Jonny Lomax
Encyclopedia
Jonathan "Jonny" Lomax is a professional rugby league
player who plays for St Helens in the engage Super League
. A versatile player, Lomax is primarily a stand-off but is equally as comfortable at scrum-half, but featured more regularly on the wing in the early stages of his professional career. He signed for Saints from amateur club Orrell St James in 2007. In 2009 - his first season with the St Helens first team - he was handed the number 30 jersey, and made eight appearances, scoring three tries. In 2010, he was handed the number 24 jersey and in 2011, the number 20 jersey. Lomax has impressed at scrum-half with his committed displays and is fully expected to be handed the number 7 jersey in 2012. Possessing an excellent combination of speed, footwork and skill he has proved to be a key attacking threat for the club. His ability in defense is also a notable attribute.
, in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan
, Greater Manchester
on 4 September 1990, Lomax played as a junior for Orrell St James, where he captained the side for some years, playing in his preferred stand-off position. He attended Rainford High Technology College
in St Helens
during his high school years. Since his youth, Lomax has been synonymous with a protective headgear
that he still wears in his professional career after an accident during a school game. He was injured quite seriously in a Year 9 Powergen Cup (Schools National Cup) quarter-final, whereby he and an opposing player were both knocked unconscious in a collision. After regaining consciousness, he began vomiting and he was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure. However, the pain that Lomax was going through got gradually worse and he was rushed to hospital. He had to undergo emergency open skull surgery in order to relieve the pressure on his brain. The head protection was then adorned as a message to other youth players of the dangers of the game, and it remains with him in his professional career. His story made BARLA
make headguards compulsory between the age of six to sixteen (junior years). After this accident, Lomax continued his amateur career with Orrell and signed for St Helens professionally as a sixteen year old in 2006, after being on their books as a scholarship player previously.
game against Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
in 2009, where he helped them to an easy 42-18 win. Since his début, he played and scored in the 66-6 Challenge Cup victory over Gateshead Thunder
again playing on the wing in a man-of-the-match performance. He notched his first try of his Super League career in a 30-6 win over Hull whilst playing on the right-flank in June. He took his try tally to three in four games for the Saints against Castleford Tigers
where he was again named man-of-the-match in a 50-10 win.
After a spell of reserve grade football, he played in the 40-26 victory against Warrington
where he came off the bench to play in a dummy-half role. He featured; albeit in a brief spell, for a second time in the season against Wakefield in a shock 22-20 loss. He was injured during this match a was put out of action for between 6 weeks. On his return from that ankle injury, he played in a left centre role in a 12-10 success over Huddersfield Giants
. He once again featured at full-back in the 24-12 end-of-regular-season loss to Catalans Dragons
where he kicked two goals from as many attempts. Lomax did not feature in the end-of-season play-offs culminating in a third Grand Final
loss to Leeds Rhinos
, but the signs were there for the player that he could, one day, attain great things in a number of positions in the St Helens side.
in round 2 of Super League XV
, where he featured on the right wing in place of the injured Ade Gardner
. It was this Gardner injury that meant Lomax notched his maiden brace of tries in first-grade football, when he scored twice in a 42-12 win at Catalans Dragons
. Lomax's form was looking threatening in this spell, and he took his tally to three in four games with a score in the 22-16 home win against Wakefield Wildcats in the round 4 game. However, in the round 5 defeat to Hull KR
, not only did Lomax's run of tries end, but his in the first team ended with a shoulder injury that meant he missed 6 weeks of action, which was ironically subsided by Gardners' return from his particular injury. On return, he played wing in a 42-34 loss away to Salford City Reds
, and fullback, in a 68-12 win over Rovers, scoring one try and kicking three goals. His first appearance in the 2010 Challenge Cup
came in the quarter-final 32-12 win over Barrow Raiders
, where Lomax continued his try-scoring form and run as chief goal kicker with one try and three goals from five attempts. He shifted back to wing for a 27-26 loss at Hull FC, where Lomax kicked three out of five again. He missed the next two due to injury, but kicked nine out of ten in a return at home to Salford, where he was on the winning side in a 58-34 success, and scored one try and kicked four goals in a 28-24 loss to Leeds Rhinos
. He kicked two form four in a 20-30 loss to Catalans Dragons, and four from six in a 32-18 win over Harlequins the week later.
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
player who plays for St Helens in the engage Super League
Super League
Super League is the top-level professional rugby league football club competition in Europe. As a result of sponsorship from engage Mutual Assurance the competition is currently officially known as the engage Super League. The League features fourteen teams: thirteen from England and one from...
