The NRL Tackle: Wests Tigers phenom Lachlan Galvin commits to club, Matt Burton ends positional debate
Matt Burton made the “mature and selfless” decision to move to the centres over the weekend, a move that ultimately ended a positional debate surrounding the Bulldogs star. FATIMA KDOUH writes in The Tackle.
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Fatima Kdouh reveals her likes and dislikes from round 16 of the NRL season.
ROUND 16 DISLIKES
BURTON BLUNDER
This columnist previously suggested Matt Burton’s best position was in the centres but on Saturday it was made clear that, for the Bulldogs, he belongs in the halves.
Burton was a late switch to the centres against the Roosters, a decision that left Bulldogs fans scratching their heads considering the playmaker is now one of the side’s most influential weapons.
Coach Cameron Ciraldo revealed it was Burton’s call to make the move, with both Bronson Xerri (hamstring) and skipper Stephen Crichton (Origin) unavailable against the Roosters.
Ciraldo called it a mature and selfless decision. But the move would have made more sense if Canterbury had a better option in the halves. Right now, Ciraldo doesn’t.
Drew Hutchison, who replaced Burton at five-eighth, is a reliable player but hasn’t been an effective option in the halves.
The move might have been defensive based, given the opposite centre was Roosters superstar Joey Manu.
But on the other side of the ball, neither Burton nor backrower Viliame Kikau got enough quality ball on Saturday and it really blunted the Bulldogs’ attack.
Ciraldo called time on the failed centre experiment with 16 minutes left on the clock and the Bulldogs trailing 20-8.
But with a top-four position up for grabs, moving Burton was a huge call that failed and leaves the Bulldogs clinging to their top-eight spot.
PITCH INVADERS
The NRL should take a cue from the AFL in dealing with pitch invaders.
There were two incidents on Saturday, one on the Gold Coast and the other at Gosford.
At Industree Group Stadium, a woman (pictured) stopped play with about 10 minutes left in the first half during the Roosters-Bulldogs clash, running right past the play-the-ball, stopping play.
The game was stopped again minutes later after the woman’s phone was also found on the field.
Not every pitch invader is a threat to players but the fact the female patron got so close to the play is a worry.
It’s also a senseless thing to do, given the fine can be up to $5500 if the matter is dealt with by a court. The venue can also impose a 12-month ban.
Last week, the AFL threw the book at a pitch invader, whacking him with a lifetime ban as the game’s administrators were keen to send a strong message.
The NRL should do the same.
THIRD MAN IN, AGAIN
Another week, another different interpretation of the third-man-in rule.
Melbourne’s Bronson Garlick should have gone to the sin-bin after charging in to crash tackle the Dolphins’ Tevita Pangai Jr after he was penalised for an offside hit on Trent Loiero, with Melbourne leading 22-18 early in the second half.
Garlick took offence to the extra attention that Pangai Jr gave Loiero.
But if the concern is for the teammate, then charge in to check on Loiero’s welfare, not to escalate the situation.
The whole point of punishing the third man is to deter players like Garlick from escalating an incident.
Last week, Latrell Mitchell copped time in the bin, a fine and a contrary conduct charge from the match review committee for the same thing. Go figure.
LETS GONE WARRIORS
Coach Andrew Webster said it himself post match, that the Warriors “took for granted how well we were going”.
By that admission, the Warriors are taking the unprecedented support they have in New Zealand right now for granted too.
But they can’t afford that attitude, not when the club is in a battle to cement its foothold in a rugby union-mad nation.
The NRL must be pulling its hair out too watching the Warriors concede 104 points in two weeks.
This, when Super Rugby viewed the popularity of the Warriors to be such a threat that a semi-final was shifted so it wouldn’t clash with the ‘Wahs’.
And with the wave of support so staunch, the Warriors have sold out every home game this year.
But now the Warriors are 13th on the ladder, with tough games against Brisbane and Canterbury waiting.
The Warriors’ finals chances are hanging by a thread.
There were worrying signs all over the park against the Titans. The Warriors missed 51 tackles and the toughness that made the side such a threat in 2023 was nowhere to be seen.
