Lawyers want ‘urgent mediation’ over Galvin dispute, Cobbo up for new role, battered RCG back for more
Lawyers acting for Tigers five-eighth Lachie Galvin have called on the club to engage in “urgent mediation” to resolve the dispute which has been the talk of the NRL for more than a week.
Galvin’s exile has lasted all of one week with the Wests Tigers completing a 180-degree pivot and recalling the prodigious five-eighth to the club’s NRL side. Seven days after being dumped to the NSW Cup, Galvin has been named to play in the No.6 jersey as the Tigers’ (3-4) NRL side face Cronulla at Leichhardt Oval on Sunday.
The teenager’s recall represents a remarkable backflip from Tigers coach Benji Marshall after Galvin’s representatives told the club he would not sign a new deal beyond the expiry of his current contract, which runs out at the end of 2026.
Galvin’s camp had raised grievances about the playmaker’s development under Marshall which led to the coach and the club’s senior players agreeing to demote the 19-year-old to reserve grade.
The club has been served a legal letter raising concerns about an unsafe work environment amid accusations of bullying after social media posts from co-captain Jarome Luai and winger Sunia Turuva.
Simon Berry, the solicitor acting for Galvin, provided a statement to The Sydney Morning Herald which called on the Tiers to bring the matter to a head as quickly as possible.
“We have been in communication with both the CEO of Wests Tigers and now the solicitors acting for Wests Tigers concerning a range of issues which will not be disclosed outside any formal process, other than to note that we have sought an urgent mediation between the parties to resolve the issues in a constructive manner.”
Co-captain Api Koroisau said last Thursday that the Tigers players were not prepared to play alongside someone who was not pulling in the same direction.
“One of our values is team first … when someone’s heart is not in it, it’s hard to take the field with them every week,” Koroisau said.
Galvin may have remained in reserve grade if the Tigers had managed to defeat Parramatta on Easter Monday, instead Marshall’s men fell to an ill-tempered 38-22 loss.
Chief executive Shane Richardson, who jeered during Monday’s post-match press conference when coach Benji Marshall was quizzed on Galvin’s future, told The Daily Telegraph that the club would contest the bullying claims because he believes they are not true.
“If you have ever played in a team, there are emotional things in a team. This is not your mate down the road, this is a football team that’s building itself together,” he said.
“I don’t think Luai’s (post) was too bad but certainly Turuva’s shouldn’t have happened and I have spoken to Turuva about it.
Benji Marshall. (Photo by Hannah Peters/Getty Images)
“But emotions happen. To try to control emotions, it’s impossible in rugby league.”
Richardson said he hoped Tigers fans did not boo him when he ran onto Leichhardt Oval on Sunday for his comeback game against the Sharks.
“Just treat him the way you would treat your own son. I’ve got to say on the weekend at the Wests game, there were 500 people there, they were clapping when he ran on the field,” he said.
“I’m not sure that people are jumping up and down, but I don’t disparage his decision at all, except that I don’t agree that Benji wouldn’t make him a better player.”
Richardson added that Marshall’s relationship with Galvin’s agent was “not good” but he was confident that he could, in his role as CEO, address the challenges that have been presented.
“This year we’ve had challenges and they’ve all been with Isaac Moses’ clients. So it’s no secret. I’ve got to deal with Isaac, he’s got to deal with me.
“Benji deals with the player, I deal with the manager. So I deal with Isaac because Benji and Isaac have no relationship whatsoever – in fact, it’s antagonistic.”
Cobbo backed for fullback switch
Brisbane’s new fullback Selwyn Cobbo has been backed to find the stunning form he displayed last time he started in the position.
With regular custodian Reece Walsh on the sidelines with a PCL injury, 22-year-old Cobbo is the only remaining fit top-30 player to have started an NRL match at No.1 – and he’s only done it twice.
A season-ending ACL injury to Hayze Perham ruled him out of the equation.
Cobbo will have the ultimate challenge against ladder leaders Canterbury on Thursday night at Suncorp Stadium, where he can expect a working-over from the kicking games of Bulldogs halves Matt Burton and Toby Sexton.