. A versatile player, Lomax is primarily a stand-off but is equally as comfortable at scrum-half, but featured more regularly on the wing in the early stages of his professional career. He signed for Saints from amateur club Orrell St James in 2007. In 2009 - his first season with the St Helens first team - he was handed the number 30 jersey, and made eight appearances, scoring three tries. In 2010, he was handed the number 24 jersey and in 2011, the number 20 jersey. Lomax has impressed at scrum-half with his committed displays and is fully expected to be handed the number 7 jersey in 2012. Possessing an excellent combination of speed, footwork and skill he has proved to be a key attacking threat for the club. His ability in defense is also a notable attribute.
Early life
Born in Higher EndHigher End
Higher End or Billinge Higher End is an area of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan, Greater Manchester, England.-Governance:Billinge lies within the historic county boundaries of Lancashire...
, in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan
Metropolitan Borough of Wigan
The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, in North West England. It is named after its largest component town, Wigan and also includes the towns of Leigh, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Ince-in-Makerfield, and Hindley. The borough was formed in 1974 and is an...
, Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
on 4 September 1990, Lomax played as a junior for Orrell St James, where he captained the side for some years, playing in his preferred stand-off position. He attended Rainford High Technology College
Rainford High Technology College
Rainford High Technology College is a community secondary school and sixth form college located in Rainford, Merseyside, England. The school has been awarded specialist Technology College status. It has a notable tradition of producing competitive sports teams, most notably in Rugby...
in St Helens
St Helens, Merseyside
St Helens is a large town in Merseyside, England. It is the largest settlement and administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens with a population of just over 100,000, part of an urban area with a total population of 176,843 at the time of the 2001 Census...
during his high school years. Since his youth, Lomax has been synonymous with a protective headgear
Scrum cap
The Scrum cap is a form of headgear used by rugby players to protect the ears in the scrum, which can otherwise suffer injuries leading to the condition commonly known as cauliflower ears....
that he still wears in his professional career after an accident during a school game. He was injured quite seriously in a Year 9 Powergen Cup (Schools National Cup) quarter-final, whereby he and an opposing player were both knocked unconscious in a collision. After regaining consciousness, he began vomiting and he was taken to hospital as a precautionary measure. However, the pain that Lomax was going through got gradually worse and he was rushed to hospital. He had to undergo emergency open skull surgery in order to relieve the pressure on his brain. The head protection was then adorned as a message to other youth players of the dangers of the game, and it remains with him in his professional career. His story made BARLA
British Amateur Rugby League Association
The British Amateur Rugby League Association is the governing body for social and recreational rugby league in the United Kingdom...
make headguards compulsory between the age of six to sixteen (junior years). After this accident, Lomax continued his amateur career with Orrell and signed for St Helens professionally as a sixteen year old in 2006, after being on their books as a scholarship player previously.
Début season (2009)
Lomax made his fist-team début for St Helens in the Super League XIVSuper League XIV
The 2009 Super League season is the fourteenth season of rugby league since the Super League format was introduced in 1996...
game against Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats are a professional rugby league club that plays in the European Super League and is based in Wakefield. They achieved promotion in 1999 and have remained in the League since. They are known to their fans as Wakey, Trinity, Wildcats, or historically The Dreadnoughts...
in 2009, where he helped them to an easy 42-18 win. Since his début, he played and scored in the 66-6 Challenge Cup victory over Gateshead Thunder
Gateshead Thunder
Gateshead Thunder is a professional rugby league club based in Gateshead, Tyne and Wear in England. They currently play in the Championship 1 competition, the third tier of rugby league in the United Kingdom...
again playing on the wing in a man-of-the-match performance. He notched his first try of his Super League career in a 30-6 win over Hull whilst playing on the right-flank in June. He took his try tally to three in four games for the Saints against Castleford Tigers
Castleford Tigers
Castleford Tigers are a professional rugby league club based in Castleford in West Yorkshire, England. They participate in the professional European competition Super League. They are sometimes known as 'Cas', 'Cas Tigers', 'Classy Cas' or the 'Black & Amber'...
where he was again named man-of-the-match in a 50-10 win.
After a spell of reserve grade football, he played in the 40-26 victory against Warrington
Warrington Wolves
Warrington Wolves are a professional rugby league football club based in Warrington, England that competes in Super League. They play at the Halliwell Jones Stadium, having moved there from Wilderspool in 2003....
where he came off the bench to play in a dummy-half role. He featured; albeit in a brief spell, for a second time in the season against Wakefield in a shock 22-20 loss. He was injured during this match a was put out of action for between 6 weeks. On his return from that ankle injury, he played in a left centre role in a 12-10 success over Huddersfield Giants
Huddersfield Giants
Huddersfield Giants are a professional rugby league club from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire who play in the European Super League competition. They play their home games at the Galpharm Stadium which is shared with Huddersfield Town F.C....
