Benji Marshall has seen it all in rugby league. Premierships, wooden spoons, playing, coaching … but when he fronted the media in the midst of the Lachlan Galvin saga, the Tigers coach showed his frustration. Exhausted by the questions about Galvin's future and the team's feelings towards him, Marshall said the 19-year-old five-eighth will be available for a recall at some point but "on a lot of levels it is best that he doesn't play this week". He said Galvin is "a great player" who doesn't owe the club or Marshall anything and, even if fans disagree, they need to stop abusing the prodigious young talent. "I'm all about the mental wellbeing of our players and this has been tough for him and his parents. They're good people," he told reporters on Thursday. Marshall also made clear he made the decision to drop him, hosing down reports the players came to him with the request. The coach wasn't even initially supposed to be fronting the media on Thursday morning, but he stepped in for Solomona Faataape and Brent Naden, knowing they would cop a barrage of questions above their pay grade. Overall, it was an impressive display of solidarity with his players, even the one who doesn't want to play for him anymore. But this saga is only really four days old and the Tigers can't afford to handle it any less than perfectly after their recent history. Tigers turnaround was supposed to hinge on Galvin With just two finals appearances since their 2005 premiership — none since 2011 — and coming off three straight wooden spoons, you wouldn't get much pushback if you said they've been the worst NRL team the past two decades. The results were bad, watching former players shine elsewhere in the league was painful, the boardroom bickering was embarrassing. In 2023 Luke Brooks was gifted a small barbecue in the middle of Western Sydney Stadium for his decade of service. All told, there wasn't much to smile about, other than in a 'if you don't laugh, you'll cry' capacity. But things have started to turn around. Picking up premiership Panthers Api Koroisau, Jarome Luai and Sunia Turuva brought a championship pedigree, local juniors like the Fainu and Laulilii brothers have started to shine, and superstar prop Terrell May fell in their laps when he was mysteriously released by the Roosters. Benji Marshall's return to Concord — with support staff including Brett Hodgson and Chris Heighington — harkened back to the club's most recent glory years. And in the back rooms, where the power truly lies, respected executive Shane Richardson was appointed CEO after a massive review of the club's governance and culture. But at the centre of all of it was supposed to be Lachlan Galvin, until it all blew up spectacularly this week. From the scrap heap to rookie of the year to axed Wests picked up Galvin after Parramatta cut him loose from their Harold Matthews Cup squad. In 2022, he won the under-17 competition as a 16-year-old back rower, and less than two years later he was handed his NRL debut by Marshall in the Tigers' 2024 season opener. Blooding young players in bad teams can go one of two ways — it can be a free hit for a teenager just trying to get reps in the top flight, or the constant losses can dent their confidence. Galvin's rookie year, littered with highlights and shared with many of his former Harry Matts teammates as it was, appeared to be the latter. He was given licence to take the game on by coach Marshall and, as such, was nailed on to be named rookie of the year give or take a hip-drop suspension. The presence of Marshall and the impending arrival of Luai hinted at an ideal mentoring duo for a young, creative, running half signed through the 2026 season, but his rookie year also featured a surprising amount of speculation about his future. Marshall and Richardson were forced to deny Galvin's apparent dissatisfaction with the club before the season was even halfway done but, a year later, there was no hosing it down this time. Despite being signed for 2025 and 2026, Galvin and manager Isaac Moses were unwilling to even look at "the largest contract offer for a junior in the history of the club", believed to be around $1 million a year for five years. Players contracted through 2026 aren't allowed to talk to other clubs until November 1 this year, so Galvin's apparent admission that anywhere is better than here prompted the Tigers' stunning statement on Monday. Marshall reportedly told Galvin to explain his decision to his teammates, but the speech went about as well as you'd imagine and some senior players told Marshall they didn't want to play with the teen sensation. When teams were announced on Tuesday afternoon, Adam Doueihi was named