In 2024 Cobbo starred in a 13-12 win over Manly in Magic Round, making 228m from 19 runs with two line breaks and 11 tackle busts with no errors. It was a complete performance.
(Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
The previous year in round one in a 13-12 victory over Penrith, Cobbo ran for 192m but also made four errors.
Broncos prop Pat Carrigan has not forgotten Cobbo’s magic against Manly.
“I just love playing with ‘Selly’. He has done a job for us before,” Carrigan said.
“He played there in Magic Round last year and that game speaks for itself, so I have got all the confidence in him that he can do the job again.”
There is a view that the speed of the game has made it tougher for fullbacks with a bigger frame such as Cobbo to shine.
The success of pocket rockets such as New Zealand fullback Keano Kini has been noted. Then there are the more active, elusive and fit custodians such as elite No.1s James Tedesco and Dylan Edwards, plus rising stars like South Sydney’s Jye Gray.
“I think (Cobbo) will be fine,” Broncos prop Corey Jensen said.
“It is a different game and there are a lot more smaller fullbacks, but there is a place for the bigger, mobile fullback (like) Latrell (Mitchell).
“Selwyn has a really strong running game and we expect him to get involved a lot on Thursday night.
“He has been there before and done the job. He is a different kind of player to Reece but has different attributes he will bring to the team. We have confidence he can step into the role.”
Meanwhile, Walsh is expected to miss four to six weeks, and Carrigan said it could “potentially” freshen him up.
“You don’t want injuries, right, so I don’t think you want to be in that position, but it can always be a positive,” Carrigan said.
“It gives an opportunity to maybe look at some footy and work on some different things, but a lot of the good things that we’ve been doing have come off the back of him too.
“I had a break, a longer one, in 2021 with an ACL and it helped refresh and rejuvenate me.
“So if you can take the positives out of it and get better in a little way, then I’m sure he’ll be fresh and ready to go when he comes back.”
RCG bruised but unbowed
A broken nose and two black eyes suffered on “Sunday Bloody Sunday” are the least of Gold Coast prop Reagan Campbell-Gillard’s worries.
The former Australia and NSW front-rower had one of his best games of the season in a 30-20 loss to Canberra on Sunday, when he was split open early and had tissue-like objects stuffed up his nose to stop the bleeding.
The Titans led 16-0 early but then bled points, with poor defensive lapses and stupid penalties leading to their third consecutive loss.
It doesn’t get any easier in Townsville on Saturday when they take on a North Queensland side coming off a bye and three wins on the trot.
Campbell-Gillard said he was not fazed by his battered nose.
“It comes with the game and how we play,” he said. “I’ve got a shiner on the schnoz. It’s not feeling too good, but you get on with it. I’ll be fine.
“I’ll try to manage it this week, and if I cop another knock on it I’ll have to deal with it.”
The 31-year-old missed four weeks of training and both pre-season trial games with a shoulder injury and said he was still to get back to his best.
He was Parramatta’s 2024 player of the year, so he knows his best consistent form is not too far away.
“I am still trying to find my feet within the team. I missed the majority of the pre-season with my shoulder, so I am playing a bit of catch-up,” Campbell-Gillard sad.
“I’ve got to try and fit in and see how everyone operates, so the more games I get to play with the team on a consistent basis the more my game will keep improving.
“It is not where I want it to be at the moment. It will come in the next few weeks.”
The Titans have issues with concentration lapses. They play well, then switch off.
“There is a bit of a lapse in a 10-minute window before and after halftime,” Campbell-Gillard said.
“That’s where we are coming undone. It is about nullifying that period where we lose concentration. The opposition get a sniff and go on with it. It is killing us. We’ve just got to find a way to win.”
The Titans have been boosted with the return of last year’s NRL leading try-scorer Alofiana Khan-Pereira on the wing after a hamstring injury. The speed demon just has to pass a fitness test on Thursday to take his place in the line-up.
The Titans have named boom back-rower David Fifita on the bench. Coach Des Hasler said initially a hamstring injury would keep Fifita out for a month, but the strain was not as serious as first thought.
with AAP
