Phil Gould has described the relationship between Lachlan Galvin and Wests Tigers as “untenable” after the wantaway playmaker put himself before the club.
Tigers coach Benji Marshall, at the urging of senior players, has dropped Galvin to NSW Cup after Galvin revealed he wouldn’t be staying at the club when his contract expires at the end of 2026, due to a belief he couldn’t take his game to the next level under Marshall.
Speaking on the Six Tackles with Gus podcast, Gould feared there could be “long-lasting effects” after the team turned on the teenager.
“Every decision, everything we try to teach our players, and everything we try to build about a culture of a club, and we talk about culture and all that, there has to be a club-first mentality,” Gould said.
“The individual comes third. It’s not about the CEO, it’s not about the general manager. It’s not about the coach, it’s not about the trainer, it’s not about the doctor, it’s about what’s in the best interest of the club, then the team, then the individual comes third.
“And with this one, with this statement, they’re putting the individual first. Lachlan is putting himself first over the rest. I found that, firstly, extraordinary that that would be endorsed – and also that it is untenable, it can’t go on. It’s not going to last.”
Galvin will play at Lidcombe Oval on Easter Monday for Western Suburbs and it’s unclear how long his demotion will last. Gould predicted the parties would have to cut ties early, and if that was Galvin’s ultimate objective, it would come at a huge personal cost.
“If in fact it was seen as strategy to create a situation where the club would let him go now, I don’t think that they knew it would degenerate to this level, that within hours, the senior playing group would divorce themselves from his comments and divorce [themselves] from the young player and say we don’t want to play with him,” Gould said.
“Now that’s terrible, that’s terrible for a young player, to have the rest of the playing group say [that] … I think if it was a strategy being used to get him out of his contract in the short term so he can go somewhere next year, well then to that extent it’s probably backfired to where it is at the moment.
“Now the end result might be that he gets a release from the Tigers and he can go and play somewhere else next year for big money. But that will have come at a cost. That will have come at a significant cost to Lachlan, which is something he’s going to have to work through and hopefully play his way out of going into the future.”
Gould said promising young players were coming into first grade too early.
Lachlan Galvin is at a crossroads.Credit: Getty Images
“I don’t think any player should be playing NRL before the age of 20 or 21. Ever,” he said.
“And I think we should have rookie contracts. I think the first couple of years in the top grade should be restricted to a rookie contract where everyone gets the same thing, a set amount of income and restricting them playing the NRL, which would beef up your pathways competitions and would provide a whole new product.
“They do it overseas, I don’t see why we can’t do it here.”
Gould said the Tigers made a statement with their response to the Galvin situation.
“Strong, and I think that’s what the Wests Tigers fans are applauding at the moment, as much as it hurts,” he said.
“It’s a real statement, and I could see that happening on Monday night because I just said it’s untenable.
“Cameron Smith said it’s untenable [on 100% Footy], he said it from a player’s perspective, and I’m sort of saying it from a club, a coach and a management perspective. It’s untenable. You can’t come out publicly and say that.
“Even if you wanted to have that conversation behind closed doors, I still haven’t had an answer [as to] who leaked that to the media, who told the media that that was said at the meeting between the player manager and the club.
“Who leaked that bit of information? And if it was the club, then they got on the front foot straight away and knew what the next 24 hours is going to look like.
“And I think that’s what the Wests Tigers fans are probably feeling, because they’ve been used up.”
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