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Sport Nation
Gould slams Galvin pile on amid fears for mental health
SEN • April 16th, 2025 3:21 pm
- Galvin rejected club's offer of a new deal
- Reports of a feud with Benji Marshall
- Teen copped social backlash from teammates
- Gould has come out in defence of the young player
Canterbury Bulldogs boss Phil Gould has leapt to the defence of Lachlan Galvin amid fears the circus surrounding his departure from the Tigers will negatively impact his mental health.
Galvin broke his silence on Tuesday to explain that he was looking to leave the club when his current contract expires centres in a bid to improve his development as a half.
There were also reports of a rift between him, and coach Benji Marshall, as well as other senior players who wanted the teen dropped.
Galvin’s decision not to stay a Tiger also attracted social media sledges from the club’s captain Jarome Luai who posted an Instagram story with the caption "Team First".
Luai's post was followed by winger Sunia Turuva then posted a video on Instagram of Galvin's locked accompanied by the song "Here comes the money".
Amid the pile on, Gould has hit out.
“As a club, the first thing I’d be worried about was his welfare,” Gould said on his weekly podcast Six Tackles with Gus.
“The first thing I would worry about is how he’s feeling about all this. Now, even though we’re at loggerheads, and even though he said he doesn’t believe in the direction of the club, he doesn’t want to play for the club, you’ve still got a responsibility to him and his welfare.
“And don’t underestimate how big this could be for a 19-year-old boy to suddenly have his teammates turned on him in this manner. He might have anticipated that maybe they were going to drop me, but to have the teammates be behind that decision, that’s big.
“So my first concern would be for his welfare right at the moment, in how he’s now dealing with the fallout of this.
“I doubt in his wildest imagination he would have anticipated this. Even his management and his parents, who obviously endorse and this plan of action, I don’t think they would have expected this sort of fallout straight away.”
The news comes as Galvin has been relegated to reserve grade before the club's important Easter Monday clash with the Parramatta Eels.
SEN's Bryan Fletcher was surprised by Galvin's admission that Benji Marshall wasn't the right coach to help his career.
"He must be the most mature 19-year-old I've ever come across," Fletcher said on SEN 1170 Drive.
"He must really study his football... you're learning off a bloke who played six and was very successful at it.
"I would be so shocked if that's Lachie Galvin saying that... I'd like to know if he's actually said that.
"Wests Tigers won't make the eight without him!
"As a senior player saying 'yeah drop him', this is a big game... but I understand there's more to this now."
