Latest news with #ZacLomax
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Billy Slater's genius laid bare after Maroons coach turned NSW asset into weakness
Matty Johns has hailed Billy Slater after describing the Maroons' series victory as 'one of the very best coaching performances' in State of Origin history. The former NRL premiership winner said Queensland's 'defensive energy' was too much for NSW to cope with and the Blues' 'inability to adjust' were decisive in the Maroons' series-clinching 24-12 win in Sydney. But Johns says the decision to target Blues winger Zac Lomax was also a masterstroke from the Maroons coach, after the tactic paid dividends in the early stages of the decider. Lomax is a workhorse for the Blues with ball in hand and is frequently near the top of the list when it comes to run metres for his team after getting through a mountain of work bringing the ball out from the back. However, the NSW winger was exposed defensively for the Maroons' opening try in Game 3 when he rushed out of the line to try and shut down Origin debutant Gehemat Shibasaki. The Queensland centre brushed through Lomax's attempted tackle before passing to Xavier Coates to dive over in the corner. One of the Blues' biggest strengths was the ability of their back three in Lomax, Brian To'o and Dylan Edwards to get through a mountain of work and make metres coming off their line. But Johns said the decision to keep targeting Lomax's wing was a stroke of genius from Slater, after he recognised how his work with ball in hand affected his defence. Coates strikes in the corner! 🔥 — NRL (@NRL) July 9, 2025 "With or without the ball, they just went at us with energy," Johns said about the Maroons on SEN radio. "And I'll say this, Billy (Slater) worked really hard on Zac Lomax the whole series and the last couple of series. He kept going at him and going at him when I thought 'you'd have more success going the other way'. But he just kept going and going and right in the decider when it mattered most, they caught him out." The Maroons created history by winning two consecutive games on the road to clinch the Origin series, having lost Game 1 at Suncorp Stadium. And Johns believes Slater's coaching display ranks right up there with the famous 1995 and 2020 series wins for Queensland. "It has to go down as one of the very best coaching performances," he added. "Not so much tactically... but that bloke, Billy Slater, putting his balls on the line a few times as far as selections were concerned from Game 1 into Game 2. But the big one was changing a winning team from Game 2 just by having a gut feel." RELATED: Laurie Daley urged to backflip after shock change in Origin loss Queensland star escapes punishment after incident with Latrell Reece Walsh suffers fresh blow after Queensland Origin triumph Slater dropped Moeaki Fotuaika and brought Joseph Papalii out of retirement for the decider and the veteran Raiders prop brought an intimidation factor and calmness to the Maroons forward pack. But Johns says the 'really big' call was to resist the urge to bring back Reece Walsh for the injured Kalyn Ponga, switch Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow to fullback, and hand a shock Origin debut to Broncos journeyman Shibasaki. "They were huge decisions and invariably with Billy, most of his really big decisions he gets right." Shibasaki was superb for the Maroons in Game 3, bringing an intensity with his runs and nullifying the threat of his opposite centre Stephen Crichton in a suoperb defensive display. "It was incredible stuff," Queensland Rugby League chief executive Ben Ikin told AAP. "It's one thing making the calls. The second part is making sure that everybody believes that they're the right calls for the team. "Whatever he did in those camps, however he coaches, he got them to bite down on the things that he thought the team could achieve, and why the changes were right. It was brave. I don't think many people would have had the courage to do what he did ... but ultimately it proved to be a winning formula."
