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Western Force star Zac Lomax has revealed that a potential move to the NRL’s Melbourne Storm for 2027 was discussed with his management before he chose to see out his rugby contract and chase the dream of playing in a World Cup on home shores.
Following a protracted dispute during the past off-season, Parramatta still hold the final rights over Lomax’s ability to return to the NRL before 2028, and the Storm would have needed to work out a suitable deal to land the former Origin star.
But Lomax says he has unfinished business in rugby union before he moves to the PNG Chiefs on a three-year deal in 2028.
“I think they [Melbourne] went to my manager about it [playing next season] a little bit, but I think that got knocked on the head pretty quickly,” Lomax said.
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“I’ve got things that I want to help this team get to; my manager ran it [a potential move] past me. But I’m obviously still here, we’ve got a heap of goals as a team’s point of view, and for me being a player here, I want to help be able to drive that and achieve that.”
Lomax also revealed that he played his first season of rugby while still hampered by a lingering osteitis pubis injury sustained at the end of the 2025 NRL.
The former St George Illawarra and Parramatta player described playing with the injury in his first season of Super Rugby as “crippling”.
The injury also affects a player’s acceleration. Despite that, Lomax still scored two tries in six starts for the Force last year.
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“It was crippling, I haven’t even been able to goal kick. I haven’t put a ball on a tee once since I’ve been over here [in Perth].
“I pride myself on my goal kicking … I kick 50, 60 balls a session. So that’s been the annoying thing, the crippling thing and the frustrating thing. And every athlete will tell you this: you want to be able to train at 100 per cent, especially coming over and learning a different game.
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“I was learning the game sitting on the sideline watching the whole time. So, yeah, it’s disappointing because, to be fair, I probably would have been lucky to get one full session out since I first got here.”
Lomax is entering his second season for the Force and is hopeful of playing in a new role outside centre against the Reds this Saturday at Ballymore in the Super Rugby AUS competition.
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The position is one of the most complex defensively in rugby, with Lomax describing learning how to play with the number 13 jersey “like going to school every day and not knowing what to expect.”
Lomax is still focused on fulfilling his dream of becoming a dual-code international, with the most likely path being a strong Super Rugby AUS season for the Force, before winning a spot on October’s Australia “A” tour to the United States under coaches Stephen Larkham and Joe Schmidt.
The outside centre position also is not a position of serious depth for the Wallabies, unlike the wing.
The Force player admitted that he would “have loved to have stayed in rugby union”, but the three-year deal on offer from the PNG Chiefs proved financially too good to turn down.
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“I guess it’s a lucrative deal that you can look after yourself and your family and ultimately, you’re not in this game for a long period of time,” Lomax said.
“You do it to help yourself and help your family and win games of footy in the meantime, and create a life that you want to be able to live.
“It’s so taxing on your body, but I guess going over there and experiencing it [in PNG], you have to be all in and it’s an experience like no other… there’s obviously a lot going on over there in PNG, but from a player’s point of view and a human’s point of view, there’s a massive opportunity to help and help that place become a better home for everyone over there.”
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Jonathan Drennan is a sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.AdvertisementAdvertisement