Zac Lomax contract saga has taken another turn, with court documents revealing that the Melbourne Storm allegedly texted NRL executives to get the ball rolling on Zac Lomax's move to the Storm.
The legal fight over Zac Lomax's signature has snowballed in recent weeks, with the Parramatta Eels commencing legal action over the grounds of his release.
The stand-off has reached a boiling point, however, with the Storm wanting the NRL to intervene to keep Lomax in the code for the benefit of the product of the sport.
The Eels have reportedly knocked back multiple offers from the Storm to have him offloaded to the Victorian franchise in recent weeks, with mounting speculation that they were lowball offers.
As per The Sydney Morning Herald, the Storm is threatening that the NRL can place pressure on the club if they keep refusing their offers for Lomax.
With halted processes, the Storm was allegedly looking to try and get things moving swiftly, with Parramatta stalling communications on his move to Victoria.
The Storms' case was that with Lomax still in the 13-man code, it is a win for the game, and they allegedly wanted the NRL to apply some pressure to the Eels to make it happen.
Court documents revealed at the Supreme Court also showed Lomax tried to get a release from the Eels on the night of the Dally M's last year, signalling how he has been looking for a move out of the club for a while.
This escalation has now meant there are claims that the NRL should apply salary cap pressure on the Western Sydney club; however, it looks like the Eels won't be giving in.
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“… with Lomax still in the 13-man code, it is a win for the game, …”
It is not self-evident to me that Lomax being allowed to join the Storm is “a win for the game”.
It is perhaps a win for players in that they will see that the NRL is a toothless tiger – unable or unwilling to enforce player contracts.
It is perhaps a win for NRL Central if PVL and AA see that it is more important to have stars playing than to have contractual certainty for clubs, players, agents and fans.
It is going to be a loss for sixteen clubs, for fans and for the integrity of rugby league in Australia.