St George Illawarra Dragons outside back Zac Lomax is reportedly unhappy over his move to the wing ahead of the 2024 NRL season kicking off.
Lomax has been nothing but positive in the public, but News Corp are reporting he is privately seething over the move a spot wider on the park.
The move for Lomax follows him being dropped under former coach Anthony Griffin for a brief period last year, which in itself had followed a move to the other side of the park in a switch with Moses Suli which didn't work for either player.
Lomax had a better second half of 2023 under interim coach Ryan Carr, but it was always going to be up for dispute where he would line up in 2024.
Shane Flanagan has mentioned him previously in the running to become the club's new fullback, but that ultimately didn't happen, with Tyrell Sloan getting first crack after what is believed to be an impressive pre-season.
The youngster has been touted as of the best rising stars in the game, but to this stage hasn't found consistency. Despite that, Flanagan sees plenty in him and will give him first crack against the Gold Coast Titans this weekend.
Another player Flanagan sees plenty in is Jack Bird. The coach also sees him as a centre, and that's where the utility will run out this weekend, having previously played his best rugby league under Flanagan at the Cronulla Sharks in the position.
With Moses Suli locked into the other side of the field, that left Lomax being pushed out onto a vacant wing position for the Dragons, with none of the youngsters, including the Feagai brothers, able to lock up that spot.
The brothers will both appear in NSW Cup this weekend, with Mathew surprisingly being named at fullback as he prepares to take over the captaincy at reserve grade level. Max plays centre for the outfit against the North Sydney Bears in Wollongong on Sunday.
Lomax has said all the right things publically, but privately, he is understood to be less than impressed with the move to the wing.
It was revealed on Fox Sports' show NRL 360 by Paul Kent that Flanagan sat Lomax down during the pre-season and told him statistically that he is 22nd or 23rd of the 34 centres regularly playing NRL.
"One of the things Shane Flanagan did when he first got to St George Illawarra was sit down with Zac Lomax, go through all his stats and said there's 17 teams and of the 34 centres in the competition you ranked about 22nd or 23rd," he said on the show.
โSo that's in real figures, that's not about what I think of you, that's not about Origin coaches saying you're going to be a star. In real numbers, performance on the field, his numbers sat him about 22nd or 23rd of all the centres in the competition."
The news around Lomax's disappointment though comes just a week after the Sydney Roosters were linked with a pursuit of Lomax.
The Roosters are preparing for the dual backline losses of Joseph Manu and Joseph Suaalii to rugby union at the end of the season, and are searching for an influx of new talent.
Lomax is signed until the end of 2026 with the Dragons, but is on $800,000 per year, and with Shane Flanagan looking to rebuild, he could well opt to spend salary cap in other places if a solid offer was put on the table for Lomax and he wanted to depart the Red V.
