NRL 2024: Wests Tigers pathways working to produce more teenage sensations like Lachlan Galvin

Lachlan Galvin’s remarkable ascension has come at the same time the Tigers have reset their pathways, the result being the careful curation of 210 individual paths for each of their junior players from under-17s to potential NRL graduation.

They’re the 210 roads the Wests Tigers are praying will not only steer them out of rugby league hell, but towards the next teenage saviour.

The Tigers host Parramatta on Friday in the most anticipated “Spoon Bowl” in recent memory, a genuine Western Sydney scrap to avoid the league’s most unwanted prize.

Defeat for the Tigers would result in the ignominy of a third straight wooden spoon in the NRL and the worst season across all competitions for a club.

Already the Tigers have added three spoons to their cabinet this year — their Balmain side finished bottom in Harold Matthews and SG Ball, as will their NSW Cup side.

Their NRLW outfit are also the only winless team, past the halfway point of the season.

But there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Led by 19-year-old sensation Lachlan Galvin, who is tipped to earn the most money of any player in history, the Tigers are also on the cusp of reeling off a third straight victory, a feat their long-suffering fanbase haven’t experienced in more than six years.

And at the core of the rebuild are six players from their triumphant 2022 Harold Matthews side, including Galvin, who Phil Gould describes as the best teenager he has seen.

“Incredible maturity, game knowledge and execution of things that even the greatest playmakers weren’t doing at that age,” Gould said on his podcast.

Gould has been involved in the game for 50 years and coached the likes of Brad Fittler, Andrew Johns and Greg Alexander.

Lachlan Galvin has shown immense maturity in his rookie NRL season. Picture: Jeremy Ng/Getty Images

“Brad Fittler was a completely different player. Brad Fittler was playing in the centres at that age. He was a ball runner with a wicked sidestep and a physical frame,” he said.

“And Brad Fittler didn’t become a playmaker until he was 25, 26.

“The Johns players were skillful, but they weren’t like this kid. They weren’t game managing.

“Greg Alexander was one of the greatest junior footballers I ever saw. One of the greatest talents, but a brilliant individual talent, so fast and make people miss.

“But honestly, Lachlan Galvin, by the time he has retired, god willing, touch wood, and I don’t want to mock him, Lachlan Galvin will earn more money out of rugby league than any player in history. That’s going to be my prediction.

“I think he’s the best teenage footballer I’ve ever seen.”

THE ROADMAPS

Galvin’s remarkable ascension has come at the same time the Tigers have reset their pathways.

And the result has been the careful curation of 210 individual paths for each of their junior players from under-17s all the way to potential NRL graduation.

At the top of the list are 16-year-olds Haemasi Makasini and Onitoni Large.

Wests Tigers rising stars Onitoni Large and Heamasi Makasini. Picture by Max Mason-Hubers

Tigers general manager Matthew Betsey knows the club has a future star in Newington College’s Makasini, who is also making waves in schoolboy rugby.

“Heamasi has really dominated through that Harold Matthews season,” Betsey said.

“His size, skill, strength and power, he’s so dominant when he has the ball. We had him come in for the NRL side in the pre-season.

“The coaching staff are so impressed with his work ethic.”

Large is also in the rugby union pathways.

It’s a threat not lost on the Tigers, who have also had to watch numerous local juniors move away from Concord over the past decade.

Former NSW Origin prop Stefano Utoikamanu will leave at the end of this season, while Galvin himself has been forced to confirm his re-commitment to the club.

It’s the reason CEO Shane Richardson urgently wanted to ensure buy-in from their kids.

Onitoni Large. Picture: Max Mason-Hubers

Heamasi Makasini. Picture: Max Mason-Hubers

“One of the things we have focused on with Richo (Richardson) here is communicating that pathway, and ensuring players buy into that,” Betsey said.

“We want to make sure it’s not just empty words or names on a whiteboard, that they believe in us and want to be part of what the club is trying to build.

“Maybe we haven’t done that as well in the past.”

So, pathways and development manager Shannon Gallant went to work, devising an individually tailored plan for every junior player at the club.

They bring in each parent and manager to discuss the player’s strengths and weaknesses, and the plan to develop them.

“Parents can see it all mapped out, we don’t want parents to put faith in us to develop their kids and then feel like we have not delivered,” Gallant said.

THE DEBUTANTS

A burgeoning casualty ward has forced rookie NRL coach Benji Marshall to blood 10 debutants, four of whom are teenage local juniors.

Playmaker Heath Mason, forward Jordan Miller and centre Luke Laulilii have also debuted.

The undeniable talent of Galvin, who has kept his place in the NRL side since replacing an injured Aidan Sezer in round two, made the rising playmaker destined for NRL stardom.

But both Betsey and Gallant concede that others have been handed debuts before their time due to injuries and suspensions, which impacted the results in lower grades.

