Zac Lomax has dramatically quit the Parramatta Eels after just one year with the club.
The Eels secured Lomax from the Dragons ahead of the 2025 NRL season, signing him to a lucrative four-year contract.
But just 12 months into that deal, Lomax is gone.
“The Parramatta Eels can confirm that Zac Lomax has been granted an immediate release from his playing contract to pursue opportunities outside the NRL,” the club said in a shock statement on Sunday night.
“The Club would like to thank Zac for his contribution during his time with the Eels in 2025 and we wish him all the best for the future.”
There are rumours that Lomax is poised to join the controversial and cash-flushed R360, the rebel rugby union competition that is poised to begin this time next year.
The NRL has already effectively said it would implement long bans for players under contract who defect to R360, meaning Lomax has likely played his final game of rugby league.
Lomax has been linked to R360 since the middle of the year, believed to be one of many NRL targets of the rugby union breakaway competition.
In the end, Lomax played just 19 games for the Eels.
Troy Dodds is Parra News' Managing Editor and Breaking News Reporter. He has more than 20 years experience as a journalist, working with some of Australia’s leading media organisations. In 2023, he was named Editor of the Year at the Mumbrella Publish Awards.