The Wests Tigers have promised to extend the contract of boom teenager Lachlan Galvin beyond 2026 if he decides to drop a request for an immediate release from the NRL strugglers.
As coach Benji Marshall faces a halves crisis with Galvin and No.7 Jayden Sullivan to both miss Saturday’s clash against the Titans, Tigers chief executive Shane Richardson has offered Galvin’s management an immediate upgrade and longer deal.
The peace offering was made after Galvin asked the club last week to be released from the remainder of his deal, a blow for the Tigers before they suffered their ninth straight loss in a 54-12 hammering at the hands of the Dragons on Friday night.
Galvin’s inquiry was nothing new for the Tigers.
His management had asked for a release even before the season began, but after being handed his NRL debut in round two, the 18-year-old has been the shining light for the Tigers in another torrid season.
But it hasn’t stopped him agitating for a new NRL club, the latest question swiftly knocked back by the Tigers.
Tigers rookie Lachlan Galvin.Credit: Getty
Instead, Richardson has told Galvin’s manager, Isaac Moses, it will offer fresh terms beyond the end of his current deal – due to expire at the end of 2026 – if the Australian Schoolboys star stays put at Concord.
While no clubs are allowed to speak to Galvin about his future from next year given he’s still under contract at the Tigers, multiple sources not allowed to speak publicly on the matter said the player is interested in the possibility of lining up alongside Nathan Cleary in the halves at Penrith.
There is no suggestion the Panthers or any other club has raised the issue of prying Galvin away from the Tigers with Moses.
Cleary’s current halves lieutenant, Jarome Luai, will join the Tigers on a mammoth five-year deal from 2025, and the club had earmarked Galvin as his long-term scrumbase partner.
The Galvin drama comes after the Tigers agreed to release Isaiah Papali’i from the final year of his deal to join Penrith from 2025, and having tabled prop Stefano Utoikamanu a five-year, $4 million offer if he doesn’t take up an option to become a free agent.
Utoikamanu must play the final two Origin games this year to be contracted to the Tigers next season. Otherwise, he’s free to talk to rival clubs.
What is certain, though, is the Tigers will rest Galvin from their showdown with the Titans at Leichhardt Oval on Saturday as he battles a hand injury which has required pain-killing injections in recent weeks.
Marshall will allow the prodigy to heal the problem, but it will come with a fresh blow as Sullivan also faces a month on the sidelines through injury.
The former St George Illawarra playmaker, 22, has been diagnosed with a broken finger and will be out for up to a month.
The Tigers’ halves headache will be slightly eased with Aidan Sezer returning from suspension, but there’s no obvious five-eighth option given the injuries to Galvin, Sullivan and Latu Fainu.
Adam Doueihi, who remains without a deal for next season, will play his first game in 14 months in the NSW Cup this week after another knee reconstruction.