Wests Tigers fans will need to wait until round one of the NRL Premiership season to see their brand-new halves pairing of Jarome Luai and Lachlan Galvin after Luai was rested for a second week of the NRL Pre-Season Challenge by head coach Benji Marshall due to a nagging leg injury he recently picked up during a camp in Queensland.
Luai, the brash superstar from Penrith with four premiership rings wrapped across his fingers, has been named co-captain along with good mate Api Koroisau.
Club officials have Luai on target to make his debut for the club in their opening round clash against the Newcastle Knights at Campbelltown Stadium – a stone’s throw from Eagle Vale where Galvin played as a child.
Luai could have played this weekend against Parramatta but Wests Tigers have again erred on the side of caution.
Here is the issue for Benji Marshall and the greatest hope Wests Tigers have had in a very long time.
After three-straight wooden spoons, some Wests Tigers supporters would argue that it was vital Luai and Galvin got some time together in legitimate match conditions ahead of round one against Newcastle.
Benji, known for his mercurial flick passes and “Hail Mary” flair as a player, began his coaching career much the same way at the start of the 2024 season when he shocked many by selecting 18-year-old Galvin straight out of the junior program.
On the 16th of March last year, Galvin became the youngest Wests Tigers debutant since Marshall in 2003.
Ironically, Benji’s first ever NRL game was against the Knights at Campbelltown.
Luai and Galvin make their NRL debut together as Wests Tigers’ brand-new halves pairing in a few short weeks against the same opposition at the very same venue.
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Wests Tigers won that match 52-12.
Perhaps Wests Tigers and their almost rookie coach learnt something from last year.
Don’t rush.
It worked out for Galvin but they still ended up dead last.
This whole Luai-Galvin thing might get Wests Tigers off the bottom of the ladder.
Hell, they might even get them back to the finals for the first time since 2011 when they played the Warriors at the old Sydney Football Stadium – Benji played that night too.
Galvin was just a six-year-old.
But back to the now and Luai’s leg injury and what it has meant for Galvin and the Wests Tigers during this pre-season.
Perhaps Luai’s absence can be explained by Galvin’s opening three minutes against Canterbury-Bankstown on the weekend and how possession-dominant he was while on the field.
It may also indicate that Luai was always going to be rested again this week against the Eels at Leichhardt Oval.
While Wests Tigers eventually lost the trial to the Bulldogs on Sunday afternoon – all eyes were on Galvin.
With Wests Tigers’ first attacking raid of the game, Benji’s Wests Tigers and Galvin – showed their hand and indicated that Luai would potentially be underdone for round one with the Macarthur junior set to take the reins of the attack and the majority of the footy against the Knights as Luai builds into his work and back to full fitness.
In just over a minute’s worth of footy, the teenager showed up on both sides of the ruck and touched the Steeden on four different plays with the set-of-six beginning just-on halfway and ending on Canterbury’s tryline and a Galvin grubber kick.
After dropping a ball inside to his front-rower on the first play, Galvin whipped back to first receiver on the right, dug into the line and hit a flat edge runner for another tackle. The 19-year-old then backs up again and takes the line on himself. With only a couple of plays left in the set and playing the ball himself on the far touchline, Galvin whips right back across field and covers over 30 metres to get himself into position as second receiver outside his halfback for a grubber kick which is narrowly cleaned up by the Bulldogs.
It was a window into the team’s immediate future.
More promising still is Luai’s return and the round one side will feature a long list of returning first graders that weren’t playing alongside Galvin on Sunday.
Galvin was taken off before half-time and finished with 10 runs, a tackle break, 1 line break assist and 11 kicks for 353 metres.
The youngster also set up Wests Tigers’ first try of the game when he surprised the Canterbury defenders and hit a short side which released Solomona Faataape who in turn found Alex Lobb with a beautiful flick pass.
Lobb then streaked down field before kicking in-field for a flying Heath Mason.
Interestingly, despite featuring in drastically different teams on very different trajectories in 2024, Luai and Galvin’s individual statistics were quite similar.
Luai [24 games] kicked for 2140 more metres in general play while Galvin [21] ran for a total 2733 metres – 272 more than Luai despite playing three less games in the three-peat wooden spooners.
Galvin [17] also finished ahead of Luai [16] for try assists.
The $64,000 question is, what does Luai’s future look like without Nathan Cleary and the best system on planet Earth?
Let’s not discount Luai’s role in this incredible Panthers dynasty.
But the reality is, Luai is in a whole new world now and he doesn’t have Cleary alongside him.
For all Galvin’s raw talent – he’s still just a kid.
This new Wests Tigers halves pairing is quite similar in the fact that they like to play off the cuff – just like their head coach liked to do in his day.
It didn’t work for Wests Tigers last year and it won’t work this year.
It’s time for grown-ups and patience.
It all starts again for Luai, Galvin and Benji in Campbelltown on the 7th of March.