They were tackled 37 times in the Titans’ red zone but failed to execute their chances and neither Te Maire Martin or Shaun Johnson were able to stamp their authority on the contest.
To make matters worse, Johnson picked up a hamstring injury in the shocking loss.
EELS LADDER SLIDE
It’s only fitting that Parramatta’s new low was a dagger delivered by one of it’s western Sydney rivals, the Tigers.
The Eels have now slumped to the bottom of the ladder for the first time since 2018 after the Tigers disposed of the Raiders on Sunday.
The powerhouse club that looked like genuine title contenders after making the grand final in 2022, but are now poised to miss the top right for a second-year running.
After 16 rounds the Eels have as many wins as the Tigers - a club that has been besieged for years and staring down the barrel of a third-straight wooden spoon.
It’s a stunning fall from grace for the Eels.
BUNKER INCONSISTENCY
Warriors star Roger Tuivasa-Sheck was the victim of the bunker’s lack of appropriate action against Parramatta’s Kelma Tuilagi for his spear tackle last weekend. The NRL does have a habit, and a long history, of overcorrecting when things go wrong.
This column maintains that Tuilagi should have been sent off rather than just sin-binned for up ending Lindsay Collins and putting him in a dangerous position.
There’s no room for ugly spear tackles in our game and the bunker missed the chance to send a strong message by not sending him off.
Thankfully, the match review committee made amends in hitting him with a four-match ban.
Tuivasa-Sheck, like Tuilagi, was sin-binned for a lifting tackle on Jayden Campbell, who on replay barely went over the horizontal.
Tuilagi’s tackle was clearly far worse but the on-field penalty was the same.
Therein lies the frustration of fans.
Yes, Tuivasa-Sheck does lift and drive Campbell but the Warriors veteran at least appears to have more control in the tackle than what Tuilagi did.
Campbell also mostly lands on his back. A penalty would have sufficed.
Kasey Badger was in the bunker for both incidents.
On the face of it, it appears Badger was overcompensating for not sending off Tuilagi the week before.
She wouldn’t be the first match official to do so. But it does put Badger at the centre of two controversial moments in consecutive weeks.
In Badger’s defence, the right call was made not to sin-bin either Campbell or Te Maire Martin after they were penalised for hip-drop-like tackles.
Both were put on report and left for the match review committee to deal with.
The Tuivasa-Sheck tackle wasn’t the only contentious incident at the weekend.
Many have fairly asked why Roosters halfback Sam Walker stayed on the field after clothes-lining Canterbury’s Jacob Kiraz. Walker was penalised, but what if Kiraz had stayed down?
Dallin Watene-Zelezniak was sin-binned last week for a similar tackle on Melbourne’s Grant Anderson. Yet Walker’s high tackle was only deemed an offence that drew a penalty.
ROUND 16 LIKES
Boom rookie playmaker Lachlan Galvin has made a bold declaration that should send long suffering Wests Tigers fans celebrating long into Sunday evening.
Speaking after a standout performance in the Tigers’ 48-24 win over the Raiders, Galvin put to bed speculation about his future at Concord in no uncertain terms.
“100 per cent ... I’m going to see out my contract and I want to change this club around and be a Wests Tiger,” Glavin said on Fox League post match.
There had been speculation that Galvin, who is signed until the end of 2026, wants out at the Tigers.
It was a situation the Tigers could not afford to see come to fruition, and one that threatened to be destabilising for the club.
Galvin is exactly the kind of player you want to re-build this Tigers team around, so to hear that he wants to help drive a new era at Concord should be music to the ears of fans.
Returning from a hand injury, Galvin’s attacking arsenal, with the ball and the boot, was on full display against the Raiders.
More impressive was the confidence he displayed to demand the ball, pull the right rein at the right time and ability to organise the defence.
He also combined beautifully on the left side of the field with Adam Doueihi, who was playing his first NRL game for the first time in 439 days after overcoming a third ACL injury.
He capped off a successful comeback with an 80-metre intercept try.
