The 193-cm Tigers teenager fired by Parramatta because he was too short
Two years after being cut by Parramatta for being too small, teenager Lachie Galvin is in line to make his Wests Tigers debut in their opening game of the season.
Galvin is only 18, but has quickly impressed coach Benji Marshall to the point the first-year coach is not afraid to go all in with the five-eighth for the club’s season opener, an away trip to Canberra in round two following a round one bye.
Tigers supporters are ecstatic about the addition of Jarome Luai for 2025, but the main issue is the team’s four-in-two halves lineup, which includes veteran Aidan Sezer, dynamic Bud Sullivan, young player Latu Fainu (suspended for the Raiders game), and Galvin.
After being slashed by the Eels, Galvin had a growth spurt and is now 193 cm and 91 kg in weight. After winning the Australian Schoolboys tournament last year, he led his team to victory over Papua New Guinea. He was also named player of the tournament.
Tim White, the Australian Schoolboys coach, said that Galvin’s size gave him a slight advantage over the two seasoned Tigers, Luke Brooks and Mitchell Moses, who were both coaches at Holy Cross College.
Tall, deceptively strong, quick, and just an old-school football player, White described him as a rarity. Lachie has something that you cannot teach.
“Playing in round one would be a steep learning curve for him; he played with schoolboys in Papua New Guinea his last game,” but he wouldn’t make a fool of himself. With what they have there right now, he would actually be the more dominant player in the halves.
Here at Holy Cross, I also served as Mitch and “Brooksy’s” coach. They were unique. The three of them are fairly comparable if grouped together, with Lachie perhaps having the advantage due to his prominence.
Galvin, a Campbelltown native, was cut loose after playing in Harold Matthews for a few seasons after being selected by the Eels when he was in his teens.
Galvin claimed, “They told me I wasn’t big enough and they didn’t have a place for me.” “I wasn’t angry. My last growth spurt occurred two years ago. I returned to Wests to try out for the Harold Matts, and the following year [2022, we won]
Galvin declared that he would never turn down an opportunity to play in the NRL in round one. I’ll do whatever Benji asks me to. As a running half, I enjoy playing a little loose. Benji simply told me to act on what I see and have confidence in my actions; he advised me to give anything I do my all.
Growing up, Galvin was an Eels fan, and he sheepishly concedes that he was too young to see Marshall at his peak. “He’s still at his best, even in his 40s,” he remarked, still impressed by the coach’s ability to put on a step during training.
For the record, Marshall is 38 years old. He stated in this masthead regarding Galvin: “I’m not afraid to throw any of them in.” I am the coach because of this. The preseason and trials will determine our course of action.
It means nothing just because you’re eighteen. You are old enough if you are competent enough. He’s a very decent young man.
When it comes to Marshall, Sullivan acknowledges that on sometimes he can be a “fan boy.”
‘Bud’ [Sullivan] might be getting carried away, and the times I’m yelling and screaming at him, I don’t think he sees me as a fan boy then,” Marshall said.
“I’m not going to coach these guys to play a certain way just because I played a certain way,” the player said. That would not be just.
