Galvin commits his future to the Wests Tigers

Lachlan Galvin has ended speculation over his future by assuring Wests Tigers powerbrokers that he is fully committed to seeing out his contract.

Galvin sent a text message to coach Benji Marshall on Thursday night reiterating he wanted to be part of the club,just days after officials held an emergency meeting with his family.

Tigers chief executive Shane Richardson and head of football Matthew Betsey visited Galvin’s parents at their Gregory Hills home on Wednesday to discuss the teenager’s future after his agent requested a release last week.

Richardson told this masthead the meeting could not have been any more positive.

“His parents are 100 per cent behind the club,and 100 per cent supportive of Lachie being at the club,” Richardson said on Friday.

“We had a really positive meeting. They made a point at the beginning of the meeting,which I thought was really important,that they were unbelievably happy with the way we’ve handled his hand[injury]. They were involved with the specialist,and they haven’t got one complaint about the medical staff when it comes to his hand.”

Marshall denied Galvin had told teammates he wanted out of the club while in the sheds at WIN Stadium after last Friday’s thumping loss against St George Illawarra.

“I don’t think he did[say that],to be honest,” Marshall said. “We’ve cleared that up. Richo went and met with his parents. They’ve made it clear he wants to stay,and he wants to be here. He’s with us with our vision moving forward. That’s all that needs to be said. He’s going nowhere.”

Galvin is signed until the end of 2026,but his future was clouded after a series of requests to explore his options.

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However,Galvin has decided he wants to be at the forefront of Tigers resurgence and has informed club hierarchy that he would fulfil his contractual obligations.

The 18-year-old is considered a superstar in the making,a rare bright spot for the wooden spooners during his 10 NRL appearances to date. Several rival clubs were interested in his services should he become a free agent,but it is now a moot point after recommitting for the long haul.

Galvin has been rested and will not play against the Titans at Leichhardt Oval on Saturday. The enforced spell had nothing to do with speculation about his contract and he will return next Sunday against the Raiders.

Galvin has enjoyed a stellar career as a junior,winning 11 grand finals despite being let go by the club he supported,Parramatta. His NRL career also got off to a winning start,playing an impressive hand in the Tigers’ opening two victories.

However,it has been a difficult period since as the Tigers lost nine straight games. Galvin,who will be rested from this weekend’s clash against the Gold Coast due to a hand injury,has thought long about his development and decided as a playmaker and decided better days are ahead for the joint-venture outfit.

The Eaglevale-St Andrews junior is expected to partner incoming superstar Jarome Luai in the halves next season,while fellow Panther Sunia Turuva will give the side more strike out wide.

The future of another Tigers half,Bud Sullivan,is less clear. Sullivan has been granted permission to explore his options,despite being contracted until the end of 2027.

Haas,Asofa-Solomona on Samoa hit list for Tests

Samoa will attempt to lure NRL stars Payne Haas,Nelson Asofa-Solomona and Roger Tuivasa-Sheck to play in two Tests against England at the end of the season.

The International Rugby League have confirmed the fixtures at Wigan on October 27 and Leeds on November 2,dubbing the series ‘The Revenge Tour’ in reference to the Pacific nation’s shock victory over Shaun Wane’s team in the 2022 World Cup semi-final.

Samoa and Canterbury star Stephen Crichton told this masthead during NSW Blues camp last month he was “already trying my best” to get Haas to switch allegiances,the front-rower having previously represented Australia.

Ten players who featured in Origin one are eligible for Samoa,while more than 150 players in the NRL have Samoan heritage.

Topline NRL stars like Crichton,Jarome Luai,Spencer Leniu and Brian To’o have breathed fresh life and interest into the Samoan national side,who want to use the two Tests in England to build towards the 2026 World Cup.

Asofa-Solomona has already had conversations about switching from New Zealand to Samoa,while Tuivasa-Sheck has spoken publicly about his Samoan roots. Maroons stars Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow,Murray Taulagi,Jaydn Su’a and Jeremiah Nanai are also eligible.

Joseph Suaalii represented Samoa at the World Cup,but is expected to be included on the Wallabies’ end-of-year spring tour.

Coach Ben Gardiner remained tight-lipped about which players he would approach after the Origin series,but was grateful there was a big pool of players to choose from.

He also expected Luai to play against England,despite Luai starting a five-year $6m deal with the Wests Tigers next season.

“Knowing we’re playing two Tests is great news for rugby league and great news for Samoa,” Gardiner said. “We want to give ourselves eight or nine days to be over there to prepare for the Tests.

“At this stage we should have all our players available. We also know there are several representative players eligible,but all those talks will not be held until the Origin series is over.

“This is a great chance to build towards the World Cup. We’ve got great financial support from Pacificast,we want to build cohesion amongst our group and players who want to represent Samoa – we want to take our best team possible to England so it only helps with future camps and guys knowing each other.”

Ravalawa banned 4 games for abuse

Dagons winger Mikaele Ravalawa faces a long road back to the NRL after being banned for four matches after admitting to calling a NSW Cup match official a “c---” last week.

