Eels, Storm in last-minute talks to avoid court battle

Zac Lomax’s landmark hearing before the NSW Supreme Court has been delayed by four hours as NRL rivals Parramatta and Melbourne hold last-minute negotiations in a bid to resolve his future and avoid court proceedings.

Justice Francois Kunc granted an initial 90-minute adjournment after a request by Lomax’s barrister, Adam Casselden, ahead of one of the biggest NRL legal stoushes in years leading into Thursday’s round one match between the Storm and Eels.

Parramatta CEO Jim Sarantinos, chairman Matthew Beach, and football manager Mark O’Neill were in attendance on Monday morning before the court was informed that overnight negotiations between the Eels and Storm were continuing in the hope of resolving the matter.

Lomax was not present for the commencement of proceedings, but arrived at the Supreme Court once further attempts at a private settlement began behind closed doors. Justice Kunc then granted another 30-minute adjournment before the start of the hearing, followed by a further two-hour delay into the afternoon.

Should Lomax’s and Parramatta representatives fail to reach a settlement, the trial will begin at 2pm AEDT, though negotiations can continue in the background.

Lomax wants a new home with Melbourne, effective immediately, after being granted a release from Parramatta last year to take up a code-hop to the since-delayed Rugby 360 competition.

Per the terms of Lomax’s release from the final three years of his $700,000-a-year Eels contract, he couldn’t return to the NRL with a rival club before October 31, 2028 without Parramatta’s written agreement.

Lomax’s lawyers claim that the Eels have breached the deed of that release by unreasonably withholding their consent since Melbourne began their attempts to sign him.