Stars fleeing Canterbury Bulldogs after club land Lachlan Galvin

The Canterbury Bulldogs may have landed a young star of the game, but his arrival is already causing major change at the club.

The Canterbury Bulldogs are in the midst of some big changes to the playing list after reportedly securing Lachlan Galvin.

The incoming arrival of the teenage sensation was considered a chance to upset the applecart and it appears the unrest has commenced.

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Current halfback Toby Sexton is reportedly set to walk out the door at the end of the season in the wake of Galvin’s arrival.

The Daily Telegraph reported Sexton, who is off-contract in 2025, is set to depart the Bulldogs at season’s end.

Sexton had yet to be offered a contract extension and while the club had not stated he would not be offered one, the 24-year-old has elected to flee instead of waiting.

The news comes after it was reported Reed Mahoney had been granted permission to start speaking to rival clubs.

In a report from Fox Sports, Mahoney and his management then sought out permission from the club to start talking to rival clubs with Phil Gould giving them the green light.

The report noted that Gould’s only proviso was that Mahoney keeps the club in the loop with any offers that might be on the table before putting pen to paper on anything.

The looming departure of Mahoney from the Dogs hands the keys at the hooker position to rising star Bailey Hayward.

Toby Sexton is departing at season’s end. (Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)

Mahoney appears on the outs. (Photo by Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)

The moves come in the wake of the club securing the services of Galvin.

Galvin, 19, is set to join the Bulldogs effective immediately after informing the Wests Tigers earlier this year he wouldn’t be staying at the joint venture club beyond the 2026 season, when his contract expires.

The five-eighth has reportedly signed a three-and-a-half year deal to join the current NRL ladder leaders.

“This is going to be a big story,” rugby league reporter James Hooper told Triple M’s Sunday Sin Bin.

“Lachlan Galvin is telling people close to him that it looks as though he will be signing with Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs. That’s going to be big.”

Canterbury will have to pay the Tigers a $165,000 transfer fee to acquire Galvin mid-season.

The Parramatta Eels were also in the mix to poach Galvin, but it appears they have missed out to the Bulldogs.

Galvin turned down a $6 million contract extension offer from the Tigers and is expected to sign a deal worth around $750,000 per season with the Bulldogs.

Remarkably, the 19-year-old is taking a $2 million pay cut to leave the Tigers.

Galvin has turned his back on a monster payday. Photo: Tom Parrish

The development confirms rumours Bulldogs’ general manager of football Phil Gould has been working behind the scenes to negotiate a deal to lure Galvin from the Tigers.

“We still haven’t closed off on a deal yet, and there are still some things that have got to be worked out with the West Tigers,” Gould told Nine on Sunday..

“I would hope that in the next 48 hours we have far greater clarity. But Lachlan, to his credit, has come out and said his preference was the Bulldogs, so we’ll try and accommodate that.”

“What happened this week is the goalpost got moved incredibly, because all of a sudden we got a call on Tuesday from (hi) manager (Isaac Moses) to say that there was a chance they were negotiating a release with the Tigers and he would be available virtually now.”

Triple M host Ben Dobbin said it comes following “cryptic messages from Phil Gould over the past 12 months that he’s always been a huge fan of (Galvin)”.

Hooper added: “In this instance he clearly didn’t want to show that the Bulldogs were going to make a play for Lachlan Galvin. They certainly have now.”

Galvin could play for the Bulldogs as soon as round 14 when Canterbury take on Parramatta.

“The Bulldogs have got the bye this week, but beyond that, when the NRL returns in round 14 I think we see Lachie Galvin lining up in the blue and white and I’m thinking he may well wear the No. 7 jumper,” Hooper said.

Gould got Galvin and gave Mahoney permission to seek out a new home. Picture: NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

Halfback Toby Sexton has been in solid form this season but his contract at the Bulldogs expires at the end of this season, and Gould has been coy about Sexton’s future at the club.

“Toby’s on a journey of development. We’re working with Toby and we’ll worry about the roster later,” Gould said earlier this month.

Gould also cryptically tweeted: “Plenty happening at the moment … Things are bubbling away behind the scenes … Interesting few weeks ahead …”

Gould’s lavish praise of Galvin last year sparked speculation he was chasing the teenager’s signature.

“I think he’s the best teenage footballer I’ve ever seen. I think what he is doing is absolutely extraordinary,” Gould said of Galvin last year on his Six Tackles with Gus podcast.

“Lachlan Galvin will earn more money out of rugby league than any other player in history.“In the future, whoever has Lachlan Galvin in their side will be winning premierships.”

Former Bulldogs hardman James Graham told Triple M Galvin will need to “earn” the right to replace Sexton as halfback.

“If Galvin is at the Dogs, I think he needs to earn that No. 7 jersey,” Graham said.

“If you look at the potential to upset what has been built there under (coach Cameron) Ciraldo and Gus, he’s got to earn the trust of his new teammates because they’ve built something special there, they really have.

“I think this can add to them. I don’t think this is something that’s going to take away from the Bulldogs’ premiership opportunities.”

Originally published as Stars fleeing Canterbury Bulldogs after club land Lachlan Galvin