Galvin gone: $5M Tigers bid not enough to keep young gun

Lachlan Galvin won’t play on with the Wests Tigers beyond 2026, with the in-demand young gun told he can leave the club at the end of his current contract after turning down a $5 million deal.

The Tigers had formally offered Galvin up to $1 million a season between 2027 and 2031 to stay at the Concord outfit, but the 19-year-old five-eighth was more interested in fielding rival offers.

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Galvin had, The Sporting Base understands, also told the Tigers he was happy to keep speaking to them about possibly re-signing once he’d scoped the lay of the land elsewhere.

Tigers brass, maybe stung a little, responded by rescinding the extension offer immediately.

The Tigers revealed the state of play in an April 14 statement released on the club website which confirmed Galvin had turned down the tabled offer and wanted to test his options before making any decision.

“We would like to announce that Galvin will not be with the club beyond the 2026 season,” the statement said.

“Despite the club having the largest contract offer for a junior in the history of the club on the table, Lachlan and his management have decided his future lies elsewhere and were not willing to review the offer. It should be noted the club has NO intention of releasing Lachlan from his contract, and he has not requested this.

“Obviously, there will be a lot of speculation around this release, but we will make no further comment. The club is focused on winning as many games as possible during Lachlan’s tenure and beyond.”

Galvin has played 27 games for the Tigers since debuting last year and has this year been learning alongside halfback Jarome Luai. There are many in the game who already consider Galvin a future top halves star — and with his future now open, there’ll be more than a dozen NRL clubs looking to make space for the young gun.

The Tigers’ statement concluded with a simple message: “The club is disappointed, but we move on.”