‘Slap in the face': Galvin‘s ‘unnecessary' Tigers swipe as ‘bullying' saga re-emerges
Galvin, 19, signed with the Bulldogs at the end of May, ending a drawn-out and messy transfer saga that saw him decline a Tigers extension worth a reported $5 million.
Da Silva became the latest talented Tigers young gun to depart the club on Monday, joining Parramatta immediately after putting pen to paper on a fresh four-and-a-half year contract.
During their time at the merger club, Galvin and Da Silva were reportedly best friends according to Code Sports, having won a 2022 Harold Matthews premiership with Western Suburbs.
Galvin took to Instagram on Monday, sharing the Eels' post announcing they had signed Da Silva with a winking face emoji in a clear swipe at his former club.
That dig came after Jarome Luai and Sunia Turuva took to social media in the wake of the news the young five-eighth would be negotiating with rivals for a new contract.
Luai took to Instagram sharing an image that read 'team first' while Sunia Turuva, posted a story for his close friends which went even further.
The post featured a shot of Galvin's locker with the music underneath being former WWE wrestler Shane McMahon's theme song, which is called 'Here Comes The Money'.
Galvin's management issued a legal latter to the Tigers claiming he was being bullied in his workplace, and now the young gun has done something 'quite similar' himself.
'I didn't particularly like it to be fair, we condemned those at the Wests Tigers that went online to criticise Lachlan when he was leaving the club,' The Daily Telegraph's Dean Ritchie said on NRL360 on Tuesday night.
'It ended up being a bullying allegation and now Lachlan has gone and done something quite similar, there's no individuals involved in this case.
'But Lachlan's clearly having a dig at the Tigers with the good luck emoji and the smiley wink. I just think it was unnecessary.
'He copped the brunt of it when he was there and didn't particularly like it, so now I am wondering why when he's left he wants to throw a couple rocks back at the Tigers?'
Fox League's Paul Crawley echoed Ritchie, saying: 'It's just dumb, isn't it? Social media gets a lot of people into trouble. He probably didn't mean much by it.
'I personally thought at the time (Luai and Turuva's posts), that wasn't bullying. That was them making a statement about their own coach and their club.
'The cheeky emoji there, that's a slap in the face for the Tigers, no question in the world.'
The 20-year-old hooker was allowed to depart the Tigers with a fresh extension for skipper Api Koroisau looming, blocking his path in the No.9 jersey until the end of the 2027 season.
Following the release, Tigers chief executive Shane Richardson explained that the decision came down to the club wanting to win now.
'The kid wants to play NRL and I think he can. We had to make a decision for the betterment of the club,' he said to News Corp.
'We want to win games now and the kid didn't want to hang around for another two or three years waiting to get his shot at first grade.
'It was also a cultural thing about leadership with Api – that we wanted him to finish his time at the club.
'Once we decided we were going to re-sign Api, it would have been wrong of us to hold him back.'
But Crawley wasn't buying it, comparing the Tigers' handling of their rising stars to the Storm, who have a plethora of talent stuck behind the likes of Jahrome Hughes and Cameron Munster.
'I can't make sense of what the Tigers are doing here. I sat here last week and said that Selwyn Cobbo should have been released,' he said.
'But I see that as a completely different situation, because one the Broncos don't want him for next year, they insulted him with the offer they did to keep him.
'He doesn't have a future at the club. Tallyn Da Silva has told 'Richo' he wanted to stay at the club, yet they have let him go?
'What happened to fighting for the top spot in that team? You look at clubs, and here's a good comparison, you look at what the Tigers have done with these players.
'The system that is almost forcing these young players out, then you go to a club like Melbourne where you've got Jonah Pezet, you've got Tyran Wishart, (Su'a) Fa'alogo.
'Playing back up roles but they are more than prepared to spend three years of their career to be apart of that Melbourne system, learn under Craig Bellamy, learn alongside these great players... the Tigers happily let them walk out the door.'
NRL360 host Braith Anasta went on to explain that the blame should be put on the Tigers for losing another talented player — not Da Silva who was given the chance to leave.
However, the legendary playmaker still couldn't make sense of the move.
'I find it odd, this would happen a lot at different clubs. If you aren't starting, it's not the end of the world,' Anasta said.
'If you are at his age, you have your whole career and whole life ahead of you.
'You don't need to be a bull out of a gate and if you don't get your own way it doesn't mean you just leave the club 18 months in advance.
'It's okay if that's his prerogative, if that's what he wants to do. But we all want to do things in life but we can't because we have signed contracts or made deals with people. Too bad.
'But you don't just get out? They have let him go, so it's not his fault. It's the club's and I don't see how it would have been untenable if he still liked the place and was happy.
'You don't need to play Api for 80 minutes either, you can play (Da Silva) more. Api could get injuries, it doesn't make sense.'
Speaking to News Corp, Luai weighed in on the situation, explaining he was frustrated to see yet another talented player in Da Silva depart the Tigers.
'It's a bit disappointing to be honest,' Luai said.
'I think he was on his way to becoming a great player, I still think he is. But I think he just wanted more opportunities.
'Obviously we have Api (Koroisau) there, he is our skipper.
'Api still has a lot of footy in front of him as well, I believe that he definitely has a few more years left in those legs.
'In the end Tal (Da Silva) wanted more opportunities for himself. I loved my time around Tal and I wish him all the best.
'What he can bring to a team, I think he is going to be a really good player for a long time.'
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