Star St George Illawarra Dragons centre Zac Lomax has made the surprising claim that he would like to play at five-eighth in the future.
The Dragons centre, who also revealed on The Bye Round Podcast with James Graham that he would be back for pre-season with the rest of his teammates rather than taking extra time that he is entitled to, said that five-eighth is a position he 'loves.'
“I love five-eighth,” Lomax said.
“Ideally if I could play anywhere, five-eighth would be it. That's where I would love to play. That's my favourite position.
“There is a few options. Obviously Kyle Flanagan has come in now. Jack Bird has played a fair bit of No.6.
“We have got some options there at No.6 so we won't be too short. Ben Hunt is at No.7 so it is not a bad half to be pairing up with, but whoever is going to be there they will do a good job for us.”
Lomax's ambitions could well be recognised pending on pre-season training at the Dragons.
With Talatau Amone unlikely to be available, and Jayden Sullivan released at the end of the 2023 campaign to the Wests Tigers, the only other recognisable options to play at six under incoming coach Shane Flanagan will be utility Jack Bird, and Kyle Flanagan, who had yo-yoed in and out of the Bulldogs' side in recent times before switching to join the Dragons.
Despite that, it has been suggested that Lomax is likely to have a crack at playing fullback in 2024.
Flanagan has spoken about the fact he believes that will become the star centre's best position, after a tumultuous 2023 campaign. A switch of sides with Moses Suli under former coach Anthony Griffin at one point saw Lomax dropped from first-grade.
His form improved under Ryan Carr, and it now appears as if he will be in a two-way race for the fullback slot alongside Tyrell Sloan, who struggled to cement a position in the Dragons' best 17 during 2023 despite his obvious potential which was most notably on display during the Anzac Day game against the Sydney Roosters.
Lomax said that he has spoken about 2024 with Flanagan, but is happy to play wherever the coach asks him too.
“Wherever Flanno wants me to play I am happy to play,” Lomax said.
“We have spoken about it and he wants me to do a fair bit of training at fullback. Just about getting some early pill.
“I'm not saying I will be fullback Round 1 because Sloany (Tyrell Sloan) is there at fullback as well, but it is just about bringing me in the game a little bit more.
“The swing shape allows me to be in the game a little bit more and play a roaming role.”