NRL great Braith Anasta goes scorched earth on Tigers star Lachlan Galvin

News.com.au

21-05-2025

NRL great Braith Anasta has blasted Lachlan Galvin and his management team after the young star moved towards an immediate release from the Wests Tigers.
Reports emerged on Wednesday Galvin's tenure at the Tigers could be coming to an end much earlier than expected.
Barely a month since Tigers chief executive Shane Richardson insisted Galvin's 'going to be with us for the next 18 months', the 19-year-old playmaker is reportedly in talks with the Tigers over an immediate release from his contract.
The saga first blew up after Galvin turned his back on a $6 million deal from the Tigers, telling the club his intention to leave after his current contract expires in 2026.
It's understood the club has now moved to fast-track his exit, with the final sticking point surrounding a transfer fee the Tigers would demand for letting him go.
Watch Braith Anasta's reaction in the video player above
Anasta, who finished his career with the Tigers after stints with the Bulldogs and Roosters, was adamant the joint-venture club should immediately sever ties with Galvin.
'Listen I'm with the Tigers. I think 'well done',' Anasta said on NRL 360.
'I don't have an issue with what they've done, I don't think they've lost, I think they could prove to have won at the end of all this.
'I think it's been handled poorly. Get rid of him. At the end of the day, this team, this club, is bigger than one player.'
The 43-year-old Anasta added his belief the Galvin drama has derailed the Tigers' promising season.
Wooden spooners for the last three seasons, the Tigers had a 5-4 win-loss record after round nine before a 64-0 thrashing against the Storm and a 22-12 defeat to South Sydney, when Galvin dropped the ball over the tryline in the 76th minute.
'Look at the turnaround,' Anasta continued. 'Look at what (coach) Benji (Marshall) is doing, look at the players that were thriving, (Jarome) Luai and the like, all their players have got better.
'Yeah they've lost the last two weeks, you've got to say that's got a lot to do with what's happened here with this huge distraction.
'This came from nowhere. This was a curveball from (Galvin's) management and his team, which really unsettled and derailed a club that was on the rise.
'Do you want that for your club? Do you want to play next to that guy?
'You know what, see you later. I don't see any issue with it, I think the club has taken the right stance. We can say the manager (Isaac Moses) has won and he has and it's not good and we shouldn't allow this.
'But the Tigers had to go in and say 'see you later'. They gave him a chance over the last couple of weeks, they got beaten 64-0 and he lost the ball over the line to win them the game last weekend.
'End of the day, why do you want that in your club?'
The Tigers have a bye this weekend, with suggestions a deal could be done this week, allowing Galvin to find a new home.
The Canterbury Bulldogs and Parramatta Eels have long been touted as the frontrunners to secure his services.
The Galvin saga has featured plenty of twists and turns, with his bombshell decision to reject the Tigers' extension sparking serious unrest among the playing group.
That move ultimately resulted in Marshall dropping him for their round seven match-up with the Eels as his teammates stood behind their coach and mocked the five-eighth on social media.
Galvin's management then took action by sending the Tigers a legal letter with accusations of bullying.
Anasta, who is a player agent himself along with his media roles, has clearly taken issue with Galvin's manager Moses.
Anasta said Moses 'got in the gutter' with the legal move, but wasn't putting the blame entirely on the polarising agent.
'I actually don't want to only put this only on Isaac. It's not just him,' he said.
'Lachlan Galvin is not a child. His parents are behind this as well.
'I want to feel sorry him, but I feel sorry for the Tigers more and I feel sorry for the fans.
'I feel sorry for the position they're in now, when only five or six weeks ago, everything was flying and they were looking great and the season had turned around.
'They've been through hell this club for a long time now.'