This week has made me sick. The mid-season contract circus has to change

I’ve got no problem with Lachie Galvin leaving the Wests Tigers and no doubt he’ll one day play for NSW and Australia.

Good luck to him. But the way this week has played out has made me sick to my stomach.

This is the third time this season, and we’re only coming into round seven, that we’ve had a farcical contract circus take over the entire game. First Dylan Brown’s signing with Newcastle. Then the Daly Cherry-Evans drama that’s still going, and now a week of nothing but headlines about Galvin and the Tigers.

The 19-year-old has big money, big responsibility and a ton of pressure all coming his way, whether he leaves the club today, tomorrow, in a month or at the end of 2026.

I’m most disappointed for the Tigers fans, the longest-suffering in the game, for this to blow up their season after just six rounds when they finally look a genuine chance of playing finals football for the first time since 2011.

The NRL and the Rugby League Players’ Association need to get on the same page around contracts and player movements to sort this current mess out because right now – it’s hurting rugby league. And it’s the fans who suffer most.

Daly Cherry-Evans, Lachlan Galvin and Dylan Brown.Credit: Getty Images

In my opinion, player managers have far too much power in the game, and that needs to change. The fact that managers can act for coaches as well is an absolute joke to me.

We see that influence on clubs when they’re loaded up with an agent’s clients at both coaching and playing levels, and it just keeps happening.

For Benji Marshall’s coaching to be questioned by Galvin or his manager is disrespectful. And given the history his manager Isaac Moses has with the club, the question has to be asked – and is certainly already being suggested anyway – is this a play to get Galvin out of the Tigers part of a personal agenda against the Tigers and Benji?

If it is, the NRL needs to step in.

Benji has only played 346 NRL games, only played 31 times for the Kiwis, only won a premiership, a World Cup and a Golden Boot. So if anyone knows how to coach a young playmaker, it’s Benji. Especially with a four-time premiership-winner in Jarome Luai already in his halves.

I’ll be very interested to see how Galvin develops under other NRL coaches because I’m still sure he will kick on and do well in the game. But I’ve loved the way the Tigers’ attack has grown this season. I can see Benji’s fingerprints all over it.

As for the Tigers senior players urging the coach to drop Galvin to NSW Cup, that’s about trust. You have to trust your teammates in this game. If you don’t have trust from the man defending next to you, you’re toast.

If anyone can mentor a young playmaker, it’s Bnji Marshall.Credit: Wolter Peeters

I think the Tigers senior men, like plenty of people watching from outside the club’s four walls, are disappointed with the way it’s been handled and the narrative that’s been pushed about Benji Marshall.

Again, good luck to Lachie. From what I’ve had to do with him, he’s a great young fella.

But it also feels like he is being used as a pawn in something bigger, and I hate the process that has unfolded.

Time for Sea Eagles to soar again

Onto the footy, and Manly are back to their Fortress at Brookvale, but they’re still without Tom Trbojevic. In my book, Turbo is worth a 12-14-point difference on the scoreboard, maybe even more because he not only scores tries and sets them up, but because he stops them too.

Like the Galvin drama, the question of whether the DCE circus is affecting Manly is being fuelled by rumours that senior teammates also aren’t happy with him leaving the club.

But as well as guiding them around the park, Manly need Cherry-Evans at his best on that right edge.

Daly Cherry-Evans in action against Melbourne.Credit: Getty Images

Haumole Olakau’atu just seems unstoppable out there with Reuben Garrick and Jason Saab providing plenty of speed and strike outside him. For me, Manly’s challenge is unlocking their left edge again, where Luke Brooks lives and Tolutau Koula has so much pace just waiting to be burned.

The Dragons edges are in great form as well, with Luciano Leilua and Valentine Holmes on their left and Jaydn Su’A and big Moses Suli on the right. I have no doubt Leilua and Holmes will be targeting DCE in defence because some of his defensive movements and decisions can be very inconsistent.

With the ball as well, Manly need to improve their second-phase play, an element the Dragons have unlocked this season.

Last week the Sea Eagles only had three offloads against Cronulla, while the Dragons threw 17 against the Gold Coast. Shane Flanagan has them offloading more than any team in the NRL (12.8 per game) and with defences so efficient and well-organised these days, it often takes some ad-lib footy to beat them.

I like Manly in a high-scoring game on a dry, fast track at Brookvale. It’ll be entertaining and the Sea Eagles will be desperate after two straight losses, especially with Penrith next week and then their first bye.

Joey’s tip: Sea Eagles by four.

First try-scorer: Jason Saab

Man of the match: Haumole Olakau’atu

Michael Chammas and Andrew “Joey” Johns dissect the upcoming NRL round, plus the latest footy news, results and analysis. Sign up for the Sin Bin newsletter.