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Life’s good for Galvin: Young gun puts rivals on notice as the Bulldogs fight back to beat the Tigers

Lachlan Galvin may have been without Jarome Luai on Sunday night, but he showed he’s good enough to lead the Tigers’ attack in their narrow loss to the Bulldogs.

Martin Gabor
2 min read
February 16, 2025 - 6:42PM
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Plenty of quality youngsters have suffered from second-year syndrome, but Lachlan Galvin looks immune to the dreaded dip in form as he led the Wests Tigers across the park with authority in their 20-14 loss to the Bulldogs.

With halfback Jarome Luai held back for another week, Galvin took it upon himself to steer the ship on Sunday evening against a Bulldogs defence that looked just as miserly as last year even if most of the top stars were missing.

Galvin only missed out on the Dally M Rookie of the Year Award in 2024 because of suspension, and Tigers fans must be thrilled with his development after a dominant first half in Kogarah.

He had 10 runs for 68 metres in the first half in his new role on the right edge and punished the Bulldogs every time they raced up to pressure him on the last tackle.

It was fitting that he played a key role in his side’s first try when he stepped past the defensive blitz to create an overlap which was eventually finished off by fullback Heath Mason.

Combinations

We’ll learn a lot more next week when both teams roll out most of their key men, with the Bulldogs holding back stars like Stephen Crichton, Viliame Kikau and Matt Burton.

For the Tigers, Latu Fainu was kept quiet in his short stint at halfback, while Solomona Faataape scored two tries in three minutes after failing to meet fitness standards in the pre-season.

Recruit Watch

Jarome Luai, Sunia Turuva, Terrell May and Jack Bird were held back for Sunday’s trial, but Jeral Skelton impressed on the left wing in his first game for the Tigers.

Skelton was as busy as ever with a game-high 110 metres in the first half against his former side and is firmly in the mix for a wing spot in round one.

Tom Amone did what he was brought in to do, with the big man providing the size the Bulldogs have desperately missed in the middle.

Rookie Watch 

Canterbury’s back five looks fairly settled, but Cameron Ciraldo must be confident in his depth after Jonathan Sua again showed that he can match it with the big dogs.

The 20-year-old winger played one game last season in the top grade and dominated NSW Cup with 15 tries from just 11 appearances.

He ran for a game-high 170 metres on Sunday and scored the try that put his side ahead 18-14 with 15 minutes to go, while fellow winger Ratu Rinakama shone with a try in each half.

Jack Todd also looks like a promising talent after he scored a try and broke the line twice.

Hot Take

It’s hard to make any major calls based on a trial match between two severely depleted teams, but what is clear is that Galvin is in for a special year.

He’s bigger, fitter and more confident than he was 12 months ago, with Galvin to be mentioned as an Origin bolter as we enter May.

Final Say 

Canterbury’s defensive resolve isn’t just limited to what we see in first grade, and it’s why they’ll be fighting for a top-four spot this season with their attack set to be more dynamic than what it was in 2024.

Originally published as Life’s good for Galvin: Young gun puts rivals on notice as the Bulldogs fight back to beat the Tigers

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Original URL: https://www.thechronicle.com.au/sport/nrl/lifes-good-for-galvin-young-gun-puts-rivals-on-notice-as-the-bulldogs-fight-back-to-beat-the-tigers/news-story/6dad2787c26138ef4fe6e15d4d92e2d6