Lomax asked for coaching clause in his new Eels contract
Parramatta rejected a request from Zac Lomax to insert a clause into his new deal which would have tied his future to that of under-siege coach Brad Arthur.
Sources with knowledge of discussions, speaking under the condition of anonymity due to confidentiality, told this masthead Lomax’s management had asked to insert a coaching clause into his four-year deal to join the Eels from 2025.
Lomax, who was invited to dinner at Arthur’s western Sydney home before agreeing to the deal with the Eels, wants to play under the coach.
Eels management denied Lomax the ability to tie his future to Arthur’s, with the Dragons outside back later agreeing to a deal worth more than $2.6 million – without the clause built in.
It is not the first time an Eels player has attempted to tie their future to Arthur.
The Eels won’t make any promises about who the coach will be beyond Arthur’s current contract expiration date at the end of 2025. The club is expected to reassess their position if the team fails to compete for a finals spot this season.
Parramatta-bound Dragon Zac Lomax.
Super Las Vegas
The NRL has received an approach from Sam Burgess’ Super League club Warrington to play in Las Vegas next year as part of a two-day extravaganza.
The Super League has made contact with the NRL after the billionaire owners of Warrington and Wigan expressed a desire to join the NRL in its crusade into the United States.
The NRL is giving consideration to a two-day festival of rugby league involving the best clubs from England and Australia.
Sam Burgess could be heading to Las Vegas next year.
The governing body is open to expanding the concept but will need the Super League and its clubs to cover the costs associated with the expensive venture.
Warrington has financially strong ownership under the leadership of Simon Moran (one of Europe’s biggest concert promoters) and chairman Stuart Middleton. Wigan, who knocked off Penrith to win this year’s World Club Challenge, were recently bought by Mike Danson.
The Wigan-born Danson owns GlobalData, the parent company of Sportcal, who bought former English Premier League soccer club Wigan Athletic.
The NRL is also considering playing a women’s game in Las Vegas as part of next year’s schedule. The Panthers and the Warriors are expected to be two of the four NRL teams to play in the double-header following the success of this year’s event.
Preliminary discussions have revolved around the three Australian-based games being played at Allegiant Stadium on Saturday, with the Super League game to follow on Sunday (aired into the UK on Sunday night).
Love makes the world go round, but can it save the Bunnies?
The Rabbitohs 1-6 start to the year isn’t quite their worst ever start to a season, but it will be even harder for them to snap their three-game losing streak with reigning premiers Penrith up next on Thursday.
This year is nothing compared to South Sydney’s 2006 season, when they lost their first 12 games – just one shy of Newcastle, who claim the worst start to the year for a club in the NRL era with 13 losses to start 2005 – but it’s bad enough for coach Jason Demetriou’s job to be on the line, and for the club to be at risk of their season being over before it has really begun.
Veteran forward Jai Arrow said he was frustrated by speculation about Demetriou’s future, and said the coach had the full faith of the playing group.
Jai Arrows says the Rabbitohs need to find ways to get out of the hole they’re in.
“I suppose in the NRL it’s a cut-throat business, but he’s our coach, and we respect him, we love him,” Arrow said. “He’s not only my coach, but I consider him a friend, a close friend as well. I’ve known him since 2017, love what he brings as a person and as a coach. I think as a collective we don’t need to read into that it’s more we need to find ways to get ourselves out of this hole.”
Forward Keaon Koloamatangi said the playing group needed to take responsibility for the on-field results.
“I know all the players, we love JD, and we have a good relationship with him, and at the end of the day, he’s not on the field with us,” Koloamatangi said.
“He can only do as much as he can … the players have got to look at themselves; he’s not the one making the tackles and letting offloads go and tries in. Obviously, that reflects on the coach, and how we started, but we all know as a group we can be a lot better, that’s probably the frustrating thing.”
Keaon Koloamatangi has little doubt where the blame for the Rabbitohs’ woeful start to the season should lie.
The one thing South Sydney do have going for them, is a win over the Panthers the last time they played at Accor Stadium. The Rabbitohs are still missing marquee players Latrell Mitchell, Campbell Graham and Alex Johnston, but even the three-time premiers can be beaten, Arrow says.
“They’re human beings, they bleed like us, they tackle like us, all that kind of stuff. So, there’s no reason why we can’t, especially at our home, go there and beat them,” he said.
Defence has been the root of some of the Rabbitohs’ biggest issues this year, and a major factor in David Furner being brought into the coaching staff. The Bunnies have the worst defensive record in the competition, conceding 250 points in the opening eight rounds, and it’s a big focus heading into Thursday.
“I don’t think we have any trouble scoring points, I think this year if we keep teams to 16 points and under, we probably win [the] majority [of games],” Arrow said. “It is all about defence, and a defensive mindset, especially against the best defensive team in the competition over the past couple of years.
“I’m just really excited to face this challenge. Obviously, things haven’t gone to plan, but I think it’d be no better feeling than to be proving people wrong, and to face this challenge head on.”
NRL is Live and Free on Channel 9 & 9Now