Jarome Luai detail comes to light amid ugly NRL furore around Lachlan Galvin at Wests Tigers
Galvin reportedly has his heart set on a move away from the Tigers.
Lachlan Galvin is reportedly seeking an early release from the Wests Tigers after losing faith in the club's direction and becoming fed up with the uncertainty surrounding his NRL future. The youngster has become disillusioned with the club and has reportedly wanted out since feeling blindsided when the joint venture signed Panthers star Jarome Luai for next season.
A bombshell report dropped over the weekend claims the 18-year-old's manager had requested an immediate release from the club but it is far from the first time he has done so. The latest request is reportedly at least the fourth time controversial player manager Isaac Moses has asked for his client to be released this year.
It has also been claimed that following the Tigers' 56-14 flogging at the hands of the Dragons on Friday night, the five-eighth told his teammates he "can't wait to get out" of the club. Last week's defeat was the eighth straight defeat for the Tigers, who are now bottom of the ladder and on track for a third consecutive wooden spoon.
Galvin is signed to the Tigers until the end of 2026 and CEO Shane Richardson has stated that the club has "no intention" of releasing him. And News Corp journalist Dave Riccio says Galvin has next to no chance of getting out of his contract early.
“Shane Richardson has declared that over his dead body will Lachlan Galvin be getting an early release from the club,” Riccio reiterated on NRL 360. "My understanding is that the Galvin camp, including his family, will be unwavering in requesting a release from the Wests Tigers. It’s not to do with money, it’s about the belief in where his trajectory is at the football club."
The club's recent struggles are reportedly only a small part of why the promising youngster wants out. Galvin's camp has reportedly become angry at the Tigers' hierarchy for bringing in players that may prevent him from playing NRL like Latu Fainu, his brother Samuela Fainu, Bud Sullivan and more recently Luai.
"There’s deeper roots that run here and it relates back to originally, well before this season, where there was a belief from Benji Marshall that Lachlan was more of a back-rower," Riccio said. "The Fainu’s were signed at the Tigers — one of which is a back-rower — and at that point, in time Galvin and his family questioned why ‘you’d bought over the top of me’. Then Jarome Luai was bought as well as Sullivan. So it feels as though from Galvin’s point of view there’s constant roadblocks in front of him."
Before this season the rookie No.6 wasn't even viewed as the first-choice five-eighth to partner Aidan Sezer in the halves, with recruit Jayden Sullivan widely tipped to be given the nod and the Tigers also have injured playmaker Adam Doueihi working his way towards an NRL return. But Galvin impressed the Tigers coaching staff in pre-season and coach Benji Marshall had enough faith in his young playmaker to thrust him straight into first grade and a starting role at the club.
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Lachlan Galvin has lost faith in Tigers' direction
Galvin signed a Top 30 deal ahead of this season and veteran journalist Paul Crawley believes the club's nine-game losing streak has unsurprisingly impacted him. "They’ve lost nine straight, you’d be flat out finding a bloke there that truly believes in the direction that club’s going in," Crawley said.
“He’s probably speaking out of school in front of his mates, but it’s then getting relayed to the media. I actually feel sorry for the kid. It points to the bigger problem at the club and that’s obviously the lack of belief.
“You’ve got Stefano (Utoikamanu), who was offered this huge deal, who doesn’t want to take it up because he wants to chase his premiership dream. You’ve got a young guy here that could be the next big thing and again he’s questioning where he is. He wouldn’t be the only bloke there (doing that).
"This is a club that’s been down in the doldrums for over a decade. They’ve gone through a stack of coaches and now they’re coming off back-to-back wooden spoons — and odds-on favourites to win another. No wonder there’s disharmony."