Ravalawa,who has been in exile from the top squad for the past fortnight,will spend a month on the sidelines after facing a judiciary hearing on Thursday evening.

St George Illawarra’s top try-scorer in the NRL last season apologised for his actions,which included using the slur against a touch judge after the Eels were controversially awarded a try with two minutes remaining of a NSW Cup match last Friday night. Ravalawa was immediately sent off.

The judiciary deemed he will spend a longer period on the sidelines than Broncos star Reece Walsh,who was banned for three matches last year after being found to have used the same word in the direction of referee Chris Butler after contesting an on-field decision. Walsh missed last year’s State of Origin series finale as a result.

Ravalawa showed immediate remorse for his language and apologised to match officials after the game,but wasn’t spared from being referred straight to the judiciary for what was deemed a serious offence.

The suspension severely hampers his chances of returning to Shane Flanagan’s NRL side,which has won their last two matches against the Panthers and Tigers since Ravalawa’s demotion to NSW Cup.

Flanagan said Ravalawa’s outburst was “out of character” and the winger admitted his actions were “not professional”.

The Fijian international has been the Dragons’ most prolific NRL try-scorer in recent seasons,bagging 67 tries in 96 matches since making his top grade debut in 2019.

But his future at the club remains clouded given his latest suspension,which will deem him unavailable for selection until next month.

Dolphins lock in key post Bennett piece

The Dolphins have moved quickly to lock down one of their most important players in the post-Wayne Bennett era after signing winger Jack Bostock to a new deal.

Bostock,a Dragons junior who headed north for an NRL opportunity,has been one of Bennett’s best this season before the seven-time premiership-winning coach leaves the Dolphins to continue his remarkable career at South Sydney.

Having given Bostock his NRL debut last year against St George Illawarra,the Dolphins have moved to keep the 20-year-old away from rival clubs on November 1 after signing him to a new deal until the end of 2027.

Bostock would have been able to field offers from other clubs later this year given he was due to be off contract at the end of 2025.

Heading into Thursday night’s clash against the Sharks,Bostock was the Dolphins’ top try-scorer this season with 10 – just one adrift of NRL leaders Tommy Talau,Sunia Turuva and Maika Sivo.

Olakau’atu prognosis eases Blues headache

NSW debutant Haumole Olakau’atu has been cleared for Origin II,easing the Blues’ injury headache as Michael Maguire attempts to save the series in Melbourne.

Scans have cleared the Manly back-rower of any serious calf injury after he was limited to just 24 minutes against Penrith on Sunday.

Olakau’atu backed up after his Origin debut last Wednesday,where he impressed in the middle in NSW’s heavy loss,before being kept off the field by Manly medical staff four days later for fear of doing significant damage.

The Sea Eagles will name the bruising back-rower to play this weekend for a crunch clash against the Dragons.

NSW are already sweating on Penrith duo Dylan Edwards (quad) and Liam Martin (toe),though Panthers coach Ivan Cleary is confident that Edwards will return against Newcastle on Sunday,giving him a chance to unseat James Tedesco as Blues fullback.

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Martin is touch and go for the Knights clash but Cleary expects the NSW regular to be fit for Origin 10 days later.

The Blues are already facing a forced change at centre after Joseph Suaalii’s send-off and four-game suspension,with halfback Nicho Hynes also under pressure to keep his spot from Eels star Mitchell Moses.

Olakau’atu’s positive prognosis is a welcome one for Manly given Josh Aloiai has accepted a two-game suspension for a blatant trip on Penrith’s Daine Laurie.

He will miss the Dragons clash and next week’s match against South Sydney. Teammate Nathan Brown has also pleaded guilty to contrary conduct for pulling Jarome Luai’s hair and been fined $1800.

Ravalawa sent straight to judiciary for swearing

Dragons winger Mikaele Ravalawa has been referred straight to the judiciary for swearing at a match official and using the word “c—” during a NSW Cup match.

Ravalawa,who had been exiled from St George Illawarra’s NRL side for the past fortnight,will face a hearing on Thursday night as his path back to the top grade appears more clouded than ever.

The Fijian international,26,faces a lengthy suspension forventing at a sideline official after the Eels were awarded a controversial late try in a reserve grade match in Wollongong on Friday night.

Matt Doorey’s four-pointer decided the result of the game despite protests from Dragons players the ball had been knocked from a kick,leading to Ravalawa approaching a touch judge as he stood behind where the try was scored to allow the conversion to be lined up.

Once told of the incident,the referee immediately sent Ravalawa from the field.

The Dragons’ top NRL try-scorer last season said sorry to the match officials after the game and issued a mea culpa.

“I apologised after the game,” Ravalawa said. “It was not professional and I’m sorry.”

Broncos star Reece Walsh wasbanned for three matches last year after the NRL judiciary found he said the word “c—” to referee Chris Butler when questioning an on-field decision.

Ravalawa has scored 67 tries in 96 NRL games for the Dragons,but his future under Shane Flanagan is uncertain after losing his spot in the NRL side,which has scored back-to-back wins against the Panthers andTigers.

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