Zac Lomax’s dream Origin audition as Eels thrash hapless Knights

The Eels have dominated the Newcastle Knights on the back of starring displays from a couple of State of Origin hopefuls.

The Parramatta Eels have soured Dane Gagai’s 300th NRL game, overcoming Newcastle 28-6 to snare their third win of the season.

With the Eels heading into the match 2-7 and firmly in last place, it was easy to forget that until Friday night, marquee signing Zac Lomax and skipper Mitchell Moses were yet to play a game together in clubland.

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The two forged a strong combination in the Origin arena last season before being reinforced at the end of 2024 after the pair both made their Kangaroos debut, which picked up where it left off on Friday night.

Meanwhile Newcastle have hit a new low this season, after also losing to the Titans despite leading 20-0 early on, leaving coach Adam O’Brien with one win from his last eight games.

Zac Lomax had a super night for the Eels. (Photo by Scott Gardiner/Getty Images)

“This is embarrassing,” noted Steve ‘Blocker’ Roach in commentary, while Andrew Voss said: “This is crisis stuff.”

After a sloppy opening ten minutes, it was New South Wales’ likely five-eighth in Moses that opened the scoring, leaping through the air to take a Dylan Brown cross-field kick to dot down next to the posts.

The Origin chatter may have landed the spotlight on Moses, however the pressure was firmly on his halves partner Brown, facing the Knights for the first time since inking a ten-year, $13 million deal with the club in March.

If either half were nervous running around at McDonald Jones Stadium, it certainly didn’t show as Moses popped up again to extend the Eels’ lead.

A short-ball to ageing prop Junior Paulo saw the front-rower pop the ball out to Moses, firing a ball to Will Penisini out wide as the centre sent Lomax over for a try in his Origin audition.

The former Dragon was one of the Blues’ best in 2024, however a broken foot in Round 5 meant Friday’s clash against the Knights was Lomax’s only chance to hit the field before the Origin opener in 12 days.

Mitchell Moses also starred for the comfortable winners. (Photo by Scott Gardiner/Getty Images)

The centre-turned-winger soared over NRL debutant Fletcher Hunt again and again in the opening stanza, though couldn’t extend the lead past 10-0.

The story was the same as weeks gone by for Newcastle, popping up in strong field position only for the final pass to hit the turf.

It’s been a double-edged sword for the red-and-blue this season, either throwing caution to the wind and dropping the footy, or playing conservative without managing to threaten the opposition’s defence.

Their lack of attack stretched firmly into the second-half, struggling to find that last pass as their spine struggled to organise the side.

Lomax had his brace midway through the second period, a near-bobble from Penisini launched out wide to the incumbent Blue, dotting down in the corner to extend the lead to 16-0.

Newcastle would only implode further from there, another error from young Hunt handing Parramatta key field position heading into the game’s final quarter.

While they couldn’t find the line, yet another infringement from O’Brien’s side saw import Kai Pearce-Paul sent to the sin bin, slamming the flood gates wide open.

Dane Gagai celebrates his 300th game with his family and Andrew Abdo. (Photo by Scott Gardiner/Getty Images)

A bittersweet moment saw the man Newcastle have leveraged their future on, Brown, slide over under the sticks on the ball of a Josh Addo-Carr line break, before a short-ball from Moses to Jordan Samrani handed the Eels a 28-0 lead, and the youngster his first NRL try.

It took Newcastle 75 minutes just to trouble the scorers against the NRL’s last-placed side, a shift to the right giving the milestone man Gagai a chance to shine in his 300th.

The former Maroon shimmied to the right, drawing the winger before finding James Schiller with a flick pass, sending the speedster down the touchline to cut the lead to 22.

The loss leaves Newcastle in equal last, only a better for-and-against keeping the struggling side above Parramatta and the Gold Coast.

The result does set up two key clashes next weekend, as Parramatta chase consecutive wins for the first time this season against Manly, while Newcastle will face a Penrith side missing a host of stars to State of Origin.

Originally published as Zac Lomax’s dream Origin audition as Eels thrash hapless Knights