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Running It Straight is back!Eels set sights on departing Warrior Barnett in wake of Lomax saga
Jasper Bruce, AAP •  March 4th, 2026 8:20 am
Photo: David Neilson/Photosport
Jason Ryles says Parramatta would be interested in Mitch Barnett as the Eels prepare for the possibility of returning to the trade table in the Zac Lomax saga.
The Eels effectively hold Lomax's player rights for the next two NRL seasons after reaching an out-of-court settlement with rival club Melbourne on Tuesday.
Parramatta had in November agreed to release Lomax from his Eels deal to play in the R360, on condition he would need their consent to join an NRL rival before 2029.
When overseas rugby competition R360 was postponed, Lomax was left in limbo and could now remain there for two more years after the Storm were thwarted in their bold bid to sign him.
The Eels remain open to permitting Lomax to play for an NRL rival, but only if their football department is adequately compensated with a like-for-like player or salary cap space.
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Melbourne and Parramatta were unable to come to such an agreement in weeks of negotiations.
Complicating matters is the fact the 2026 season has now begun and Lomax is one of the NRL's elite wingers, so adequate compensation may not come easily.
But gun prop Barnett looms as a possible candidate for 2027 amid his attempts to leave the Warriors early and return to Australia for family reasons.
The Warriors are happy to release their co-captain from next season's final year of his contract, but again only if compensated appropriately.
Such a move would also require Lomax's approval with the Rugby League Players Association likely to step in to prevent players being forced onto clubs unwillingly.
On the Eels' end, coach Ryles and general manager of football Mark O'Neill will have the biggest say as to any attempted trades for Lomax.
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"I'll have an input in it but it's pretty fresh at the moment. We'll just wait and see what happens," Ryles said.
Ryles only heard there had been an end to the NRL's biggest off-season saga - Lomax's mooted Storm move - as he came off the training paddock on Tuesday morning.
Coincidentally, the Eels face the Storm in round one.
Ryles said the Eels would be interested in State of Origin prop Barnett, whom Parramatta management is understood to consider a player of similar calibre to Lomax.
"He's certainly someone that we'd potentially look at," he said. "He's an Origin forward, I think that's an area of our roster that we can certainly improve or strengthen, is probably a better word.
"Us, like many clubs, will obviously be looking in that space."
The Lomax saga had hung over the Eels for almost the entire pre-season, with the club granting the winger a release on November 16.
"It's good that there's a resolution and we can all move on," said Ryles, a former assistant coach at the Storm.
