A media blitz today has seen some startling developments in the Parramatta Eels vs Zac Lomax saga as Melbourne CEO Matt Tripp looked to get ahead of incoming bombshell news surrounding subpoenaed emails in a bold interview with the Herald Sun. The Tip Sheet looks at Tripp’s sensational claims and stack it up against the opening arguments put forth by the Eels via
Arthur Moses as well as the counterpoints laid down by the Lomax camp. The boys take a very quick peek at the first Team List Tuesday of the season with the Junior Reps kicking off this weekend…but save the good stuff for a special preview podcast that will feature Steve Georgallis and AJ Lucantonio!
We get our first NRL action of the year as well with the Bulldogs, Cowboys, Dragons and Knights naming their trials squads ahead of their trip to Las Vegas. Who’s in, who’s out and what can we gleam from the four playing lists?
Hope that Steve provides some info regarding some of the SG ball players. I know Polley is injured.
But Petrus outside the 17?
Pritchard picked over Moala, Cobi, Apiata and Sorovi. In fact where is Sorovi because he was not in the trials?
How is the kid from NZ going because he didn’t make the team?
How do they plan to fit Davis into the team because he is unfortunately stuck behind elite talents despite being an elite talent himself?
EA – it’s unlikely we will put Steve on the spot with very specific questions about individual players in pathways, such as why weren’t they selected this week, as it’s really asking them about their plans for a young player in a public forum. Having discussed pathways with people such as Joey Grima, Nathan Brown and now Steve, we have learned what we can dive into or can’t in discussions. But we can try to find out if certain players are still in the system or if a player is in rehab etc, even if it’s not part of the recording.
Yep appreciate if you could do that regarding if a player is in rehab/injured.
Storm are absolutely filthy if Bellamy was trying to get Lomax after meeting him in origin or around that time
Interesting to see why comes out in court regarding this situation if the storm did anything illegal
Won’t be a good look for them I suspect!
This entire Lomax situation seems v bad from the preliminary notes via Fox. For me IF the NRL knew abt this then that says it all- they need to focus on this too as in the media need to focus on this. But they won’t. Some people saying the NRL will have it in for us- I take a different view, it shows we are not a club to be duped anymore.
Let’s see the media puppets now.
Stuff PVL and Abdo, Melbourne and Lomax. Hope it goes well for us and it’s a poor look for all.
You have to chuckle when you hear the Storm chairman use the ‘look over there’ tactic..’we released Ryles mid contract…’. He didn’t make any effort to qualify along the lines that Ryles followed a transparent, correct process, didn’t create any complications, agreed to release terms and complied with them. The chalk and cheese comparison.
About time eels stopped being push overs and stood their ground particularly against the NRL who attempted to overthrow parramatta’s legal agreements regarding the Lomax contract.
I know it might mean nothing. Or not be “tangible” compared to some things.
But my gut feeling is that this whole thing suits the feeling and narrative that parramatta is no longer soft or a push over club OR team.
I feel like standing our ground also sets a feeling / culture that even our fans & players will feel strongly about, people respect those who stand their ground, it’s human nature.
Once you are known as a push over you immediately lose respect. Our old captain & co used to bully us using media leaks & play hard ball to jack up their pays, even at the wrong time knowing it could create negative media headlines.
Jason Ryles for me has not only came in and stopped all of that, it seems like our actual club is also emboldened by his hard edge / no nonsense approach, or it’s in fact Jason backing them thinking that they should be acting exactly how they are regarding Lomax situation.
What I’m saying is I’m proud of our club. It’s about time we started being hard nosed. I’m also glad Jason’s swung the axe on anyone not 100% fully committed. We need this no BS culture, top to bottom, to increase our chances of winning the premiership. No soft clubs win it. It’s a a dog eat dog business.
Thanks for the show gents, excellent as always.
Sixties, I never thought I’d live long enough to dislike a club more than the Bulldogs. I was wrong, I would love nothing more than the Storm to miss the finals. Their day is coming and as Forty said, this whole scenario stinks of desperation.
Lomax is a rep quality winger and at best, a very average centre, in my opinion, Lomax is an excellent contributor but hardly the difference between winning or losing a comp, he’s a winger at the end of the day and not a winger history will remember as a great.
The lengths they are prepared to go to sign a winger who screwed over two clubs and will barely move as Forty would say, “the dial” stinks of desperation.
Most if not all fans can see this situation for what it is, in the court of common opinion, Lomax should not play NRL until the Eels are satisfied with a fair compensation.
As you both pointed out, he was happy to turn his back on the game and turned his back on playing for his country claiming he had a hip pocket injury.
I had to chuckle when the news that he had signed with NRL 360 before being released from his contract, God I hope that’s true. Let’s see what big stick VLAD responds after his chest beating warnings.
Lomax will go down in history with a legacy, his nick name should be Phillip, after the Phillip’s head screw driver.
So far, he’s screwed two clubs, his country, the NRL and if the courts see it his way, he will screw every future NRL player seeking an early release from their contract on legitimate grounds, personal or otherwise.
I’ll end by saying, as a father, this bloke is the last man I’d want my daughter dating, if there’s anyone I know who could potentially have six ex wives only to discover he’s gay, it’s Lomax.
The key to the Storm offence will be to get inside the opposing half and cross kick to their wingers.
Coates will again score a ton of tries this year with this tactic and if you have Lomax.on the other wing, it will be a case of fill your boots !
It’s the only tactic that the Storm have as conventional backline plays via the outside backs they have are pretty average.
As the NRL continues to deny a defensive player the right to tackle a player in mid air, the storm will score a massive amount of tries via this play.
I’m told there is massive around the clock work being undertaken by the Storm to negotiate this out before it goes to court.
The last thing they or the NRL want is for it to hit the court lest certain things come out and it does have the potential to grow and grow in scope.
It’s the classic case of the gunfighters and who will blink first. Matt Tripp, successful in business and used to always winning against the audacity of the Eels for daring to stand their ground.
I’m told different packages have been offered to the Eels but the Eels have been resolute.
The problem is that the identified players just don’t want to go the Eels and many within the Storm are now questioning whether Zac is worth it.
Look for things to get a lot more desperate in the coming week from the Storm including the mental health card via the media and interviews with family imploring the Eels to ‘do the right thing for Zac’s sake’
The Eels continue to hold all the aces here. The only thing they lose is money via legal fees. If they lose, that’s it.
If the Eels stand their ground here and all the PR work the Storm does ultimately fails, look to the Storm to announce that they have discontinued their pursuit of Zac and withdraw from the court case.
Zacs money will dry up for court representation and that will.be it.
Can the Eels withstand the publica pressure???