Peter V'landys has confirmed Ryan Papenhuyzen and Zac Lomax are free to return to the NRL after the rebel R360 competition's planned 2026 launch date collapsed.
R360 officials confirmed on Friday night that their first season had been pushed back until 2028, two years after the initial plan of next October.
The news will come as a relief to both the NRL and Rugby Australia, with the breakaway league targeting players from both codes.
Organisers claimed the decision to postpone the tournament by two years was to allow for "stronger market conditions (and) greater commercial certainty".
They also insisted it was a matter of timing, with the new proposed launch to come after the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
But recent concerns over the competition's viability and the postponement will raise huge questions for players even if the lucrative league does kick off in 2028.
The call also comes after Rugby Australia was one of several national boards to threaten to ban players from playing for their nation if they joined the league.
The NRL had also threatened 10-year bans for any player who joined the competition, lured away by the potential of multimillion-dollar contracts.
Brisbane superstar Payne Haas had been approached by the competition, and was weighing up whether to stay or move to rugby.
It now appears certain he will remain in the NRL and with the Broncos after his contract expires next year.
Both Papenhuyzen and Lomax had also spoken with the rebel competition, and been granted releases from Melbourne and Parramatta in the past two months.
Neither had officially confirmed they were headed to R360 yet, but Lomax in particular had kept the Eels informed of his interest in the competition.
"Naturally Ryan and Zac are most welcome to come back," ARL Commission chairman V'landys told AAP.
"They were just victims of the mirage.
"(It's) no surprise. Their current business model was never going to work. It's a shame so many people were hoodwinked."
Papenhuyzen had previously indicated he wanted time away to consider his future in professional sport.
The Storm have plenty of salary-cap space to work with, but the club have been planning to play Sua Fa'alogo at fullback next year.
Whether Papenhuyzen ends up in rugby overseas or returns to the NRL with Melbourne or another club remains to be seen.
Lomax's future is also uncertain, with a clause in his Parramatta exit meaning he cannot join another club before 2028 if he returns to the NRL.
The NSW State of Origin flyer was expected to play European or Japanese Rugby before R360 kicked off.
He could in theory still do that, return to the Eels if they will accommodate him or reach an agreement with Parramatta to play elsewhere if they are open to that idea.
Warriors veteran Roger Tuivasa-Sheck had also flirted with the idea of R360.
"The decision to shift our launch to 2028 is a strategic decision based on timing," R360 boss Mike Tindall said.
"Launching under compressed timelines would not meet the standards we set for R360, nor would it deliver the long-term commercial impact that the sport deserves."