7NEWS
09-07-2025
- Business
- 7NEWS
From 'Critta' to 'Big Papa', inside the property movements of State of Origin's stars
Loading content... It's a showdown for the shield in Sydney. The biggest rivalry in Australian sport continues when the decider - State of Origin game three - takes place on Wednesday night. But what about the Blues and Maroons players - are they making impressive plays away from the field and succeeding in the property market? We find out. Zac Lomax The NSW Blues winger has made some deft moves in the property world. In 2018, the then rookie Lomax bought his first property, spending $650,000 on a two-bedroom apartment in Wollongong. The first-floor apartment was located in the Stadia complex. It was later listed for rent at $650 per week. However, CoreLogic records show Lomax sold the property in 2023 for $750,000. In 2021, Lomax snapped up a new home at Shell Cove, setting a short-lived suburb record in the process. Lomax bought the four-bedroom, three-bathroom home for $2.2 million. Features of the home include double glazed windows and doors; polished concrete floors to living areas; in-ground pool with frameless pool fencing; and a home theatre. The home also features a granny flat-style guest bedroom on the lower floor, with ensuite. Lomax has retained ownership of the home since joining Parramatta. Also, earlier this year a home formerly owned by Lomax in the Illawarra suburb of Mangerton was sold under the hammer. The four-bedroom home, which sits on 569 square metres, changed hands for $1.37 million. CoreLogic records show that in 2020, during his tenure at the St George Illawarra Dragons, Lomax bought the property for $890,000. Less than 18 months later, he sold the home for $1.2 million. Stephen Crichton The leader of the Bulldogs has also been active in the property world. In January 2023, as the Blues centre announced his departure from the Panthers, it was also revealed he had recently purchased a home in the Penrith area. CoreLogic records show the five-bedroom Tregear home, which sits on 620 square metres in a "whisper quiet, much sought-after" street was sold in December 2022 for $848,500. The home had been completely renovated, and Crichton reportedly bought the home for his parents and family. Payne Haas Last year, the NSW and Broncos enforcer bought a $3.55 million Bardon home. The property is just several minutes' drive from Suncorp Stadium, the Broncos' home ground. Sitting on 464 square metres, the home contains high-end appliances, a butler's pantry and an open plan across the ground floor from the kitchen and living zone into the alfresco space with a barbecue, pool and lawn area. There are also five bedrooms, three bathrooms and multiple living rooms. According to Cotality records, Haas also owns a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment in Indooroopilly. The prop bought the property for $590,000 in 2019. It was most recently listed for rent in November 2024 for $760 per week. "With open living spaces, soaring high ceilings, and large windows, the apartment is bathed in natural light and benefits from excellent ventilation, creating an expansive and airy atmosphere," the rental description stated. Patrick Carrigan In early 2024, the Queensland and Broncos forward bought a retro-style home in a popular Gold Coast beachside location. Cotality records show Carrigan paid $1.61 million for a Burleigh Waters home. "Presenting a charming fusion of retro coastal design complemented by a contemporary renovation, this timeless three-bedroom home is the perfect offering for families who love to entertain," the property's marketing states. "Summer weekends are sorted with the sun-drenched in-ground swimming pool and plenty of lawn for the kids to play, while the allure of James Street and iconic Burleigh Beach are just a short five-minute cycle away." The home also features a rear lounge which could be used as a gym. In 2019, Carrigan bought a three-bedroom house for $640,000 in Holland Park West. Records indicate he still owns the home. Josh Papali'i In 2024, the veteran Canberra forward sold his Evatt property. The property sold at auction for $1.0905 million. This was just short of the $1.1 million price guide. "We want more bedrooms and we want to stay north-side," he told the Canberra Times of the decision to sell. "To be honest, I have never thought of looking at houses [in the south]. I've always been north-side and I am just used to the area." Papali'i had bought the home in 2020 for $900,000. The four-bedroom house includes a swimming pool, cubby house, giant slide, sandpit and putting green. The front yard was also converted to a half basketball court. The family was said to be renting after the sale while they considered their next move. However, 'Big Papa', recalled to the Queensland team for the 2025 decider, hasn't ruled out signing with another NRL club for the 2026 season.
