Western Force boss identifies Zac Lomax’s best position

Earlier this week, the Force and Rugby Australia confirmed Lomax had signed a two year deal effective immediately. The 26 year old arrives after a turbulent end to his time in rugby league.

Lomax walked out first on St George Illawarra and then Parramatta as he pursued a move into rugby through the proposed global R360 competition. His attempt to join the Melbourne Storm was later blocked in the Supreme Court.

The Force have moved quickly to secure his services as they look to climb the Super Rugby Pacific ladder. After four rounds they sit second bottom with one win, and are preparing for a crucial clash against the Hurricanes on Friday in their final match of a three game New Zealand tour.

Cron said the news of Lomax’s signing came together rapidly and caught even the squad by surprise, but the reaction inside the group has been overwhelmingly positive.

"A lot of them are excited about it. It came pretty hot and heavy and pretty quick, even for us. So, we just sat everyone down and told them where it's at… For a lot of them, they're excited because they see the addition to the team and building that depth and growth."

Lomax has not played rugby union since primary school, which means his shift back to the 15-man code will take careful management. There had been speculation he could debut later this month against the Chiefs on March 28, but Cron suggested that timeline may be optimistic.

"I think that might be a push. Physically, we need to get him into camp, he's been training himself and doing a lot of boxing and running, but it's going to be more of a case of high speed metres and getting him going fast and seeing how his body is. I think he'll get into Perth during the bye week and we'll start working on him."

When it comes to Lomax’s role in the backline, Cron indicated the outside channels are the most logical starting point while the former league star learns the nuances of the game.

"I think he's a very talented athlete. The big one in pre-season, you've got three or four weeks before you hit the season to go through some coaching and positional play. In-season, that's a lot less time and we're in the grind so it'll be a case of how quickly we can coach and what he picks up, he's a pretty smart man.

"Wing would be a natural position for him, fullback is an area that he can work on as long as he can cover backfield and then he can progress from there."

Cron said Lomax’s determination to make the switch stood out during their early conversations.

"What I was impressed with is that he was a really driven professional and what I mean by that is that he was really crystal clear that he wanted to play rugby and how important it was for him.

"He talked about the world stage as an opportunity for him in the future and I was just really impressed with his professionalism and how driven he was, and you can see the passion when he talks."