St George Illawarra coach Shane Flanagan has fired up at accusations of double standards after the club agreed to release Zac Lomax.
Lomax had asked for permission to leave immediately, but the Dragons compromised and said he could quit his lucrative contract at the end of this current season.
But the news this week was whacked by league legend Billy Slater, who accused the Red V of being hypocritical after refusing to let Ben Hunt walk away despite several requests last year.
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Veteran halfback Hunt wanted to leave Wollongong and move home to southern Queensland to finish his career.
New coach Flanagan eventually convinced him to stay put – a feat he failed to achieve with Lomax.
When pressed on the two situations at a press conference on Thursday, the coach hit back.
"We can't have people that don't want to be here, that's the main point," Flanagan began.
"We've worked hard to turn (Lomax) around and it just hasn't happened so we've got to move forward.
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"Ben's got nothing to do with Zac Lomax – Ben wants to be here… Ben will see out his contract, and maybe go further.
"So don't confuse the issue Ben and Zac, they are completely two different issues."
Flanagan also fired up at suggestions Lomax may yet be released mid-season if the Dragons are offered a suitable player swap.
Exiled Storm giant Nelson Asofa-Solomona had been floated as an immediate direct trade, while Andrew Johns suggests it could be done with young Eels playmaker Ethan Sanders.
"There's no player swap going on. Zac's here for the rest of the year, I don't know where that came from," Flanagan said.
"Hopefully this is the last time we speak about it, because this is not news… all the people I talk to are dead set sick of it, and so am I."
Lomax will see out his full $800,000 contract with the Dragons this year but will sacrifice the remaining $1.6 million on the deal he had signed with the club.
He was disgruntled by a forced switch from centre to the wing by Flanagan this season.
But the new coach says Lomax's desire to leave had festered long before Flanagan arrived at the club, and denied there was any personal issue between the pair.
"There will be stories going around that we've had arguments – there's been none of that," he said.
"Zac has made a decision that he wants to leave the club, and the club has made the decision to let him go from his last two years.
"There have been a lot of conversations behind closed doors and we will keep them that way.
"It's not the first time this has happened and it's not going to be the last."
The Dragons travel to Newcastle to face the Knights on Friday.
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