Zac Lomax, how Blues, Parramatta, Kangaroos star became NRL’s biggest aerial threat

Zac Lomax’s memory is a little fuzzy, but he reckons he tried Aussie Rules for just one game, and to say they were soundly beaten might have been an understatement.

“I think we got beat by about 80,” Lomax laughs. “I got one goal (though).

“In Temora, whatever sport was in at the time or whatever season it was, that was the sport I was playing. That was everyone in Temora, and I suppose it could get you a little bit of time off school as well.

“But I get that question all the time: would I play AFL? It’s just always been rugby league.”

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Thankfully for the Eels, NSW and Australia, it’s unlikely to change any time soon.

Before Lomax, there were other rugby league luminaries such as Israel Folau and Karmichael Hunt who tried to switch from one football code to another foreign one.

As fantastic athletes they were, their skills were nowhere near as transferable as those of Lomax, who kicks well, jumps well and has a motor which makes him one of the fittest in the code.

Last year, he leapt so high into the Melbourne night sky in State of Origin, the locals were convinced they might have been watching Jeremy Cameron take a speccie in the MCG forward pocket.

Last week, Lomax’s old coach at the Dragons, Shane Flanagan, was only half joking when he said the winger could jump over “small buildings”. Flanagan fought tooth and nail for the 25-year-old to play on the wing rather than centre, and it led Lomax to repeatedly request a release, while earning both Origin and Test honours in his last year at St George Illawarra.

Lomax has never measured his vertical jump like prospective draftees in basketball or AFL would, but you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to work out it would be one of, if not the best, in the competition.

Zac Lomax catches a high ball to score a try during game two of the 2024 men's State of Origin series. Source: Getty Images

So, what makes Lomax the NRL’s best aerial threat?

“I don’t think I’ve seen many people get up that high, but it’s catching them as well,” Lomax’s Blues teammate Nathan Cleary says. “There are people who can get up, but they drop them. His ability to catch it into contest is pretty incredible.”

Cleary is right.

Lomax is tall, but there are taller. His official player profile lists him at 190cm, way below some of the NRL modern day giants such as Dom Young (200cm) and Daniel Tupou (196cm). Lomax is fast, but there is faster. He wouldn’t hold a candle to Jason Saab or Alofiana Khan-Pereira among the NRL’s flankers.

But he has what most others don’t: a desperate desire to fight for every scrap, high or low.

“You know he just competes on everything,” NSW fullback Dylan Edwards says. “You try to get as many people around you to get protection (when playing against him), but he’s going to fight through that and there’s going to be a collision in the air.

“He’s strong, he’s powerful and he’s a good jumper. But he’s got really good hand-eye (co-ordination) and big mits on him.”

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Like Edwards, Lomax is a massive fan of boxing. The sweet science is one of his passions away from rugby league, and he’s been known to be in the corner of professional boxers on fight nights during his downtime.

Studying the art comes with knowing about the best body positions to manipulate an opponent. Lomax always seems to have the timing of his jump and body in perfect harmony to mug his rivals as high balls rain down on rival fullbacks and wingers.

But it’s what he does before the ball lands which he suspects is the key to his success.

“At the start, you watch the ball to see if you can get there,” Lomax says. “You’ve got a fair idea of the flight, but you have to go hard straight away. I try to (get past) a few defenders straight away, but if you watch closely, my eyes are purely on the footy.

“You want to be able to get yourself into a position as quick as you can. There are a lot of people that want to escort you off the footy. You’ve just got to put your body around the collision.

“There are a few technical things (that go into it) for sure.”

WOLLONGONG, AUSTRALIA - JUNE 28: Zac Lomax of the Eels catches the ball during the round 17 NRL match between St George Illawarra Dragons and Parramatta Eels at WIN Stadium on June 28, 2025 in Wollongong, Australia. (Photo by Darrian Traynor/Getty Images) Source: Getty Images

Instead of the always-hyped height mismatch between Queensland’s Xavier Coates and NSW’s Brian To’o, the Maroons had Coates line up against Lomax during their Origin II upset in Perth. It’s expected to be the same again for the decider in Sydney.

The big change to Queensland’s back three will be Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow replacing the injured Kalyn Ponga at fullback, leading to a theory NSW will launch more aerial attacks down the middle of the field at the Dolphins superstar, with Lomax floating infield.

There won’t even need to be a conversation between Cleary and Lomax about the best place to target, primarily because they will be lucky to hear each other in the middle of 80,000 deafening fans at Accor Stadium.

“It’s building that trust and combination throughout the week,” Cleary says. “I need to know where he wants it.”

Says Lomax: “To be fair, (catching attacking kicks) is just something I’ve done from a young age. It’s always been about trying to compete on the ball, it doesn’t matter where it is. It’s something I enjoy doing.

“You can come up with a few errors from it. But if there’s a collision you can force an error. I just try to come down with as many as I can.”

And if he comes down with one on Wednesday night, it might just be the difference between winning and losing the Origin shield.

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