in the halves with Luai for the Easter Monday clash with Parramatta. Galvin was named for the Magpies in second-grade NSW Cup. The axing opens the door for another highly touted 19-year-old, Latu Fainu, to take up a spot in the halves and the Tigers will be keen to start developing that partnership with Luai as soon as possible. But Fainu is currently injured and Doueihi has been back less than a year after a torn ACL, which raises an interesting question about how long this freeze-out will or even should go on. If Fainu and Doueihi are unavailable in round 27 and the Tigers need to beat the Titans to lock in their first finals berth since 2011, are they really going to leave Galvin sidelined? And if the Tigers are left waiting a season (or maybe two) because of that hardball stance, will fan sentiment remain in the club's favour? Ganging up on Galvin not a good look Galvin got his right of reply with a joint statement alongside his dad, in a reminder of how young he is and how many hands have influenced this decision. Galvin said he "thought it would be best for everyone to make the call now rather than drag it out", but also included what was perceived as digs at Marshall and Luai when he said his best chance to develop as a half was at another club. All while remaining adamant he had not locked in a deal with anyone else. Later that day, Luai posted on his Instagram stories: "TeamFirst" — an understandable sentiment that he said on Thursday was a response to Galvin "disrespecting" his coach. Then Turuva posted a picture of Galvin's locker with a song proclaiming "Here comes the money, Here we go, Money talks". After the Tigers were applauded almost unanimously for taking a principled stand for the team's culture, Turuva's post suddenly made it all feel very high school, a bit petty and, yes, perhaps even bullying. Marshall, who said he was blindsided by Galvin's dissatisfaction with his coaching, was adamant "we're not bullies" and Turuva shouldn't have posted. Luai and Koroisau admitted no-one in the senior playing group had spoken to Galvin since Monday. Marshall added Galvin needs to play his best in reserve grade and he can earn a spot back in the team, but Luai was far from enthusiastic when asked if he would be welcomed back into the playing group. "If the timing is right and the coach is happy with it," he said. "It's his call to make the team selection and he's going to do what's best for the team. If [Galvin]'s in the right mindset, if his heart is in the right spot and he deserves to wear the jersey then by all means." Marshall said "no-one's angry" at Galvin, and Luai said there are "no hard feelings" but that may be because Luai is ready to move on. Galvin is still contracted to the club and, while he may be missing Monday's game against Parramatta, there are at least 17 more games until Galvin can even speak to other clubs. Then the entirety of the 2026 season before, if the Tigers are to be believed, he will be allowed to leave. Being isolated like that for 18 months, whether through his own actions or not, would be a brutal experience for a young man and somewhat hypocritical in a league that has been willing to forgive players for far worse behaviour. "They need to be careful too; they need to take some care for the player as well," Canterbury football boss Phil Gould said on his Six Tackles with Gus podcast. "Whatever happens from now, we've got to make sure the kid's alright. I fear it could have long-lasting effects." Gould said he had never seen anything like this play out so publicly and it has created an "untenable" situation. Galvin has done immeasurable damage to his reputation that may never be repaired, particularly in the eyes of Tigers fans, but two years in the wilderness feels an extreme punishment. It's only been a few days and maybe time will heal some wounds, but as long as the Tigers insist on keeping him under contract, they have a duty of care to a young man in uncharted waters. Thankfully Marshall appears willing to throw him a life preserver. "I really feel sorry for him. He's a young kid who wants to do what's best for his future. He's a 19-year-old kid who just loves footy," he said. "I understand the emotion, but he's a kid. We need to stop talking about this for his sake too." If the club's beef is truly with his management, it is incumbent upon Richardson, Marshall, Luai and the rest of the Tigers to show more maturity than the 19-year-old star and the man representing him. If they can't do that, this could be chalked up as just another ugly chapter in the Tigers' history. If they can, maybe one day Galvin can invite Luai, Turuva and the rest of the team over for a barbecue.