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
NSW insider answers key question surrounding Nathan Cleary before Origin decider
NSW Blues performance manager Frank Ponissi has claimed Nathan Cleary won't be goal-kicking in the State of Origin decider even though he will be fine to kick in general play. There are a number oc NSW players carrying slight injury setbacks into the decider with Cleary, Brian To'o and Payne Haas battling niggles ahead of Wednesday's showdown. Haas and To'o have not taken part in any training session ahead of the captain's run on Tuesday with some concern around the duo. And Cleary has been struggling with a groin injury heading into Game 3, which limited his impact in Perth. Cleary injured his groin in the captain's run ahead of Game 2, which saw him handover the kicking duties to Zac Lomax. Both Cleary and Lomax have struggled with the tee in the series having only slotted four from nine attempts across both games. Cleary has the best goal-kicking record at club level of any of the NSW players in the team, but questions have remained over whether he will once again drop his goal-kicking duties in the decider due to his injury. And speaking to SEN Radio on Monday morning, Melbourne Storm and NSW Blues high performance manager Ponissi claimed Cleary won't be kicking for goal in the decider. "Yeah, probably unlikely he will be doing the kicking," Ponissi said of Cleary goal-kicking. "We are going to stick with Zac Lomax. But everything else with Nathan, he hasn't missed a beat at hasn't had to be managed in terms of his workload. General play kicking he is fine, it's just won't be kicking." NSW struggled in the first 40 minutes against Queensland in Game 2 with Cleary opting to avoid most of the general play kicking duties due to his injury. Although the halfback emerged in the second-half with the Blues trailing and took back control in a huge improvement for NSW. And it appears he will be kicking from the first whistle in the decider in a massive boost for his state. After the squad was selected last week, coach Laurie Daley backed the Eels winger Lomax to step-up in the decider having already suggested Cleary is set to skip the duties due to his injury. "I doubt whether (Cleary) will goal-kick," Daley said. "I think we'll go with Zac, and Latrell (Mitchell) or Steve Crichton will be on stand-by if something happens to Zac." The stats show Latrell Mitchell and Stephen Crichton are both arguably better options than Lomax, whose kicking percentage declined in his last few seasons with the Dragons. Although NSW fans should expect Lomax to line-up for goal with the Blues relying on the winger to step-up during Cleary's struggles. RELATED: Cameron Munster rocked by devastating news as captain leaves camp Family first as Panthers star withdraws from representative games Another player who has been a huge talking point heading into the decider is To'o. The Penrith Panthers winger was outstanding in Game 2 having scored two tries and ran for more than 200m. However, he injured his knee in the Panthers' win over the Bulldogs in round 17 and hasn't trained with the side yet. Jacob Kiraz was a surprise 18th man selection for NSW and it meant he couldn't line-up for his side against the Broncos on Friday night. And while Ponissi explained the importance of Kiraz's selection in the squad, he does expect To'o to play for the Blues. "It's going to be rare that a team in Origin, in the middle of the season, to have 20 fit 1 we handled it really well, and probably Game 2 we didn't. There were a few disruptions. And the way we selected our 20 was to make sure the injury concerns weren't going to disrupt the team," Ponissi said. "That's why we selected a winger in 18th man. Jacob Kiraz. He has been basically training for Brian To'o all week. If Brian was not going to make it, it would be a smooth transition. We still expect Brian to play. We expect everyone to train this afternoon and the 17 selected to play on Wednesday night." " NSW will be looking to win their second series in a row in front of their home crowd. Queensland coach Billy Slater has made a number of changes ahead of the decider and will be looking to avoid a second series defeat as coach.
Daily Mail
01-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Nathan Cleary makes a worrying confession as he gets ready for Origin game three
New South Wales star Nathan Cleary has worryingly revealed that he hasn't kicked a goal since he tweaked his groin in the run-up to State of Origin II. The Penrith halfback handed over kicking duties for the match to Zac Lomax, who struggled off the tee, booting two of his five attempts at goal. Laurie Daly's side would ultimately succumb to a 26-24 defeat by Queensland. Cleary, meanwhile, raised alarm bells as he ran out to play with a support grip on his right thigh during the match. While he missed the Panther's Round 16 clash against the Warriors, Cleary returned to run the show against his side's 8-6 win against Canterbury, but was still seen wearing the support grip. When asked whether he would return to kick for the Blues next week in Sydney, Cleary admitted he was weary of aggravating the injury again, but did also leave the door open for a potential return. 'It's a call we are probably going to make pretty early in the week,' Cleary said on Tuesday. 'Since it happened I haven't had a goal kick yet. 'You don't want to try it and then get another setback. 'We will see.' Cleary was instrumental in Penrith's victory against Canterbury last Thursday, scoring the Panthers' only try of the match. However, he had handed over kicking duties to fullback Dylan Edwards for the game, who slotted the conversion off the back of Cleary's try and a penalty too. Lomax, meanwhile, returned to feature in both of the Eels Round 16 and 17 matches against the Titans and the Dragons. The centre, 25, was gutted after State of Origin II and refused to speak to the media after missing three shots at goal. But the Parramatta star is looking to turn things around for State of Origin III, with Lomax booting eight goals across his last two NRL appearances. 'I pride myself on being the best kicker I can be,' he told 9News. 'Sometimes you live or die by the sword when you goal kick, and you wear that heavy. 'I was disappointed. I'm a goal kicker and I love goal kicking, so nothing will change.'
