‘Absolutely not’: Emphatic reply as Eels coach opens up on ‘honest’ talks before Lomax exit

Eels coach Jason Ryles has opened up on the “honest” conversations with Zac Lomax before the winger’s exit just one season into his four-year contract with the club.

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Parramatta confirmed last Sunday that Lomax had been granted an immediate release to explore opportunities outside of the NRL, with the NSW Blues representative linked with a move to French rugby.

It was far from a last-minute decision that caught the Eels off-guard, with Ryles revealing in an interview with Code Sports that the club had known of Lomax’s desire to leave “for a little while” and that conversations had been “bubbling away” in the background.

“I’ll give Zac credit – he was pretty honest with it and put his cards on the table,” Ryles said.

“There was no issue in regard to that. It was more how long is this going to go on for – are we going to get to February and have to do this?

“We have known for a little while that it’s been bubbling away. He was pretty honest with it. He was pretty clear what his intentions were.

“He wanted to explore other things. We thought it was the best thing for everyone that we came to the conclusions we came to.”

Ryles said it was a “pretty unique situation” with Lomax, who was linked to the breakaway R360 competition, although that potential move looks off the cards after his manager, Clinton Schifcofske, withdrew from talks with the rebel competition.

But either way, Ryles said the club felt it was better to “bring it to a conclusion” and was emphatic when asked if there were any ill-feelings after the whole saga considering Lomax still had three years left on his contract with the Eels.

“Absolutely not, not at all,” Ryles said.

“I hope it all works out for Zac.”