By Michael Chammas, Dan Walsh and Danny Weidler
Wests Tigers teenager Lachlan Galvin has turned the NRL player market on its head after knocking back a $5.5 million, six-year extension offer that prompted the Tigers to announce his exit at the end of 2026.
Galvin’s formal entry onto the market and the Tigers’ potentially club-defining call to withdraw from negotiations is set to trigger a slew of rival interest in one of the game’s best young playmakers.
The 19-year-old will be able to field formal offers from November 1 after Tigers chief executive Shane Richardson was told by Galvin’s manager Isaac Moses on Monday that his client had no interest in the Tigers extension.
The Tigers released an extraordinary club statement as a result, declaring Galvin would not be with the club beyond 2026, but that he is expected to see out the final 18 months of his current contract.
“We would like to announce that Lachlan Galvin will not be with the club beyond the 2026 season,” the Tigers statement said.
“Despite the club having the largest contract offer for a junior in the history of the club on the table, Lachlan and his management have decided his future lies elsewhere and were not willing to review the offer.
Lachlan Galvin knocks back Tigers.Credit: Getty
“It should be noted that the club has NO intention of releasing Lachlan from his contract, and he has not requested this.
“Obviously, there will be a lot of speculation around this release, but we will make no further comment. The club is focused on winning as many games as possible during Lachlan’s tenure and beyond. The club is disappointed, but we move on.”
Richardson declined to comment further on Monday, but reiterated that the Tigers would not entertain any request for Galvin to be able to begin formal negotiations with rival clubs earlier than November 1.
The Tigers had been prepared to upgrade Galvin’s deal for next season – believed to be worth around $350,000 – as part of a six-year extension offer. The breakdown in retention talks comes after multiple release requests from Galvin’s management last year, which the club rejected and were ultimately withdrawn.
With Dylan Brown’s record-breaking $14 million, 10-year Knights move re-setting a market short on playmaking talent and a potentially increased salary cap from 2027 in line with a new broadcast deal, Galvin is expected to join the NRL’s million-dollar-a-year earners with his next deal.
His junior club Parramatta is likely to lead suitors given Brown’s exit, while Manly will have the funds to pursue Galvin as they plan for life without captain Daly Cherry-Evans beyond 2025.
Moses has strong ties at Manly, where he manages coach Anthony Seibold. The Sea Eagles, however, are already pursuing Canberra veteran Jamal Fogarty to help develop their own teenage playmakers Joey Walsh and Onitoni Large, who left the Tigers as Galvin was positioned as Jarome Luai’s long-term halves partner.
The Roosters have previously indicated they would not enter the race for Galvin and chairman Nick Politis refuses to deal with Moses.
Bulldogs boss Phil Gould, meanwhile, has recently ended his own feud with arguably the game’s most influential player manager, and has been effusive in praising Galvin since he came into first grade.
Speaking on Nine’s 100% Footy two weeks ago, Gould said it would be a “tragedy” for Galvin to leave the Tigers and expressed concern at seven-figure offers being tabled before his 20th birthday.
“It’s brilliant money [but] it puts a lot of pressure and scrutiny on him,” Gould said.
“He probably shouldn’t be on that money at that age, there is no reason to do that to a young kid. Neither the club or his manager will allow that to happen.”
The Tigers themselves will be cashed up from 2026 given Galvin had been the backbone of their long-term planning in partnership with Luai.
Latu Fainu has impressed influential figures at the club since Luai’s arrival and is at this stage viewed as Galvin’s replacement in the halves.
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