News.com.au
28-06-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
Injury-hit Dragons hold on as Eels comeback is thwarted by late Zac Lomax blunder
St George Illawarra's second-half collapses almost took on a whole new meaning after they threatened to surrender a 22-point lead against a resurgent Eels in Wollongong on Saturday evening. On a night of high drama in front of one of the biggest ever crowds for a Dragons game at WIN Stadium, Shane Flanagan's embattled side limped to the finish with not a single fit player on the bench for the last 15 minutes. On top of losing winger Christian Tuipulotu in the warm-up, the Dragons had veteran hooker Damien Cook struggle in the closing minutes, and they will be counting the cost of a desperately-needed 34-20 victory in coming days. Forwards Luciano Leilua (quad), Hamish Stewart (concussion), Toby Couchman (shoulder) and Viliami Fifita (knee) all failed to finish the game, heaping the pressure on the Red V before a torrid month in which they're due to play the ladder-leading Raiders, Roosters and Bulldogs. If Dragons fans hadn't suffered enough by already losing three games this season when leading by 12 points after half-time – against the Rabbitohs, Eels and Sharks – their stress levels were off the charts as they somehow kept their top eight fight alive. Parramatta threatened to erase a massive 26-4 half-time deficit through quick tries to Dragons old boy Zac Lomax, Dean Hawkins and Kelma Tuilagi, and it almost looked inevitable they would chalk up one of the most remarkable wins in their recent history against a busted hosts. But Lomax tried an audacious offload with less than five minutes left after a Tuilagi line break, the ball falling to Valentine Holmes, who sprinted 60 metres to ice the Dragons' sixth win of the season. Kyle Flanagan kicked a last-minute penalty goal to seal the result. The Dragons could finish the weekend on the same number of points as eighth spot if the Sharks don't upset the Storm in Melbourne on Sunday. Shane Flanagan was breathing fire even before kick-off, telling Fox League in a pre-game interview some of the criticism of his halves, son Kyle and rookie Lyhkan King-Togia, was 'ridiculous'. In a sparkling first-half in which the Dragons ran riot, King-Togia in particular was outstanding, and Kyle Flanagan produced his own statement with a neat try to extend St George Illawarra's lead. But the match turned on its head after half-time, with Leilua failing to return to the field, Stewart knocked out after a kick-off carry from Matt Doorey and Couchman in significant pain with a shoulder complaint. LOMAX JEERED ON WOLLONGONG RETURN Lomax wrote his own headlines in his first match against his old club earlier this year, sensationally kicking a golden point field goal before missing the next six weeks with a foot injury. But he had no control over the fans at WIN Stadium. And he couldn't muster the result he wanted. There were a smattering of boos every time he went near the ball, and they were loudest when he lined up his only first-half conversion attempt which cannoned into the post. LAWSON'S ON If you'd told Nathan Lawson 15 minutes before kick-off he'd have his first NRL try just a couple of sets after the kick-off, he would have laughed at you because he wasn't even supposed to be playing. But Tuipulotu was injured in the warm-up, prompting a frantic chaotic last-minute change and Lawson scored at the end of the Dragons' first set with the ball. By half-time, Lawson had a double and St George Illawarra's opposite winger Corey Allan had left the field for a concussion test, passed it and returned to score his own four-pointer as the Dragons steamed the Eels through the middle and took advantage on the edges. But the second half couldn't have been a greater contrast with the Eels' 2026 signing Jack de Belin typifying the Dragons' struggles, forced to play on an edge as his side desperately hung on.
