Wests Tigers have granted Bud Sullivan and Brent Naden permission to explore deals with rival clubs as chief executive Shane Richardson met with Lachlan Galvin in a bid to placate the unsettled star.
The Richardson rebuild is well underway, with the veteran administrator seeking to overhaul the roster of the wooden spooners. The Tigers have allowed Asu Kepaoa to leave immediately for the Panthers, while Isaiah Papali’i will join the premiers from next season.
There could be more Tigers on the move, with Sullivan and Naden being informed they have permission to leave if they get a suitable offer elsewhere.
Sullivan is contracted until the end of 2027, but his pathway to first grade is limited given Galvin’s emergence and the arrival of Jarome Luai next year. The Tigers will honour Sullivan’s contract should he not find a suitable destination, but would be willing to pay part of his freight should he become an attractive proposition to a rival.
The same situation applies to Naden, who is contracted for next season.
One player the Tigers won’t be letting go is Galvin. The Tigers want to build the club around Galvin and Luai, but the challenge is convincing the former that better times are ahead. To that end, Richardson met with Galvin on Wednesday at the family’s home in south-western Sydney, where he reiterated the teenager is the cornerstone of revival plans.
Richardson declined to comment when contacted on Wednesday night, but has previously told this masthead that he won’t be granting rising half’s latest request for a release.
Tigers rookie Lachlan Galvin.Credit: Getty
Galvin is only 18 and has already experienced a rollercoaster of an NRL career.
After recovering from the setback of being told as a junior he wasn’t wanted at Parramatta - the club he adored - Galvin has been a perennial winner. All up, he has won 11 grand finals: three with Eaglevale-St Andrews Magpies in the Western Suburbs junior district; four with Wentworthville, with whom he never lost a game; three at Westfields Sports High including last year’s decider, a Harold Matthews premiership; and a Buckley Shield triumph and a national championships against Palm Beach Currumbin.
However, the euphoria that came with Galvin’s NRL debut in round two - and early wins against Cronulla and Parramatta - has quickly dissipated. The Tigers have lost nine subsequent games and are favourites to secure a third-straight wooden spoon.
Galvin has struggled through the latter losses with a fractured hand and will be rested for Saturday’s clash with the Titans.
Several clubs have been monitoring the situation should he become a free agent, but it is a moot point for the Tigers, who have no intention of letting him go.
Richardson has been active since taking on the top job last year. He has signed Luai and Sunia Turuva from the Panthers, embarked on a mission to England in a bid to sign a player of interest and is trying to move on several players signed by the previous administration.
Sullivan has struggled to cement a first-grade spot and has been overlooked for the Tigers game, in favour of the new-look Aidan Sezer-Apisai Koroisau halves pairing for the Gold Coast match.
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