NRL legend Brad Fittler has doubled down on his criticism of the Zac Lomax contract saga and taken a fresh swipe at the player for a parting shot at rugby league.
Lomax was last week blocked from joining Melbourne after quitting his Parramatta contract at the end of last season for a failed pursuit of rebel rugby competition R360.
This week he dropped a bombshell on Australian sport by signing a two-year deal with Rugby Australia and the Western Force.
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In his statement he said he was excited to play "a truly international game", which was taken by many to be a cheeky dig at rugby league.
Fittler already teed off on the messy NRL break-up on Nine's The Sunday Footy Show, but on Wednesday night he lambasted the situation again and smacked Lomax over the comment.
"Crazy… I reckon it's all been very immature. The whole thing, from the outset," he told Nine's Freddy and the Eighth.
"It was just amateur hour across the board.
"Then for Zac to come out and talk about 'now I'm in a truly international game'… seriously, just get on with it mate. Everyone, just get on with it.
"This has taken up way too much time, way too much money.
"The whole thing has been handled poorly."
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Fittler was once a huge fan of Lomax, labelling him "the gifted one" after coaching him at junior Origin level and then handing him a senior NSW Blues debut in 2024.
Fellow league legend Andrew Johns is confident Lomax will be back in the NRL one day, and backed Parramatta's hardline stance in refusing to hand the Origin star to the Storm for peanuts.
"He will be back eventually. But the question is what club would take him," Johns said.
"Look at the guys that have gone (to rugby) – Wendell (Sailor), Roger (Tuivasa-Sheck), Sam Burgess – they all come back.
"(The Eels) should be applauded for it. They've been really strong."
Fittler pointed out Parramatta may have won the contract to-and-fro but it counted for little when the Eels were belted 52-4 by the Storm last week.
"They lose a player, a quality player, who they don't replace and then they get beat by 50 in the first game," he said.
"It shows it hasn't been the best off-season.
"I think the players at the moment have to stand up for what the club believes in. They went down to Melbourne and got pumped.
"If they stood up in that game I thought you know what, this could be the turning around of Parramatta.
"If (Lomax) played for Melbourne it could have been 70 (points the difference)."
The wounded Eels fly to Brisbane for a tough clash with the reigning premiers on Thursday night.
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