Wherever Zac Lomax ends up next year, one thing is for sure: the Dragons are going to miss him.
His skill under the high-ball, speed on the outside, and safe hands were among the biggest reasons for the Dragons 24-12 victory over the Tigers in Campbelltown on Sunday night.
Zac Lomax played one of his best games for the Dragons on Sunday night.Credit: Getty
Whenever Lomax touched the ball, it turned to gold. Perhaps it was a nod to Parramatta, the club he’s tipped to join on a multimillion-dollar deal from next year.
Whether it was the pressure to impress, or just the desire for a win, whatever was fuelling Lomax on Sunday night was working. It took him just two minutes to score the Dragons’ opening points.
His combination with Jack Bird down the right-edge was scarily quick. Add to that a floating Tyrell Sloan, who helped get the ball on the outside of Justin Olam, and the Dragons were in the points before the Tigers knew what happened.
To top it all off, Lomax successfully took on Tigers fullback Jahream Bula under the high ball, taking the catch with ease and passing off to Kyle Flanagan who gave them a 10-point lead at the break.
It would seem every week coach Shane Flanagan is vindicated for his decision to move Lomax to the wing, and he was straight to-the-point when asked about Lomax’s performance on Sunday.
“He was good, real good. I never doubted Zac’s ability, that’s for sure, and it’s his decision to want to leave the club, not ours,” Flanagan said.
“That’s life. Players leave clubs, players come to clubs, we’ve got him this year, and we’ll make the most of it, and he’s doing an outstanding job on the wing, isn’t he?”
Stefano Utoikamanu celebrates after scoring the opening try for the Tigers.Credit: Getty
The most that Tigers fans had to cheer for was a charging try for Stefano Utoikamanu in the first half. It would take the home side another 56 minutes before they found their next points.
A frustrated Benji Marshall in the coaches box summed up the feeling of fans around the ground – the Tigers made fewer errors than the Dragons, but they made their errors in the worst places at the worst times.
The team were revived after Asu Kepaoa scored with 10 minutes to go, but it was too little too late.
Coach Benji Marshall didn’t mince his words after the game.
“I thought that was probably our worst performance of the season,” Marshall said. “I’ve talked about standards probably every press conference, and today was probably the furthest we were away from the things we talked about doing and practicing.
“We’re a team that’s still trying to figure out how we win and find our way through it, and today I thought we bumbled around a lot, and I thought we were looking for a soft way to win at the start, instead of earning the right.”
“We practise all week a certain way we wanted to play, and we didn’t execute that ... I just thought today it looked like it was St George’s home game. They had more energy, more intensity than us.”
