The turning point for the Wests Tigers? Think back to Easter Monday last year
This time last year, Lachie Galvin was relegated to the NSW Cup and went to the Western Suburbs Magpies instead of playing for the Wests Tigers in the game against Parramatta on Easter Monday.
This was one of many low points in Wests Tigers’ recent history. But it was also a time when the Tigers finally stood for something; It was a time when they came together, made it clear what they would accept and went all out against the senior group of players and coach Benji Marshall.
A year later, excitement is rising again in Tiger Town. There will be a healthy splash of black, white and orange in the stands for Monday’s game against injury-hit Parramatta at CommBank Stadium.
Former Tigers teams would not have managed to come back from 10-0 against the Warriors in Auckland to win as they did last weekend.
Former Tiger teams would not score five first-half tries at Leichhardt Oval as they did against the Cowboys in the second round.
To appreciate what is going on at the club now, you need to go back to that afternoon at Pratten Park 12 months ago when security surrounded Galvin.
Galvin and his manager Isaac Moses were at war with the Wests Tigers, Marshall, former CEO Shane Richardson, co-captains Jarome Luai and Api Koroisau and just about everyone else in the playing group.
The local lad has made it clear that he doesn’t see his future at the Tigers, but all hell will break loose.
Parramatta wanted to sign Galvin. Phil Gould and the Bulldogs eventually won. A handful of Tigers fans picked up the phone and started telling the club’s front desk what they thought of the kid.
It got disgusting. Galvin ran out for the Magpies in front of several hundred die-hards just hours before the Tigers took on the Eels up the road.
Only one Tigers player, Tallyn Da Silva, took to the stage to openly support his friend.
Galvin had told Richardson and Marshall that he wanted to play that weekend, even if he was a reserve grade. The club was concerned about the reaction Galvin would receive from fans if he remained in the first grade.
The then 19-year-old was eventually brought back into the fold, but only lasted a few more weeks before joining the Dogs. Time will tell if Galvin can succeed with the Bulldogs.
For the Tigers, the Galvin matchup was a classic line-in-the-sand moment. They decided they would no longer be pushed around on or off the field. They started playing with a certain aggression. They’ve developed a chip on their shoulder.
This stamina, stamina, and willingness to not back down in a heat battle, even engaging in every melee, was evident in most weeks following Galvin’s debut.
At the height of the Galvin saga, Luai, Koroisau and Sunia Turuva, all premiership winners, made it clear what they thought of Galvin’s reluctance to buy what they had built. If Galvin had missed the memo, he only had to check his Instagram account.
By getting so hot under the collar, Luai, Koroisau and Turuva also conveyed the message to the rest of the group about what would and would not be tolerated.
And if you don’t want to be part of the revolution, make sure you don’t get hit on your way out by one of the $78 million Concord facility’s multiple exit doors.
Benji was the boss and the senior players would happily raise the standards.
If the Tigers continue to be something special over the next year or five, the starting point will be Easter Monday, 2025.
The intensity has definitely increased. Just ask Jock Madden, who returns to the club this year after leaving at the end of 2022.
When you ask him about the biggest difference between today’s Tigers and the 2022 version, Madden says, “Competitiveness among the kids.” “Everyone wants to win in practice, and we want to be a team that has each other’s backs and has each other’s backs.”
Ask Marshall this week about the Galvin saga that surrounded the club this time last year and the coach says he’s actually forgotten about it.
“In the end-of-year evaluation [when discussing] The team we wanted to be was probably the biggest turning point; Marshall said to this imprint: “Things we are prepared to accept and things we are prepared not to accept.
“I didn’t even think [Easter Monday]. Actually, I forgot until you mentioned it. The playing group, the coaching staff, the club and the standards we are prepared to accept have changed. This is the line in the sand.”
The Tigers are finally on the rise.
