‘Security has probably got to be taken up a notch’: Players call for better protection after Zac Lomax incident

NRL players are fed up with pitch invaders, calling on stadiums to beef up security to avoid a repeat of what happened to Zac Lomax.

A fan was allowed to hug Zac Lomax during Tuesday’s game at Allianz Stadium. Picture: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

Dragons hard man Blake Lawrie has revealed police spoke with teammate Zac Lomax after the centre was hugged by a pitch invader during Tuesday’s loss to the Roosters at Allianz Stadium.

The man has been charged with common assault and banned from the venue for two years after he ran onto the field with five minutes remaining while the teams stood around waiting for the bunker to rule on a captain’s challenge.

Not sure I’ve seen a more casual security response to a pitch invader… Bloke had time to hug Dragons centre Zac Lomax… pic.twitter.com/lwrS751cvw

— Eamonn Tiernan (@Eamonn_Tiernan) April 25, 2023

The concern was that security took a long time to apprehend the invader who covered a lot of ground before he got to Lomax and hugged him, with one guard backtracking to pick up a walkie-talkie instead of grabbing the offender.

Roosters skipper James Tedesco was on the field at the time and said stadium security had to be a lot better at protecting the players.

“It’s very dangerous,” he said.

“Who knows what the invader could have on them or (if they want to) attack a player. It is a bit scary. Obviously, security need to be a bit better there and not allow pitch invaders to get in contact with any players.”

Lawrie echoed those sentiments, revealing police were in the Dragons sheds after the game to monitor the situation.

Blake Lawrie wants better protection for players after what happened to Zac Lomax on Anzac Day. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

“I didn't see it at all. All I saw was the police officers in the sheds after the game, and Zac said to me after the game, ‘I got tackled by a streaker’,” he said.

“I've seen a couple of articles on it. I think Tedesco had a fairly strong wording on that topic. It’s important going forward that we can get the right measures in place to protect us.”

Lomax said the whole incident had been blown out of proportion but called on stadium staff to be ramped up across the country.

“I think he must have won some money or something. He seemed pretty happy,” Lomax said on Thursday afternoon.

“I think we were doing a captain’s challenge at that time and he came on and just gave me a cuddle. It is what it is. That’s rugby league.

“There has been a lot that’s been said about it, but it’s been probably blown up out of proportion a little bit.

“Ideally, you’d want security guards there that end up stopping him before it ends up getting to that point. I’d imagine in the future that there are probably going to be a lot more security guards there at all the games.

“It’s been blown out of proportion a little bit, but I reckon they’ve got to go back and have a look at it because security has probably got to be taken up a notch.

“In regards to how I feel about it, it’s no skin off my nose.”

Things can get dangerous as we saw last year when a fan ran onto the field with a lit flare. Picture; Mark Kolbe/Getty Images

Rugby league is no stranger to pitch invaders with several incidents last year, including one man running onto the field with a flare at PointsBet Stadium, while another got on the field during the grand final.

It’s why Lomax wasn’t shocked when someone was able to get to him on the field before security intervened.

“Not really because I think we had another streaker here earlier in the year. It ended up where he ran right next to me. It’s happened a few times so you don’t think anything of it,” he replied when asked if he was surprised by what happened.

“I’m not sure if Teddy and Dozer (Ben Hunt) have touched on it, but there probably just needs to be a few more security guards around the game. I’m not making it a big deal because it’s not a big deal.”

Originally published as ‘Security has probably got to be taken up a notch’: Players call for better protection after Zac Lomax incident