‘He’s the fittest human I’ve ever seen’: Lachlan Galvin smashes club record

Their fitness standards were in the headlines for all the wrong reasons last year, but a young gun is helping the Wests Tigers make a splash in 2025.

The Wests Tigers have put fitness first this pre-season, with talented rookie Lachlan Galvin shattering a club record as the wooden spooners look to be more competitive in the final 20 minutes of matches compared with what they produced last season.

The club clearly means business, with several players issued breach notices late last year for failing to maintain fitness standards over the off-season that were exposed during fitness tests at training and left coach Benji Marshall fuming.

But there are no such concerns after the Christmas break, with Galvin matching his record-breaking time of four minutes and 12 seconds in the gruelling Bronco, in which players run 1.2km up and down the field.

Lachlan Galvin has set the standards at pre-season training. Picture: Wests Tigers

“Before the start of this year, we did it and I got 4:12, which was the club record,” the bulked-up five-eighth said, bettering his 2024 pre-season time by three seconds.

“We did it on Tuesday and I got 4:12 again. I’m trying to get under 4:10, so I told them to give me a few weeks and I might get there. I’m pretty fit and I’m loving it.

“I always did cross-country at school, so I’ve always loved running long distances. I spent a lot of time at the park with my mates and my brothers doing a bit of training.

“I think you’re born with that, but I’ve also put in the hard work. I’m not the best in the gym, so I’ve got to be good at something.

“Fitness is one of the biggest things in the NRL. That’s something I learnt in my first season – you’ve got to be in games for the full 80 minutes because teams can beat you in the final second.

“Benji has been really hard on fitness in the pre-season, and he should be because it’s so important.”

The Wests Tigers have put a stronger emphasis on fitness in the pre-season. Picture: Rohan Kelly

Back-rower Alex Seyfarth has noticed a change in Marshall’s approach to training this time around on the back of the club’s third wooden spoon.

The Tigers played enterprising footy at times in 2024 but faded late in some matches, conceding 38 tries and scoring just 21 in the final 20 minutes of games.

“This pre-season has been a lot harder,” Seyfarth said.

“We’ve done a lot more running because last year there were times at the back end of games where we were letting the game slip away from us.

“We’re a lot fitter this year. Boys have come back and we’ve all smashed our times and have all hit our fitness goals.

“Lachie has nearly got a world record in the 1.2km trial. He’s the fittest human I’ve ever seen.

“I think the fastest I saw was Jacob Liddle a few years ago, but he’s a freak. He can run all day.”

Jarome Luai has been impressed by the training standards that he says rival what the Panthers do. Picture: Rohan Kelly

Star recruit Jarome Luai knows what it takes to win big games having won four titles in a row with Penrith, and in an encouraging sign going forward, he says he can see similarities with how both teams approach pre-season training.

“Coming from a great club, you compare straight away because you know what winning looks like and all that,” said Luai, who wants to raise standards at his new club.

“That’s why I’m also here – to see what I can bring to this team and help change that around.

“The first thing I noticed was how hard they work and their work ethic. This pre-season has been so tough and I can see how fit the boys are.

“The whole squad is really fit, and to implement any game plan, you need to be fit. That’s a big value with this team and it’s a big similarity with Penrith is the hard work and the willingness to work hard.”