Zac Lomax field goal seals 23-22 win for Parramatta Eels over Dragons

Former Dragons star Zac Lomax has got one over on his old team, as Parramatta claimed their first win of the season in the first golden point match of the year.

Zac Lomax left the CommBank Stadium surface in tears. The way Eels were tracking midway through the second half it looked like at one point that they were going to be far from joyful tears. The Eels trailed 20-8 and Lomax had to watch on as former Eel Clint Gutherson looked destined for a fairytale return of his own.

Enter Lomax. Battling a toe injury he picked up late in the game, Lomax nailed a match winning golden point field goal from 23 metres out. And instantly he was overcome with emotion as he welled up with tears.

He gestured towards the grandstands as he was swarmed by his teammates after clinching the big moment.

“I am super pumped,” Lomax said. “To get a win here in front of our fans ….that was our focus irrespective of that we were playing the Dragons. They are some of my best mates there and they will be my mates forever.

“We just needed to get a win. That’s not just me but all the boys.”

Former Dragon Zac Lomax of the Eels celebrates after kicking the gamewinning field goal in golden point. Picture: Getty Images

Lomax landed a long-range penalty goal with three minutes remaining to draw the scores level with five minutes left. He missed a two point field goal in the dying stages of regulation time before landing the big moment.

Even without the win, the Eels looked a far more committed outfit. Junior Paulo rattled the Dragons defensively, Dylan Brown looked an attacking threat with the ball while Dylan Walker was a handy inclusion. Rookie fullback Isaiah Iongi continues to enjoy a youthful exuberance. He looked dangerous with his touches and also threw an errant pass over the sideline. But his moment came when he made a try-saving tackle on Gutherson on the last tackle before racing back in position in time to hit the ball dead from a grubber in-goal to prevent the Dragons from scoring.

The Lomax field goal also gave coach Jason Ryles his first win in charge and prevented him from becoming the first coach in the NRL era to start their career with five consecutive losses.

-Michael Carayannis

MATCH REPORT: LOMAX DESTROYS GUTHO’S EELS HOMECOMING

A golden point field goal from Zac Lomax has helped Parramatta destroy Clint Gutherson’s homecoming, in turn delivering Jason Ryles his first NRL win as an NRL head coach.

In thrilling match played in front of 19,302 fans at CommBank Stadium on Saturday afternoon, Lomax stepped up from 25 metres out to drill the match winner three minutes into extra time.

All eyes were on Gutherson and Lomax as they took the field against their former clubs for the first time and neither disappointed.

Eels fans booed Gutherson early in the first half when he returned a kick, Dragons fans returning serve whenever Lomax got involved. It was almost comical, if not predictable.

But it was Lomax and the Eels who had the last laugh, storming back into the contest from 20-8 down early in the second half to win 23-22.

Lomax got the last laugh against his old team. Picture: Getty Images

Lomax made 114 appearances across seven seasons for the Red V, going on to play State of Origin for NSW and for the Kangaroos in his last season with the club, and now he has played a winning hand in helping Parramatta blast their victory song for the first time in 2025.

An ecstatic Ryles was proud of his players for staying in the fight to get their 2025 campaign off the mark.

“Honestly, it’s relief because I see how hard the players have worked and I see what they’ve put into it and I see every day they’re working really, really hard,” Ryles said.

“Then there’s parts of the game where we look really good and then there’s just individual lapses that sort of happened, which you spoke about before the game, and then to see them finally get what they deserved was just relieving more than exciting.”

Ryles was not surprised the Lomax owned the game’s biggest moments.

“I’ve seen Zac do that at training plenty of times and unprompted even, like we’ll do scenarios, that type of thing, but even when it’s not a scenario, he still does them from 40,” Ryles said.

“It could have been Peter Brady that kicked the field goal, as long as it went over. It just happened to be Zac and it’s a good storyline for you guys. I get all that.

“There was just the ball went between the posts and we got one point, and that made the difference.”

For nine years the heart and soul of the Eels before the arrival of Ryles, Gutherson was granted an early release in November to take up a three-year deal at the Dragons after it became apparent he did not have a long term future at Parramatta.

Former Eel Clint Gutherson dominated against his old team, but the Dragons fell apart in the dying stages. Picture: Getty Images

Almost as if scripted, Gutherson scored the game’s first try, beating three hapless Eels defenders in a determined 10 metre run on 16 minutes to touch down under the posts. Later in the first period he had a hand in another four pointer, feeding Christian Tuipulotu for a try in the corner.

The veteran fullback opened the scoring in the second half too, burrowing through three Eels from dummy half, for the Dragons to go up 20-8.

But the Eels and Lomax, playing on the right wing, would not give up and fought back with a slashing try to fullback Isaiah Iongi and another from rookie backrower Kitione Kautoga to level the scores at 20-a-piece.

The teams traded controversial penalties soon after, before the match went to golden point.

The Dragons’ second half penalty goal came after Eels halfback Dean Hawkins put a goal line drop out over the sideline on the full. Referee Gerard Sutton ruled that it was a penalty rather than a play the ball because no Parramatta player had contested the ball.

“That was not contestable,” Sutton explained to perplexed Parramatta players.

Kevin Walters on Fox League was not convinced.

“Now come on, this rule needs to be clarified. We saw some drop outs last night that weren’t contestable either. That’s a bit tough there for Parramatta,” Walters said.

Almost as though the game needed a drama filled response, Sutton then penalised Dragon Jack de Belin for a crusher tackle.

Enter Lomax’s first heroic kick to level the scores at 22-all from 43 metres out and straight in front.

Parramatta captain Junior Paulo, who once again was a workhorse for his side, said the Eels focused on taking the game to the Dragons when they fell behind by 12 points.

“I think it was just more so stick to our process. You know that game wasn’t handed to us on a platter. We had to fight for it, and I think that was the rewarding part,” Paulo said.

“We were challenged on chasing the game and I thought certain people in key positions really chased the game and that was the point of difference for us.

“You know, it’s been evident in patches for us over the last couple of weeks, but finding that consistency is going to be, you know, the new challenge for us in really going after the game. I thought certain people in key positions really done that today.”

THE NEW GUTHO

While Gutherson showed Ryles and the Eels what they were missing with his performance, his replacement Isaiah Iongi displayed glimpses of what they have gained.

Touted as a future star when he moved from Penrith during the off season, the 21-year-old has had a slow start to his Eels career behind a team that has struggled to get going so far this season.

Iongi threatened on both sides of the field, particularly when he popped up on the left edge and combined with Dylan Brown.

The livewire fullback scored a stunning second half try, cut a flying Gutherson down to save another, had a try assist, a line break and two line break assists, while running for 200m.

Isaiah Iongi impressed for Parra, scoring one try and setting up another. Picture: Getty Images

IS BROWN BACK?

Brown, meanwhile, put in his best performance since inking a massive 10-year, $13 million contract with Newcastle last month.

The Eels five eighth has been under pressure to justify the monster deal with a series of lacklustre displays while the Eels battled through a winless start to 2025 and while it wasn’t the perfect display, it was an improvement on recent weeks.

Today, Brown regularly looked dangerous in attack, while in defence he was typically solid, renewing his reputation as one of the NRL’s best defensive halves.

REED REPLACEMENT

Parramatta might have found their long term hooker, three years after Reed Mahoney left for the Bulldogs.

Playing just his fifth game in the top grade, Ryley Smith came off the bench and immediately added some spark to the Eels’ attack while helping to shore up defence in the middle of the field.