CEO’s ‘surprising’ Lomax detail as reason for shock Eels shake-up revealed in tell-all interview

Eels boss Jim Sarantinos has publicly addressed Zac Lomax’s early walkout from the club, expressing his shock at the outside back’s stunning call.

In a wide-ranging interview with Code Sports, Sarantinos said Lomax’s decision left him and the club “surprised”.

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The Eels CEO then revealed the reasoning behind quickly granting Lomax his wish.

“I was surprised that one year into a four-year contract a player would be looking at other options,” Sarantinos said.

“Zac was upfront with the key leaders at the club about being approached and other options would be something he would consider if that transpired. He approached us to consider an early release.

“We ultimately reached the view that that was what was in the best interest of the football team to not have a situation where a player on considerable money leaves part way through a season … That can leave you in a difficult position.

“There was no debate, there was no dispute, there was no challenge to it at all. He agreed.”

Parramatta were one of the best performing sides in the back half of 2025, and even despite the Lomax circus, the Eels should enter this season full of confidence.

The club were ecstatic with the Eels’ late season surge, as it went a long way in justifying their decision to hire rookie head coach Jason Ryles.

Naturally, after a slow start to 2025, there were critics over the club’s coaching call.

Ryles made several tough decisions to mold the roster in the way he wanted to, which included letting skipper Clint Gutherson walk.

That move raised eyebrows inside and outside the four walls of Eels HQ, but Ryles stuck to his guns, which impressed Sarantinos.

“I think he showed the courage and conviction to make some difficult decisions last year, even though he took some heat in the short-term,” Sarantinos said.

“Jason wanted to see how the season played out before committing to Gutherson long-term … It was too early for (Jason) to make a long-term decision on Gutho. Gutho did the right thing to explore his options.

“Ultimately, we’ve brought in Jason as a head coach, but we’ve brought him in with every intention of backing his decision making and that’s exactly what happened in that situation.”

Dylan Brown was another high-profile Eels star who has left the club since Ryles took over 15 months ago.

Brown took a whopping $13 million from the Knights – a figure that Parramatta weren’t willing to match.

“I don’t begrudge him, and I don’t think anyone begrudges him taking the offer,” the Eels CEO said.

“But you can either panic and react and make a decision that might not necessarily be in the best interests of the club.

“Frankly, if we would have responded (to the noise), that’s probably what we would have felt we were doing.”