About half-an-hour into a recent members’ forum, attended by 100 card-carrying Parramatta NRL fans, talk briefly turned to the biggest rugby league story of the summer, the plight of Zachary John Lomax.

“Obviously a very topical topic,” Eels chairman Matthew Beach told those assembled at the club’s Kellyville headquarters in western Sydney after being handed the microphone.

Zac Lomax celebrates a try for Parramatta.Credit: Getty Images

“I can’t say too much because it’s before the courts, but I guess what we can say is that on one hand, we’ve been trying to negotiate and get an outcome. We’d prefer not to be in court, but we don’t apologise for being in court, because we need to stick up for what’s right for our club.

“What we’re endeavouring to do is get an outcome that makes our football program better. There has been lots of commentary about cash-only offers, but that doesn’t help in the salary cap-constrained environment to make our football program stronger … We are all about making our football program stronger.

“We’re also making sure we stand up for what we think is right for our coaches, our staff, and importantly our members, sponsors and fans.

“It’s probably right to say we’re going to continue the good fight.”

Those remarks were met with rapturous applause. Since commencing legal proceedings against Lomax to prevent him from joining Melbourne, the Eels have won the PR war. Had Parramatta allowed the Blues star to transfer, to the detriment of their football program, those same fans who were applauding Beach may instead be looking to burn the joint down, Cumberland Oval style.

However, the real victor will be decided in courtroom 8A of the Supreme Court in Sydney, after a hearing that begins on Monday. It is there that Justice Francois Kunc will determine the sanctity of Lomax’s contract, the validity of any restraint – he agreed that he couldn’t return to the NRL before October 31, 2028 without Parramatta’s written submission – and any good-faith issues that have subsequently arisen.

© The Sydney Morning Herald