From park footy to Origin arena: Why Zac is set to shine on biggest stage

Those who witnessed Zac Lomax’s senior debut as a 16-year-old had no doubt he was destined to play Origin and are backing him to thrive in the pressure of a series decider at Suncorp Stadium.

After receiving an exemption to play for Thirroul Butchers before his 17th birthday in 2016, Lomax laid on two tries against a Brett Kimmorley-coached Wests Devils and a week later scored one himself in which he flew high above the defence to catch a kick.

“We see him score tries like that now, but he was only 16 and for someone at that age to be doing what he was doing against men was outstanding. He was head and shoulders above everyone else,” Butchers coach Jarrod Costello said.

Yet it wasn’t just Lomax’s skill that stood out, but the confidence and self-belief the then schoolboy displayed from his first match playing against former NRL stars Daniel Holdsworth and Junior Vaivai.

“I think he probably showed a bit of nerves the first couple of times he got the ball but by halfway through the game he was kicking for touch, he was kicking off and kicking in general play,” Costello said.

“He was really confident, and he played really well.”

Lomax joined the Butchers after moving from Temora to play for the Dragons and he started in under 18s under the coaching of Ben Linde, who is now in charge of the Burleigh Bears Mal Meninga Cup team.

“His attention to detail and preparation, even at that community level, was like ‘wow’,” Linde said.

“The freakish stuff he does on the footy field you don’t even think twice about it when you have seen him and been around him for years, and seen the work he puts in.

“I could see from the very first training session that he was obviously an elite talent but the thing that really impressed me was the way he embraced the other players who maybe weren’t as talented as him.

“He is a good human first, as well as a good player, and he just wanted to help the guys around him.”

After graduating to the NRL ranks with the Dragons in 2018, Lomax remained involved with the club and helped Ben Couchman to coach the Butchers under 18s team.

Among the players in the team were which Ryan and Toby Couchman, who continue to seek advice and guidance from their 24-year-old Dragons team-mate.

“Zac got in contact with the club and said he was looking to help out however he could,” Toby said. “He came to training once a week and he helped out whenever he could.

“It was really helpful having him involved and it was awesome that he helped coach me two years before I played NRL with him. He was pretty committed too, and he came to every game he was able to.

“To this day I am really close to Zac and I still take a lot from him. He is a good leader, he competes so hard at training every day and he leads with his actions.”

Ryan added: “We were 17 at the time and he was really good for us - and he still is. He helps me out and talks to me about things outside of footy as well. He is one of our leaders and he drives standards, so you want to play with people like that.”

Former St George Illawarra coach Paul McGregor, who handed Lomax his NRL debut in the final regular season match before the 2018 season play-offs, said Lomax’s talent was only matched by his work ethic.

Living near to WIN Stadium, Lomax would regularly be the first to arrive at training and one of the last to leave as he worked on aspects of his game he wanted to improve, as well as goalkicking.

“The staff would be there early, and he was always one of the first players to arrive at training and he was still there practicing stuff at the end when everyone was going in for a shower,” McGregor said.

“If you talk about players who are devoted to their craft and are always challenging themselves to be better, Zac is definitely in that category.

“He is a good athlete, at 18 years-old he was breaking all of the records at the club, so he debuted at a very young age in the week before a semi-final, and he kept that position during the semis.

“With his athleticism, his fitness, size and his devotion to his trade, he is getting the best out of himself.”

After making his Origin debut in last month’s series opener, Lomax was close to NSW’s best player in their 38-18 win at the MCG and McGregor said he wouldn’t be overawed playing before a hostile Queensland crowd at Suncorp Stadium.

“He is a very confident young man who won’t be at all concerned about the arena,” said McGregor, who played 14 Origins for NSW.

“He has amnesia too, so if something doesn’t go his way, he forgets about it and just gets on with the next thing, which is important at this level.

“Zac had a few setbacks early in his career, he broke his hands or his thumbs, so he has missed a bit of footy, but he is starting to know now what he brings to the footy team.”