ARLC chairman Peter V’landys says Zac Lomax suffering a similar pile-on to South Sydney Rabbitohs star Latrell Mitchell in dispute between Parramatta Eels and Melbourne Storm

“You have to remember that this is a human being like the rest of us… They may not admit what they did, but you don’t know their perspective. I know the character of the man, he’s a good person.”

South Sydney star Mitchell has also been a lightning rod for controversy throughout his career. V’landys explained his reasons for supporting Lomax.

“I want to reveal what his character is like because he’s portrayed as this villain and he’s not,” he said.

“When he first came to St George Illawarra, he was just a freshman. I got a call from someone, a crazy Dragons supporter, saying there was a kid with brain cancer – could I get a player to come see them?

“We’re always happy to do this kind of thing behind the scenes, so I called the club personally and asked them to help me. They said, ‘No problem, we’ll send in a promising player called Zac Lomax.’

“I was aware Zac was a Dragons supporter and said it would be great. He would only be able to stay for half an hour and he would drive from Wollongong to Newcastle, which is a three-and-a-half hour, seven hour journey.

“Zac drove over there and didn’t even spend half an hour, he spent the whole day with the kid. That showed me the character of the guy. So while he’s dealing with all this criticism, you have to remember there’s a human being underneath.”

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In the legal battle between the Eels and Storm, Parramatta claim Melbourne is pressuring the NRL to “carry on the torch” and ensure the 26-year-old wears purple for the season opener.

There have also been calls for the NRL to ban Lomax for 10 years after head office stated that was the penalty for anyone who committed R360.

“Everyone says I did a backflip, so I said if they signed a contract and played for them there would be a 10-year ban,” V’landys said.

“He did not sign a contract; he may have signed signed an intention – and he didn’t play for them.

“He did neither, as far as we know, unless something else is found in court… The commission did not back down.”

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