Turmoil in Tigertown: Lachlan Galvin’s exit and the exodus of young talent from struggling clubs
Wests Tigers five-eighth Lachlan Galvin has been touted by many as one of the players who will become a superstar in the NRL, with critics such as Phil Gould often praising the 19-year-old: “Lachlan Galvin will earn more money out of Rugby League than any player in history.” The Tigers are often being looked at as a bottom feeding club, coming off 3 straight wooden spoons; despite their hot start to the year, Galvin has already called it quits on the club that gave him his debut and took a chance on him after he was rejected by the Parramatta Eels as a young teen.
Galvin was reportedly offered around 5 million dollars over 5 years by the Wests Tigers. He and his agent Isaac Moses—deregistered for breaching his obligations as an agent in 2017—chose to decline this offer, with Galvin informing the club that he would no longer remain with them beyond the 2026 season. The Tigers released a statement which read, “We would like to announce that Lachlan Galvin will not be with the club beyond the 2026 season, despite the club having the largest contract offer for a junior in the history of the club on the table.” News also broke that Galvin was unhappy with coach Benji Marshall’s style and did not believe that he could develop him as a half, despite Marshall being considered one of the greatest five-eighths of his generation. He also felt as if star half-back and four-time premier Jarome Luai was receiving favouritism from Marshall. It appears Galvin is unwilling to learn off Luai even though he played five-eighth for the Panthers to win 4 premierships, as well as collecting 9 appearances for Samoa and 10 appearances in State of Origin for NSW—with a 5 and 5 record.
This news started an absolute media frenzy. For three straight days, NRL 360 made it look like this was the only story that was happening in the NRL. For Easter Monday’s clash, Galvin was sensationally dropped to NSW cup by Marshall. This prompted Luai to post an image on his Instagram story with the simple caption ‘team first’. This then led Galvin’s management to pursue legal action against the Wests Tigers, Galvin claiming he is being bullied by his teammates. In a response to this situation, Luai spoke to Fox League about how he and Galvin still need to have an on-field connection but remarked that “we don’t have to all be best mates,” hinting at a remaining animosity between the two halves.
We don’t all have to be best mates.
Jarome Luai on his rift with halves partner Lachlan Galvin
Galvin isn’t the only young star to turn on the Tigers despite their belief in them. The Tigers have an extensive list of ex-players who have gone on to break into stardom once they left the club, including Aaron Woods, Mitchell Moses, Josh Addo-Carr, Marika Koroibete, Ryan Papenhuyzen, James Tedesco and Luke Brooks. The Tigers have been consistently developing great talents only for richer clubs like the Roosters, Storm, Eels and Manly to keep poaching them before they hit their stride with the Tigers. The system the NRL has in place is deeply flawed and clubs like the Tigers are left to suffer. In a league like the NBA, they have a version of free agency called ‘restricted free agency’ which allows a franchise to match any offer made to a player at the end of their rookie contract. Rules like this foster home-grown teams and even out talent distribution around the league. The Penrith Panthers have built their foundations of their four straight premierships on grassroots rugby league, with most of the stars on those teams being Panthers juniors.
Looking at this with bias as a life-long Wests Tigers fan, I believe if those players stayed for longer, we would blossom into one of the competition’s heavyweights. But instead, we are not playing finals footy, and the two clubs that merged to make the Wests Tigers—Balmain Tigers and Western Suburbs Magpies—are constantly bickering and threatening to split and media narratives constantly berate management, players and coaches.
The story that the media fails to capture is the ongoing support from fans, still packing out Leichardt Oval and Campbelltown Sports Stadium no matter how bad the product on the field or from the front office is.
The story that the media fails to capture is the ongoing support from fans, still packing out Leichardt Oval and Campbelltown Sports Stadium no matter how bad the product on the field or from the front office is. Benji Marshall is now seeking to rebuild the culture of the club by doing his best to ignore the Galvin turmoil. This approach seems to be paying off as the Tigers are sitting at 8th (5/5) and are hoping to break their finals drought which has lasted since Marshall’s time as the Tigers’ starting five-eighth in 2011. Galvin is still on the way out and who knows what will happen, but his story will be cited as one of most influential player movement sagas and should prompt change to the NRL’s free agency system.
Zac C, Year 12