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Players and coaches across the NRL are into their last few days before the Christmas break. While players will be using the time to rest and recover from a tough six weeks, the coaching staff will no doubt be reflecting on the first part of the preseason and starting to think about how things might look by Round 1.
Positions are up for grabs and the 13 v 13 sessions in January will go a long way to determining who kicks off the 2024 NRL season as the first choice in their position.
One particularly notable battle is for the St George Illawarra Dragons fullback spot.
Tyrell Sloan featured in the #1 jersey 23 times last season, but there have been more than a few mentions about Zac Lomax possibly being an option.
Lomax alluded to being an option there when speaking with James Graham on The Bye Round podcast (it’s worth a listen regardless of which position you think he should play).
But most notable is the fact new Dragons coach Shane Flanagan mentioned Lomax as a fullback option not long after taking the job.
“He’s definitely going to get some reps there in the off-season. It’s not a bad thing for him to be able to play both sides of the field, either way. He’s done it at left centre and right centre.”
Shane Flanagan – Sydney Morning Herald
Lomax’s name still came up as an option more recently following a few of those off-season reps. Although, Flanagan did start by saying Sloan “hopefully” starts the season at the back.
“He [Lomax] hasn’t played there for a while and these days fullbacks are so important, especially defensively inside your 20m zone, so that’s a learning curve that we’ve got to get right for Zac in the off-season, but he’s got some real qualities.”
Shane Flanagan to NRL.com
Lomax is the first to admit that he didn’t play his best foot to start the 2023 NRL season. Being pushed to reserve grade, he returned with a different mindset and thrived on simply getting his hands on the ball more and “competing for everything.”
Competing for everything is a key focus for fullbacks. They need to be alert at all times and prepared to move off the ball knowing it may not get to them at all in that particular sequence.
Flanagan has said Lomax is the fittest at the club and regardless of his position, his involvements will be high. It sounds as though Lomax would prefer to be playing at the back and while he’s not had a lot of success there in the past, he has the skillset to dominate if given another chance.
An audition at fullback
If we go back to Round 19 of last season when Paul Turner managed only 53 minutes at fullback before Lomax replaced him, we get a really good idea of what he’s capable of in attack.
First of all, Lomax is a big, strong and powerful runner of the ball. Flanagan went as far as to say he could mirror Dylan Edwards when it comes to returning the ball from the back.
It’s only one carry and could look a lot different had he played the whole 77 minutes prior at fullback, but this return provides a nice example of how well Lomax can start a set for the Dragons.
Like Edwards, he picks up the easy metres by returning the ball to the line fast. He’s chewed off 17 or 18 metres before the contact and does well to pick out two smaller defenders in the line. With less distance to travel back his winger is able to take the following tackle for the Red V to be 40 metres up the field on the 2nd tackle before they enter the Canberra Raiders half of the field by tackle three.
His ability to return the ball isn’t really in question given his size and strength.
Flanagan did mention “the subtleties of the fullback play” and it being an area to “work on with him during the off-season.”
Again, though, there are encouraging signs already from what we saw in his brief stint at the back against the Raiders.
Lomax has good hands. He’s well known for his ability to get his right hand free to flick the ball out the back, but he can also draw defenders to throw the right pass and has quick enough hands and good enough control of his feet to beat jamming defenders from the outside.
If the defenders sit back and allow Lomax to take the line on he’s a triple threat with the ball.
Lomax has a back rower in Dan Russell outside him playing in the centres here so the timing isn’t perfect. Ideally, Lomax is able to skip to the outside of Jack Wighton to engage Jarrod Croker with his centre looking to tear his opposite’s shoulder off running a hard line. He instead steps back inside before putting in a deft grubber to force an error and repeat set.
He later used his speed and footwork to produce a dangerous play on the edges.
Again, the lead outside him isn’t perfect, but Lomax is quick enough to skip to the edge and into a position to throw his famous flick. We’ve seen him connect with Mikaele Ravalawa enough to know what happens when Lomax gets it right. The result here is forcing another error and extra attacking set on the line.
The Dragons spent a large chunk of Lomax’s time at fullback with the ball so we don’t have a lot to work on defensively. Nonetheless, his fitness is unquestioned and he’s certainly a bigger body than Sloan at the back. It’s fairly safe to say when it comes to the individual defensive elements, Lomax has the advantage. It’s in counting numbers and reading the game where he might have some catching up to do.
NRL 2024: Lomax’s role at centre
Given the lack of a bonafide centre to replace Lomax, it’s more than likely that Flanagan starts Sloan at fullback to get the best balance for the side at the very least.
From there, though, we might see Lomax become more of a roaming centre.
Think Joseph Manu-like in his involvements.
We often see Manu take an early yardage carry regardless of where the kick lands. He will shift in from the right edge on play one or two to scoot from dummy half or truck the ball up one-off the ruck. In good ball, Manu swings from the right edge to add an extra layer to the left edge attack. It doesn’t always come off, but it adds another element to the shift that the defence needs to consider.
Lomax can pop up in similar spots. Again, he has the fitness to move around the field and the skills to throw the pass out the back of shape.
Still only 24 years old and coming off an up-and-down year, the 2024 NRL season is shaping up as a big one for Lomax, no matter what position he starts in for Round 1.