“Luke (Laulilii) is a good example,” Betsey said.

Luke Laulilii. Picture: Jeremy Ng/Getty Images

Heath Mason. Picture: Jason McCawley/Getty Images

“We sat down at the start of the year and mapped out his 12 months. It wasn’t a surprise for Luke when we moved him into Jersey Flegg when he finished SG Ball.

“When Benji needed him in the NRL team in round 16, he picked him and he played well.”

Mason made his debut in round 15, and has also recently impressed in place of the injured Jahream Bula.

THE CUBS 

The club has three Cubs Programs, all designed to transition players from one junior representative level to the next.

The Orange Cubs (17-18 years of age) is a two-block program that runs over eight weeks, to help the club’s best Harold Matthews players transition into SG Ball.

The Black Cubs are the best u19s players looking to transition into Jersey Flegg (u21s).

“The programs are designed to ensure that players receive continued development, and are in the Wests Tigers system, between junior representative seasons,” Gallant said.

“But we also want players to earn the right to progress through our programs.

“We have one kid, Archie Duncombe.

The towering Archie Duncombe charging through the opposition in the Laurie Daley Cup. Picture: Warren Gannon Photography.

“He’s a St Gregory’s College boy, who has impressed us so much.

“Since November, he’s gone from under-18s Laurie Daley Cup to SG Ball to Orange Cubs to Black Cubs and is now in Flegg, where he’s the starting backrower.”

Duncombe isn’t the only prodigy to jump through the grades.

Utility Heith Pritchard and twins Max (centre) and Mitch (back row) Taotua have also transitioned into Flegg after playing SG Ball this year.

Heith Pritchard in the SG Ball Cup. Picture: Warren Gannon Photography

“Heith, Max, Mitch and Archie have set the standard throughout the program and were rewarded,” Gallant said.

“I believe players like Jared Haywood and Marc Tannous are certainly putting pressure on the Jersey Flegg staff to be selected due to their performance within the Cubs programs.”

The club also has a White Cubs (under-16s) program to prepare players for the Harold Matthews season.

THE BLUEPRINT

It’s the junior catchment that rivals Penrith in terms of numbers.

The joint venture has a Wests and Balmain outfit in both the Harold Matthews (under-17s) and SG Ball (under-19s) competitions, and a single Tigers side in Jersey Flegg (under-21s).

The Macarthur Wests Tigers also compete in the Andrew Johns (under-16s) and Laurie Daley (under-18s) regional competition.

All those sides feed into a nursery with around 10,000 junior participants, that stretches across Balmain and the inner west surrounds into the Macarthur region and as far as Mittagong.

But the real buzz surrounding the Tigers’ pipeline of talent started two years ago when their Western Suburbs Magpies’ Harold Matthews Cup side won the title.

2022 Wests Magpies (L-R) Tallyn Da Silva, Jeremiah Leatigaga, Jordan Miller, Lachlan Galvin, James Folaumoetui and Kit Laulilii. Picture: Richard Dobson

As the club struggled at NRL level and headed for its first ever wooden spoon that year, the success at Harold Matthews level gave fans hope of a resurgence.

Already six players from the under-17s side have made their NRL debut including Galvin, Mason, Miller, brothers Kit and Luke Laulilii and hooker Tallyn Da Silva.

“We’ve got a few forwards that we are really excited about still to come through like Heith Pritchard, Jeremiah Leatigaga, Ewan Xuereb,” Gallant said.

“Those guys have continued to impress since that final, there is no doubt about it.

“They might not have been fast tracked like the ‘Lachy Galvins’, the blue chip talents of the world, but that doesn’t mean they won’t get there.”

 
THE RECRUITS

As the Tigers struggled for success at the NRL level, the club has been one of the most active in the player market in a bid to turn around on-field fortunes.

Already the club has secured the likes of Aidan Sezer, Jayden Sullivan and brothers Latu and Samuela Fainu.

Jarome Luai is Tigers bound in 2025. Picture: Matt King/Getty Images

Penrith premiership winners Jarome Luai and Sunia Turuva arrive in 2025.

But now, the club’s priority is locking in developed players long term.

“We know we have to look after our local players because they will be the strength of the club,” Betsey said.

“Richo has made it clear that we articulate what each player’s pathway looks like but that we are not going to recruit over young players.

“We have so many players that our talent identification has to be sharp to make sure we have a robust depth chart in every position.”

Betsey believes the calibre of Luai, along with mapping out a pathway to the NRL for young players, will convince talents like Galvin to stay at Concord.

“Having someone like Jarome Luai come in will benefit the younger players coming through, because they will want to play with someone like that and with that experience,“ Betsey said.

Originally published as NRL 2024: Wests Tigers pathways working to produce more teenage sensations like Lachlan Galvin