Dogs urged to make brutal call on Galvin as fans all say same thing about replacement

Yahoo

8 hours ago

Former Bulldogs player Michael Ennis has suggested the club might be better keeping Lachie Galvin in reserve grade until next season, while Cameron Smith and Andrew Johns have also weighed in on the situation. And Latu Fainu showed on Sunday the future is still bright for the Wests Tigers despite Galvin's departure.
Bulldogs coach Cameron Ciraldo made a curious decision to switch Matt Burton to the centres on Friday night against the Broncos so Galvin could start at five-eighth. But the move didn't exactly work, as the Dogs coughed up an 18-0 lead to lose 22-18.
It came after Ciraldo's decision to insert Galvin into the halves off the bench against the Panthers also backfired, leading to an 8-6 loss. Questions are now being asked about the best way for the Bulldogs to utilise Galvin going forward.
The 19-year-old will become the starting halfback in 2026 when Toby Sexton moves to the Catalans Dragons in France. But for the time being, the tactic of starting Galvin on the bench and then moving Sexton to hooker mid-game doesn't seem to be working.
Speaking in commentary for Fox League, Ennis suggested Ciraldo might need to take his medicine and leave Galvin out of the first-grade team. 'What they do with Galvin, he's either on the bench or playing in reserve grade … that's the decision they have to make at the moment."
Ennis said the ideal scenario would be for Galvin to come back into the first-grade set-up in the pre-season. "Ideally, Galvin comes in the pre-season and they get a full pre-season to develop him,' Ennis said. 'That's not the case, he's walked into a side that's leading the competition with Sexton and Burton in great form as the halves pairing.
'Reed Mahoney and Bailey Haywood compliment each other around the ruck. That spine is so stable, the game plan they look to execute, they execute it.'
On the Sunday Footy Show, Smith said: "If they do that, and Galvin has a bench spot, I reckon they need to find or identify a particular spot he plays. I think the rotation where Mahoney comes off, Sexton goes to 9, I don't think that works."
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But Smith and Johns both predicted that Sexton might be axed this week and Galvin handed the No.7 role. "I think they'll go with Galvin, I think he'll play halfback," Johns said. "It's hard for them to judge, the first half they looked really good but second half they dropped that much ball but with him moving on I think they'll go Galvin and Burton."
Smith added: "I think they will as well, but it's a really tough call on Toby Sexton. They're still sitting top two, he's been their No.7 for the first half of the season and he's got them into the position they're in right now. To gain a player halfway through the season like Lachie Galvin, as good as Lachie Galvin is, it's a tough call on Toby Sexton to say: 'Righto mate, thanks for that first half of the year, out you go'."
Meanwhile, Tigers fans were frothing over the performance of Fainu on Sunday as the Tigers shocked the Roosters 30-28. Stepping up in the absence of Jarome Luai due to State of Origin duty, Fainu was brilliant as he scored a try and had a hand in multiple others.
It led fans to suggest the Tigers made the right call in letting Galvin walk early if it means Fainu gets more regular playing time. "Regardless of the result, just the way the boys turned up today and actually fought, backs against the wall, given no chance, young side, new spine, players out of position," coach Benji Marshall said.
"We showed for most of that game a lot of the things we've been good at for the last four or five weeks. I'm just proud of the boys' effort."
Latu Fainu is 100 miles better player than Galvin will ever be and don't @me!!! @9_Moley
— Ray Gatt (@Gatty54) July 6, 2025
Latu Fainu > Lachie Galvin#NRLRoostersTigers
— Morty 🌵 (@user26194735) July 6, 2025
If we're serious about the way Wests get absolutely hammered in the media, then surely we're all agreeing that they got letting Galvin walk now absolutely correct based on what we've seen from Latu Fainu
— Brenden (@brendenfingers) July 6, 2025
@WestsTigers fansDon't sweat Galvin, Da Silva or even Luai anymore, your future is right there in Lati Fainu @ halfback #NRLRoostersTigers
— Wazza (@WarrenJB3) July 6, 2025