Benji Marshall speaks out after eye-opening vision of Lachie Galvin at Bulldogs HQ
Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall has denied suggestions the club is "disappointed" about losing Lachie Galvin, as the first footage emerged of the teenage playmaker at Bulldogs training on Friday. Amateur vision captured the 19-year-old decked out in Canterbury gear at the Bulldogs' Belmore headquaters, despite the fact his high-profile switch from the Tigers has yet to be officially confirmed.
The deal is expected to be rubber-stamped this week after the Dogs reportedly agreed to pay a $175,000 release fee to secure the five-eighth's services immediately. It's understood the 19-year-old has put pen to paper on a contract with the Dogs worth $750,000 per-season that will keep him at the club until at least the end of 2028.
reports that the delay in finalising the Galvin deal has centred around "a non-disparagement clause" that the Tigers wanted signed, before officially granting his release. It's essentially a legal move that prevents Galvin from discussing his exit from the Tigers, following previous reports the 19-year-old was considering legal action against the club over accusations of bullying.
The Bulldogs have reportedly agreed to the clause in what appears to be the final step towards making the move official after Galvin rejected a $5 million contract extension with the Tigers last month. Galvin's presence at Bulldogs HQ comes after he was excused from Wests Tigers training, having been left out Marshall's squad for Saturday's round 13 clash in Townsville against the Cowboys.
Galvin already training with the Bulldogs even though no official release made public by the Tigers and no official announcement from the Bulldogs pic.twitter.com/HjSXOTOHMM
— Rob Bechara (@BecharaRob) May 30, 2025
Marshall did his best to sidestep questions around Galvin when asked about his former playmaker during Friday's press conference. The Tigers coach tried to put a positive spin on the situation, despite the fact they've lost one of brightest young talents in the game, with Marshall and the team eager to move on from the ongoing soap opera.
"I guess everyone's probably a little bit sick of talking about it and it being reported," Marshall said. "But we're just focused on the game. I know it's a cliched thing to say, but we have to be. It's been a great week at training.
"Everyone's looking forward to just playing. We had a week off last week with the bye. The energy around the place has been really good, really positive." The fact the Tigers were willing to offer the 19-year-old such a lucrative deal proves he was viewed as the future of the club and a player to build the team around.
But Marshall remained bullish when asked if the Tigers were disappointed to lose the prodigious talent, whom he handed an NRL debut to last year. "I don't know if disappointment's the word," Marshall said. "We like the players we've got, we love the squad we've got, we're excited about some of the young players coming through and for us.
"We want to try and make a mark on the competition this year. The squad we've got, we're confident we can do that." Galvin's presence at Bulldogs training would appear to be the end of an ugly saga that saw him targeted in social media posts from teammates Jarome Luai and Sunia Turuva, prompting the legal threat from the teenager's camp.
Marshall has turned to another 19-year-old in Heath Mason to take Galvin's spot at five-eighth alongside Luai for the clash against the Cowboys. Mason began the season at fullback in the absence of Jahream Bula but earns his first NRL start in the halves. And he's been given a simple game plan from the Tigers coach.
"We just need our halves to do their job and control the field position," Marshall said. "We've seen some great glimpses of play from some of our players this year, and we're coming up against a pretty good Cowboys team that have got a lot of great attacking players."
with AAP
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
24 minutes ago
- USA Today
Georgia football adds first 2027 commitment from elite WR
Georgia football adds first 2027 commitment from elite WR Elite class of 2027 wide receiver recruit Gavin Honore has announced his commitment to the Georgia Bulldogs. Honore is Georgia's first commitment in the 2027 recruiting class. Honore is ranked as a three-star recruit. The 5-foot-10, 170-pound receiver is the No. 442 recruit in the country and the No. 54 prospect in California, per 247Sports. Honore is the No. 57 wide receiver in the nation. The rising junior also runs track and has excellent speed. "All glory to God let's do it!!!" said Honore after committing to Georgia football. Honore projects to play as a slot receiver in college. Despite his commitment, there's still a long way to go before his eventual signing. The three-star Honore plays high school football for Mater Dei High School in Santa Ana, California. Mater Dei is a national powerhouse and is where Georgia Bulldogs running back Nate Frazier played in high school. Gavin Honore's commitment The Mater Dei star is a foundational piece for Georgia in the 2027 cycle and could help the Bulldogs recruit more top class of 2027 recruits. For now, coach Kirby Smart and Georgia are primarily focused on adding to their SEC-best recruiting haul in the class of 2026. The talented receiver committed to Georgia shortly after visiting the Bulldogs. Honore recently earned MVP honors at a National Preps Showcase. Georgia offered Honore back on April 1 and quickly landed his commitment. Honore's recruitment has been building moment over the past few months. He's received recent scholarship offers from Texas, Texas Tech and Louisville. Honore has excellent quickness. He's a well-refined route runner and made a lot of his sophomore production running routes on deep passing plays.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
What to Know About China's Halt of Rare Earth Exports
China has suspended almost all exports since April 4 of seven kinds of rare earth metals, as well as very powerful magnets made from three of them. The halt has caused increasingly severe shortages that threaten to close many factories in the United States and Europe. Why are these metals so needed, why has China stopped exporting them and, crucially, what happens next? What are rare earths? There are 17 types of metals known as rare earths, which are found near the bottom of the periodic table. Most of them are not actually very rare — they are all over the world, though seldom in large enough ore deposits to be mined efficiently. They are called rare because it is very difficult to separate them from each other. Breaking the chemical bonds that bind them in nature can require more than 100 stages of processing and large quantities of powerful acids. Why does China control so much of the rare earth supply? China mines 70 percent of the world's rare earths. Myanmar, Australia and the United States mine most of the rest. But China does the chemical processing for 90 percent of the world's rare earths because it refines all of its own ore and also practically all of Myanmar's and nearly half of U.S. production. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
New York Times
an hour ago
- New York Times
Tesla Protesters Claim a Victory as Elon Musk Leaves Trump's Side
Elon Musk left the Trump administration with a White House send-off on Friday. That was a victory of sorts for a group of activists who have spent much of the last four months organizing protests against Mr. Musk's right-wing politics by targeting his electric car company, Tesla. A day later, on Saturday, hundreds of people showed up at more than 50 Tesla showrooms and other company locations to continue their protests. The campaign at Tesla sites began in February after Joan Donovan, a sociology professor at Boston University, gathered friends to hold a demonstration at a Tesla showroom in Boston, and posted a notice about her plan on Bluesky using the hashtag #TeslaTakedown. She said she had been inspired by a small protest at Tesla's electric vehicle chargers in Maine soon after President Trump's inauguration. 'That first one on Feb. 15 was me and like 50 people,' Ms. Donovan said. 'And then the next week it was a hundred more people, and then a hundred more after that, and it's just grown.' Tesla Takedown has since expanded into an international movement, staging demonstrations at Tesla factories, showrooms and other locations in countries including Australia, Britain, France and Germany as well as across the United States. The campaign's U.S. growth has been fueled in large part by anger over Mr. Musk's leadership of the Department of Government Efficiency, which has slashed government spending and dismissed tens of thousands of federal workers while gaining access to sensitive personal data. Mr. Musk departed the administration after his involvement in politics hurt his companies, especially Tesla. Sales of the company's cars have tumbled since Mr. Trump took office and the start of protests against the company. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