. He once again featured at full-back in the 24-12 end-of-regular-season loss to Catalans Dragons
Catalans Dragons
The Catalans Dragons are a French professional rugby league club based in Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales. They currently play in the Super League, and are the only team in the competition from outside of the United Kingdom...
where he kicked two goals from as many attempts. Lomax did not feature in the end-of-season play-offs culminating in a third Grand Final
2010 Super League Grand Final
The 2010 Super League Grand Final was the conclusive and championship-deciding game of Super League XV. Held on Saturday 2 October 2010, at Manchester's Old Trafford stadium, the match was contested by English clubs St Helens and Wigan Warriors...
loss to Leeds Rhinos
Leeds Rhinos
Leeds Rhinos is an English professional rugby league football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The club won the 2011 Super League and became the most successful club in the Super League era, beating St Helens 32-16 on 8th October 2011. Formed in 1890, Leeds competes in Europe's Super League...
, but the signs were there for the player that he could, one day, attain great things in a number of positions in the St Helens side.
2010
Lomax's opportunities in the first team continued in 2010, with his first game of the season coming in a 38-6 win at BradfordBradford Bulls
Bradford Bulls is a professional rugby league club based in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. They play in the European Super League and are currently joint 10th in the league....
in round 2 of Super League XV
Super League XV
The 2010 Super League season was the fifteenth season of rugby league football since the Super League format was introduced in 1996. Fourteen teams competed for the League Leader's Shield over 27 rounds . All clubs also participated in the 2010 Challenge Cup tournament...
, where he featured on the right wing in place of the injured Ade Gardner
Ade Gardner
Adrian Antonio Gardner is an English professional rugby league footballer for St. Helens of Super League. A Great Britain representative winger, he previously played for Barrow Raiders. He is the older brother of Ex-Salford City Reds winger, Mat Gardner.Gardner went to St Columba's Roman...
. It was this Gardner injury that meant Lomax notched his maiden brace of tries in first-grade football, when he scored twice in a 42-12 win at Catalans Dragons
Catalans Dragons
The Catalans Dragons are a French professional rugby league club based in Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales. They currently play in the Super League, and are the only team in the competition from outside of the United Kingdom...
. Lomax's form was looking threatening in this spell, and he took his tally to three in four games with a score in the 22-16 home win against Wakefield Wildcats in the round 4 game. However, in the round 5 defeat to Hull KR
Hull Kingston Rovers
Hull Kingston Rovers or Hull KR is an English professional rugby league football club based in Hull, England. The club formed in 1882 and currently competes in Super League, having won promotion from National League One in 2006...
, not only did Lomax's run of tries end, but his in the first team ended with a shoulder injury that meant he missed 6 weeks of action, which was ironically subsided by Gardners' return from his particular injury. On return, he played wing in a 42-34 loss away to Salford City Reds
Salford City Reds
Salford City Reds are an English rugby league club based in Salford, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1873, they currently play in the Super League. They have won six Rugby Football League Championships and one Challenge Cup...
, and fullback, in a 68-12 win over Rovers, scoring one try and kicking three goals. His first appearance in the 2010 Challenge Cup
2010 Challenge Cup
The 2010 Challenge Cup is a rugby league football tournament which began its preliminary stages on 2 January 2010...
came in the quarter-final 32-12 win over Barrow Raiders
Barrow Raiders
Barrow Raiders are an English professional rugby league team from Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, who are coached by Dave Clark. Formed in 1875 as Barrow Football Club, the club is the oldest of the current professional sports teams in Cumbria....
, where Lomax continued his try-scoring form and run as chief goal kicker with one try and three goals from five attempts. He shifted back to wing for a 27-26 loss at Hull FC, where Lomax kicked three out of five again. He missed the next two due to injury, but kicked nine out of ten in a return at home to Salford, where he was on the winning side in a 58-34 success, and scored one try and kicked four goals in a 28-24 loss to Leeds Rhinos
Leeds Rhinos
Leeds Rhinos is an English professional rugby league football club based in Leeds, West Yorkshire. The club won the 2011 Super League and became the most successful club in the Super League era, beating St Helens 32-16 on 8th October 2011. Formed in 1890, Leeds competes in Europe's Super League...
. He kicked two form four in a 20-30 loss to Catalans Dragons, and four from six in a 32-18 win over Harlequins the week later.