HIT OF THE YEAR
Who says rugby league has gone soft? Not the ribs of Junior Pauga, that’s for sure.
Pauga was on the receiving end of a bone-crunching tackle by Canterbury powerhouse Jeral Skelton, who put a target on the Sydney Roosters and just went whack!
The best part of it all? It was all legal and executed perfectly.
But that tackle won’t be what pleased coach Cameron Ciraldo most.
Skelton has been forced to bide his time in NSW Cup all year and when called up, he delivered. The rugby convert made 253 metres, which included a 90m runaway try, five tackle busts and two linebreaks.
Centres Stephen Crichton (Origin) and Bronson Xerri (hamstring) are due back into the side but with fullback Connor Tracey (concussion) likely to miss the Sharks’ clash, shifting Jacob Kiraz to fullback give Skelton another shot in the NRL.
ROOSTERS PACK CROWS
If you’re going to talk the talk, you better walk the walk and Jared Waerea-Hargreaves did exactly that in the Roosters’ 26-8 win on Saturday.
The veteran enforcer was spotted having words with Junior Pauga after he was badly beaten in defence and on the receiving end of a brutal Jacob Kiraz fend.
Waerea-Hargreaves clearly put whatever he said to Pauga to practice, leading from the front as he menaced the Bulldogs. He cut Blake Wilson in half with a textbook rib rattler.
But he wasn’t alone. Terrell May punched out 80 minutes for 216m, and was relentless. It was the kind of performance that should put May on Michael Maguire’s radar for the Blues. NSW need tough, physical forwards with a big engine and May fits that bill.
Victor Radley continues to own his new role on the edge, where he is the perfect bodyguard for halfback Sam Walker. After a week of headlines, Brandon Smith returned after being issued a show-cause notice for failing to attend a team meeting. The hooker kicked a 40-20 and played with intent and effort.
HASLER’S SELECTION CALL
Jayden Campbell has a future in the halves, despite the constant conjecture surrounding his best position in the Titans’ 17.
Campbell set up three tries, and scored one in the Titans’ 66-6 thumping of the Warriors. Not only did he run the ball and threaten the line, his kicking game was solid too. Boom youngster Keano Kini is also flourishing at fullback, where he ran for 223m, made 10 tackle breaks and four line breaks on Saturday.
It leaves AJ Brimson, who is due back in round 18 from a groin injury, as the odd-man out in the spine.
Brimson’s switch to centre earlier in the year was feeble and if he is to go back to fullback on his return, then that squeezes out Kini.
But Kini is too much of a strike weapon, and a crucial part of the Titans’ future, to leave out of the side.
Justin Holbrook tried to turn Campbell into an X-factor-type impact player off the bench. Maybe the real Titans supersub is Brimson.
GRAY MOVE IS BLACK AND WHITE
With Jack Wighton making a home in the halves and Campbell Graham unlikely to play this year, Souths are lacking genuine star power at centre.
It’s a problem Latrell Mitchell can solve by making the switch from fullback.
Having both Mitchell and Jye Gray in the backline strengthens the Rabbitohs, who are still confident of making a run for the finals after four-straight wins.
BUDDING PROPS SHINE
A lot has been said about the lack of quality props available on the market but the men’s under 19 State of Origin showed there are some green shoots.
While the likes of Sam Tuivaiti, Fanafou Seve, Loko Jnr Pasifiki Tonga and De La Salle Va’a aren’t NRL ready just yet, the youngsters are well on their way showing plenty of promise and potential game’s next crop of powerhouse props.
Pasifiki Tonga, who will join the top 30 in 2025 and is signed until the end of 2026, will be a key part of Shane Flanagan’s rebuild at the Dragons.
There are high hopes for Seve, who is 124 kgs and 191cms tall, at the Bulldogs – a club that has struggled to make a dent in securing a premier prop on the market.
Tuivaiti is seen as the one to take Parramatta’s pack into the future after Junior Paulo and Reagan Campbell-Gillard, who both turn 31 this year.
While Va’a is signed at the Roosters until the end of 2026.
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