Dragons chasing Wallabies star as coach makes call on maligned $800k player

The Dragons are reportedly chasing a Wallabies star but coach Shane Flanagan has declared he won’t be releasing Zac Lomax this season.

Zac Lomax and Jordan Petaia.

The Dragons are reportedly chasing Wallabies star Jordan Petaia but coach Shane Flanagan has declared he won’t be releasing Zac Lomax this season.

Flanagan plans to meet with Queensland Reds player Petaia, as first reported by The Daily Telegraph’s Phil Rothfield.

The 24-year-old can play centre, wing or fullback, and is off contract at the end of the season.

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Petaia is also exploring rugby union options in France and Japan, according to The SMH, and has played 27 Tests for Australia, including at the past two World Cup.

The Dragons could have an opening in the backline with reports $800,000 centre Lomax wants to leave after being relegated to the wing.

But Flanagan declared Lomax, who enjoyed one of the best games of his career on Saturday night, won’t be going anywhere this year.

“He’s going nowhere,” Flanagan told The SMH.

“We’ve told his management that we won’t be letting him go this year. If there’s a conversation to be had, we will have that in the future and it will be about next year.”

Zac Lomax hasn’t reached his potential with the Dragons.

Jordan Petaia plays for the Queensland Reds in Super Rugby. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)

ROOSTERS WANT SUALLII TO BACKFLIP

The Roosters are trying to get Joseph Suaalii out of his $4.5 million rugby union contract to stay at the club amid fellow centre Joey Manu’s impending switch to French rugby.

Neil Breen revealed on 2GB radio that the Roosters are trying hard behind the scenes to get Suaalii out of his $4.5 million three-year rugby deal.

“It’s about Joseph Suaalii and I can tell you for a fact that the Roosters are working overtime to keep him at the club,” Breen said on 2GB radio.

“Everyone talks about the Roosters getting him back after he does the three years in rugby. They want to get him back, but the Roosters keep working overtime to keep him.

“Joey Manu is going to French rugby. We know that James Tedesco is not getting any younger.

“Here’s this guy they’ve got him there already, but he’s done that deal with rugby.

“The issue would be whether rugby would be sympathetic to let him out of the deal and they would be because of the size of it and there’s all sorts of things about clauses that are in the contract.

“The difficulty might be that his management would say to rugby, well hang on a second if you now want to let us out of this contract. We’ve signed the deal. There’s got to be some compensation.

Joseph Suaalii and Joseph Manu are set to join rugby union in 2025.

“A broke sport pays a bloke to not come there. That wouldn’t go down well with the mainstream.

“But what’s going on in rugby is that other players of that kind of ilk and there’s Jordan Petaia who’s been a Wallaby outside back for a long time.

“Those players are filthy about the whole situation that someone’s coming across to rugby earning that massive amount of money and Jordan Petaia‘s management is in talks with rugby league clubs.

“And I can tell you one club that’s interested in that they’re looking at him because they’ve got to try and sign some blokes is the Dragons.

“So those things are unsettling for the rugby hierarchy. Whether it can be done I don’t know but it’s definitely not totally out of the realms of possibility that something like that could happen then and Suaalii doesn’t go.”

JENNINGS CLOSE TO NRL RETURN

Michael Jennings is giving an NRL return “one last crack” and has taken a step closer to that goal after returning to the field via the Roosters in New South Wales Cup over the weekend.

Jennings lasted the full 80 minutes in what was his first game in 1253 days after serving a three-year doping ban.

The 35-year-old faced further off-field issues too when he was ordered to pay his ex-wife close to $500,000 in damages after a civil dispute.

Speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald following the Roosters’ 28-22 loss to the Panthers on Saturday, Jennings admitted he never expected to be pushing for an NRL return.

“I didn’t think I’d be coming back and giving it one last crack,” he said.

“It was very hard during those three years — it was very, very, very hard, and a very tough three years — I can tell you that.

“I definitely want to play NRL. But there are a few more steps I need to take with the NRL to get back to that.”

Michael Jennings plays for the Roosters in NSW Cup. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Jennings has 298 NRL games to his name with 71 of those with the Roosters, including the 2013 Grand Final win.

His return to professional rugby league first came up in conversation with Roosters coach Trent Robinson at Daniel Tupou’s wedding in 2021 and again at the club’s 10-year reunion for that premiership.

“Robbo wanted me to come back and help out around the club.

“Then I caught up with him again at our 10-year anniversary. He asked me what my plans were, and I said, ‘To be honest, I don’t know what’s going on’.

“He said there was an opportunity here at the Roosters if I wanted to take it. And I did.”

Jennings joined the Roosters on a $1200-week train-and-trial contract in November.

He said his goal to return to the NRL is “not about the money” and added: “I’m basically playing for nothing. I’m just playing to make my kids proud, not giving up.”

When asked by the Herald about criticism from fans: “I think everyone that knows me, I still stand by my innocence (in relation to the doping ban) ... only myself and people around me really know the truth about everything.”

COWBOYS ‘CONFIDENT’ IN KEEPING IN-DEMAND DUO

The Cowboys are edging closer to re-signing gun second-rowers Heilum Luki and Kulikefu Finefeuiaki.

Luki has an option in his favour for 2025, while as it stands Finefeuiaki has no deal for next season — but has attracted the interest of many rivals clubs.

The Cowboys, however, are keen to retain both and when asked about the extensions CEO Jeff Reibel told AAP “we are confident.”

“We are still talking to the management of Heilum and Kulikefu. They are both fine young men and both good on and off the field with what they do,” he added.

“They have bought firmly into our system in North Queensland and want to be part of that.

“We will continue talking to their management and make sure we get the best outcome.”

It’ll be a huge coup for the Cowboys given the trajectory the pair are on. 22-year-old Luki is on the Dragons’ radar and is regarded a future Origin player, while 20-year-old Kulikefu Finefeuiaki has also attracted interest after his debut season.

Originally published as Dragons chasing Wallabies star as coach makes call on maligned $800k player