Braith Anasta is against the NRL’s decision to intervene in the Zac Lomax contract saga and backed the Eels to hold out for what they want, but warned they might not get it anyway.
Lomax is trying to negotiate his way out of his conditional release from Parramatta to link up with the Storm in 2026, but the Eels want a player in return and have earmarked Stefano Utoikamanu, Xavier Coates and Jack Howarth as suitable candidates.
However, the Storm at this stage have only been willing to offer financial compensation to the tune of $200,000, which would go towards the Eels football department rather than their salary cap.
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Speaking on the Kayo Sports NRL podcast, Anasta called out the Storm’s low-ball offer of $200,000 in compensation, but questioned why Melbourne would let any of the three players mentioned go.
“For Melbourne why would they let go of Utoikamanu, Howarth and Coates?” Anasta said on the Kayo Sports NRL podcast.
“If you want to break it down, they need Utoikamanu. That’s where they were short. They got him last year. They’re going to have no Katoa. They’ve lost Nelson to boxing. They cannot lose any more forwards. They’re already short in that department, so he’s a zero chance.”
Coates is a favourite of Craig Bellamy, who called him the best winger he has ever seen and Anasta can’t see the Storm letting go of their best attacking weapon.
“You look at Coates. Now if you look at Melbourne the last two years, they’ve made the Grand Final and they’ll continue to make the finals this year,” Anasta explained.
“But when they get the big games, their lack of creativity on the edges hurts them and their only option is the kick to Coates, so they’re not going to lose him.”
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Howarth would be the only player of the three that Anasta could see being swapped for Lomax, but still questioned if it was a fair trade.
“Howarth’s the only one that is a consideration and Parramatta could use him as a back-rower, centre, whatever they want to do there,” Anasta said.
“But Howarth is the only one that would be of consideration of Melbourne to let go.
“But then is it worth Paramatta losing Zac and getting Howarth? I don’t know. But that would be the only possibility if there was a player swap.”
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Dan Ginnane believes if the Eels got a “free choice” Utoikamanu is the player they would most like to swap Lomax.
“Because they have Jack de Belin and I think he’ll have a good year actually, but he’s near the end,” he explained.
”Junior Paulo has been magnificent, but he’s near the end. And you can never have too many front-rowers.”
“And they’ve got the money to do that,” Anasta added.
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However, while both the Storm and the Eels have not been able to reach a mutual agreement, Anasta defended Parramatta’s right to dig their heels in.
Anasta believes Lomax knew the repercussions of leaving the Eels one year into a four-year deal to join R360 and has to live with the result, despite the rebel rugby union competition being delayed until 2028.
“Why did the NRL need to get involved here?” Anasta said.
“Zac turned his back on the game. He said, ‘See you later’, knowing there was going to be a ban, knowing how strict V’landys was on the decision to turn your back on our game and go to R360. Knowing that he was walking out on a contract and letting down a team and a club and their fans, as one of their best players on a long-term deal.
“Why should Paramatta not have the power to make whatever decision they want right now?”
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The NRL is keen to play mediator between the Storm and the Eels to keep a player of Lomax’s ability in the sport, rather than lose him to a rival code.
However, Anasta has little sympathy for Lomax, who knew the huge risks to his NRL future by turning his back on the sport, in what he believes is one of the biggest contract calls in history.
“You dig your own hole,” Anasta said.
“I love Zac, I get along with him really well. I call it how I see it though. We all make decisions in our life, in our sporting careers as professional athletes, that we know have repercussions.
“That is what we do and he made one of the biggest calls ever in our game really and it blew up in his face.
“So just because he’s a great player, do we just welcome him back in because I get the image and what he brings to our game and the excitement that he brings and all that.
“But Paramatta have the power for good reason. They deserve the power and it’s up to them now.
“The NRL don’t really need to get involved here. It’s as simple as this, Melbourne give us the player we want or he’s not playing.”
With R360 scheduled to come to fruition as a competition in 2028, Anasta warned the reality is that Lomax may end up turning his back on rugby league again in the future.
“We still don’t know because R360, we’re not sure where the hell they’re at, but he could end up there in a couple of years anyway,” Anasta said.
“So why would you let him have a free pass back and then all of a sudden he goes, oh, thanks, guys, I’m going again?”
To that effect, the Lomax contract saga has been compared to Sonny Bill Williams walking out on the Bulldogs mid-contract to join Toulon in 2008.
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However, Dan Ginnane pointed out that Williams was not allowed to return to the NRL for half a decade before winning a premiership with the Roosters in 2013.
“It’s funny how things change.. the most heinous thing ever done was Sonny Bill, what he did,” Ginnane said.
“But he wasn’t allowed to play for five years after that. Now it suited him fine. He was off, winning everything for New Zealand and Super Rugby.
“But he didn’t come back to the Roosters until a long, long, long time after.
“He left the Bulldogs and went to Toulon and Choc Mundine actually paid three quarters of a million because Sonny Bill didn’t have the money at the time and paid it to the Bulldogs to pay them off.
“But the deal was Sonny couldn’t come back to the NRL for five years.”
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