Tigers coach Benji Marshall ‘sick’ of Lachlan Galvin talk ahead of Sharks game

Benji Marshall has clearly had enough of Lachlan Galvin talk, refusing to explain why he recalled the wantaway Tigers playmaker.

Benji Marshall has declared he is “sick of talking about” the Lachlan Galvin saga, while refusing to explain why he recalled the wantaway Tigers playmaker just a week after dropping him.

Speaking to reporters on Saturday ahead of Sunday’s Leichhardt Oval game against Cronulla, Marshall was first asked why Galvin was back in the team and offered a generic response.

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“I’m sick of talking about that,” Marshall said.

“I said it every week. I’ll pick the team that I think is best. We’ve moved on. Focusing on the game this week. We’ve just got to get the win.”

Naturally, Marshall was then pressed on the fact the circumstances are different with Galvin’s selection but the Tigers coach was having none of that, replying: “It’s not. It doesn’t matter.”

Benji Marshall was not happy with the line of questioning.

“Everyone wants to know why I picked the team — you don’t need to know why,” he added.

“I picked the team that I think is best for us this week, and we’ll go with that.”

When a reporter said he was asking on behalf of Tigers fans who would want to know more specifics, Marshall once again shut down the line of questioning.

“You don’t need to ask,” he said.

“I just told you. I picked the team that I think is best for this week.”

With that in mind, Marshall was later asked what it was about Galvin in particular that made him the best option for the Tigers, who ran out with Adam Doueihi in the halves on Monday.

“We’re excited. Obviously combination-wise with the spine, that will be good this week,” Marshall said.

“But we just want him to play his natural game, as we do for everyone else.

“Last week, with all the distractions and the ups and downs of what happened, everyone can just chill now and just play.”

When pressed on the reaction to his decision to bring Galvin back into the NRL so soon, Marshall asked: “Why would I care what people say?”

It has been a tense fortnight for Marshall, who obviously enjoyed a stellar playing career but is still relatively new to the world of NRL coaching.

“It’s part of the job … you ask about what I’ve learned, there’s a lot to take away from the last two weeks. It’s a constant learning curve as a coach,” the 40-year-old said.

“You’ve got to keep growing and learning … but the focus is not on me, it’s on tomorrow.”

That seems to have been a focus at Tigers training throughout the week, with Marshall adding that the team is motivated to get up for forward Alex Twal’s 150th game, while they are also keen to return to Leichhardt, hopefully in winning fashion.

“We’ve made a real effort to just move on and focus on what we can control now, and that’s playing footy,” Marshall said.

“Yeah, no doubt last week was a big week for everyone. Just move on and get on with our footy and Leichhardt Oval, Anzac Day, big round, Alex Twal’s 150th game.

Lachlan Galvin played in the NSW Cup last week. Picture: Warren Gannon Photography

“There’s a lot for us to celebrate this week. Leichhardt is such a great place to play when you give your fans something to cheer about.”

There have been suggestions Galvin could be booed by the Leichhardt faithful, but Marshall said he expects a “pretty positive” reception for the five-eighth.

“The dust settled a bit since last week, so we’ll just get behind him,” Marshall added.

“He’s in our team. We’re expecting him to do his usual thing and play the way he plays and that’s what we want from him. If he sets up a try early or scores one, that’ll help.

“I think he’s handled it incredibly well, given his age, 19 years old, to go through all this stuff and be so public with everything.

“It’s quite hectic for him, but he handled it really well, went back to reserve grade last week, put in a really good trying performance, tried really hard, had a really good attitude.

“We want him to do that for us tomorrow.”

Originally published as Tigers coach Benji Marshall ‘sick’ of Lachlan Galvin talk ahead of Sharks game