Trials kick-off as major development lands in Lomax case
2026 Eels hit the ground running against Cronulla while the Zac Lomax court case drops bombshell news
Parramatta kicked off their 2026 trials with a comfortable 40-6 win over the Cronulla Sharks.
Ryles leant heavy on NRL experience for the opening 20 minutes which saw Parramatta open up an early 16-0 lead.
Jonah Pezet steered the ship with Isaiah Iongi, Joash Papalii and Ryley Smith rounding out the spine.
The ever-present Smith bagged himself a try while Iongi was provider for Bayley Simonsson’s opening 4-pointer of the afternoon.
As the match wore on the Eels juniors took to the field with Apa Twidle the stand out performer, bagging a well-earned double.
For a full wrap-up, check out the trial wrap blogs below.
The large shadow of Zac Lomax remained after court documents revealed the Melbourne Storm had asked the NRL to intervene on their behalf.
Text messages unveiled during discovery in the Supreme Court case showed Storm CEO Justin Rodski texting NRL CEO Andrew Abdo, “Hi Andrew, not getting anywhere at this point, can you apply the blow torch on parramatta [sic] to get this done.”
Rodski then added “Lomax staying in the NRL is obviously a win for the game”.
It was also reported that during a phone call between Storm chair Matt Tripp and Eels counterpart Matthew Beach that Parramatta again rejected a $200,000 release fee before Trip allegedly threatened the Eels that the NRL could punish the Blue and Gold.
The Eels stood firm and the case remains scheduled to be heard on 2nd March 2026.
Yet again, though, it is further evidence that the Storm view themselves untouchable and act with impunity.
This was reinforced by ARLC chair Peter V’landys who has begun damage control by appearing on the Hello Sport podcast and saying Zac is a good bloke.
Undoubtedly Zac is a good bloke. He took out the Ken Stephens medal last year. But that doesn’t mean you can break contracts when you feel like it.
More coverage and commentary on 1 Eyed Eel is available below.
Eels fans seemingly to a person are backing the board on the Lomax case. I don't want a cash injection to the club. I'd rather our rivals not get him at all.