Luai the tigepie.

[Nutz]

Is this a problem. Melbourne have 2 running halves. The Dogs have two running halves.

I don't blame Luai for Latu not playing great but I don't think either of them have been that bad. We aren't denting the line and I think it's hard for the team to play with a lack of go forward.

Good points.

 

[WA Tiger]

I’m

I thought Latu's last game, was perhaps his worst game. Not sure why, but he seemed shell shocked?

how would you play with Luai who is in charge of a team that is in line for the spoon after being paid a mil + to make sure we are at least top half.. and he’s come back from a losing origin and as a gold chain homie his emotional solutions for his fellow team members are limited and prob overly abrasive and lacking the tact and encouragement that Latu needs.. again why is Luai taking all the kicks ? Another one of his dumb strict rules

 

[WA Tiger]

I’m

how would you play with Luai who is in charge of a team that is in line for the spoon after being paid a mil + to make sure we are at least top half.. and he’s come back from a losing origin and as a gold chain homie his emotional solutions for his fellow team members are limited and prob overly abrasive and lacking the tact and encouragement that Latu needs.. again why is Luai taking all the kicks ? Another one of his dumb strict rules

Luai’s mindset would be that of a typical thug , an emotionally and cognitively unintelligent captain when things are going really badly.. .. not how can I bring this kids game out but I have to fix this by myself..we will worry about all the other stuff later. I just need to play like I’m paid to first. Thats the trap a lot of CEO’s can fall into when under the pump

 

[Tiger05]

I thought Latu's last game, was perhaps his worst game. Not sure why, but he seemed shell shocked?

I think he is being judged a little harshly. He was good defensively and I thought his service was fine. He just didn't create anything with his running or passing game.

I thought Galvin made a tonne of mistakes with us but Latu hasn't been doing that and I'm okay with it.

In stating that he needs to work on his kicking game and be a second option. He also needs to run more.

 

[Tiger05]

again why is Luai taking all the kicks ? Another one of his dumb strict rules

My take is that Luai is the dominant half and he should be. We also need Latu as a second option but I think his kicking game is the worst part of his game.

 

[WA Tiger]

My take is that Luai is the dominant half and he should be. We also need Latu as a second option but I think his kicking game is the worst part of his game.

Really how so.. it can’t be as bad as Luai’s .. I think if Latu could be given half a chance at taking charge instead of just doing the basics and bear minimum we’d see a completely different team flowing from that.. Latu would thrive with some leadership.. Thats why he killed it when AD and Twal were the gatekeepers.. instead of grumpy fk

 

[Aliceinwonderland]

I've been reading this thread for many weeks. Here are my thoughts, I'm attempting to be constructive. Because the team has improved this year. But with that happening, all other clubs have improved too.

As I've said many times before Luai is a great running 5/8th. Not the type of player who organizes the team around him naturally.
He's very much in the Benji style of player, and probably why they get on so well.

Can he learn these skills, I believe he can. He is able to do it with international games when playing for Samoa. Problem is NRL is every week. This learnt skill will take time and commitment. Basically building a team around Luai, to help cover his weaknesses.

Is that Latu's style. I've not seen enough of him to make that judgement.

All of this will take time. Sadly your team is already coming from a low base which means it might take longer.

These are just my thoughts on the matter. Luai is a courageous and brilliant player, just remember not to shove him into a square peg, when he requires a round hole.

PS I don't think you'll get the spoon in 25. I think the Bunnies will. They are gone big time.

 

[WA Tiger]

Luai takes it up the Cheekham....your thoughts?

 

[chunk]

Those numbers are ordinary behind a beaten pack though

 

[WA Tiger]

View attachment 104757

Those numbers are ordinary behind a beaten pack though

Sure but for try assists more times than not he’s been in front of the posts plenty of times in prime positions but just can’t pull it off.. he just can’t see it..those are shit numbers ..you put Benji in a paper bag he would find a way to create the extra man 9 times out of 10 if he’s near the sideline

 

[Tiger05]

View attachment 104757

Those numbers are ordinary behind a beaten pack though

At best he hasn't had a good year.

At the same time I'm not worried about him. We need Latu to become a top tier player, we need Api to play better, we need Bula to step up and we need a couple of forwards. I'm less worried about Luai than I am about all those other issues.

 

[Pezz70]

At best he hasn't had a good year.

At the same time I'm not worried about him. We need Latu to become a top tier player, we need Api to play better, we need Bula to step up and we need a couple of forwards. I'm less worried about Luai than I am about all those other issues.

I think Bula is a gun, has done some good things and looks dangerous whenever he gets the ball in a side that has struggled in attack. I think our left side, with Samuela, Taylan May and Bula chiming in could be really dangerous into the future. Just need to get some fluency and cohesiveness which we have really struggled with this season, and to me it’ll come if Luai straightens up a bit, showed signs when Douehi was 5/8

 

[Front-rower2]

I said in a previous post that Luai isn't the problem, it's some of the guys around him who aren't up to it. If you watch how he links with May, who understands his role in the centres, we see what Luai is capable of.

We've lost at least three games this year we should have won (Newcastle, Warriors and Souths at Campbelltown and maybe you can even add in the Cowboys at Townsville if we didn't cop all those sin bins). We win those we are sitting top 8 and have a bye in hand. It hasn't been great and our coach is probably not quite up to it but we are in a lot better shape than the last 2 years.

 

[Vic Mackey]

I said in a previous post that Luai isn't the problem, it's some of the guys around him who aren't up to it. If you watch how he links with May, who understands his role in the centres, we see what Luai is capable of.

We've lost at least three games this year we should have won (Newcastle, Warriors and Souths at Campbelltown and maybe you can even add in the Cowboys at Townsville if we didn't cop all those sin bins). We win those we are sitting top 8 and have a bye in hand. It hasn't been great and our coach is probably not quite up to it but we are in a lot better shape than the last 2 years.

Ill reserve judgement on Luai until the end of next year. I do think hes hamstrung by extremely conservative gameplans and attacking structures. He also didnt get to pre season until the 3rd week of January and was seemingly meant to be taking a step back to allow a 19 year old to be the main attacking threat.

With us missing the finals and Samoa not going to England he'll be here for a lot more of the pre season. We'll also have our 1/6/7/9 and their back ups settled for the first time in probably a decade which will no doubt help.

 

[Perth Tiger]

Ill reserve judgement on Luai until the end of next year. I do think hes hamstrung by extremely conservative gameplans and attacking structures. He also didnt get to pre season until the 3rd week of January and was seemingly meant to be taking a step back to allow a 19 year old to be the main attacking threat.

With us missing the finals and Samoa not going to England he'll be here for a lot more of the pre season. We'll also have our 1/6/7/9 and their back ups settled for the first time in probably a decade which will no doubt help.

Agreed. It feels like this whole preseason was completely wasted as soon as Galvin threw his toys out of the cot. Everyone would of trained to play Galvin ball and then having to change everything mid season was always going to fail.

Hopefully next year brings a lot more stability which we can then build on

 

[Tiger Ted]

Agreed. It feels like this whole preseason was completely wasted as soon as Galvin threw his toys out of the cot. Everyone would of trained to play Galvin ball and then having to change everything mid season was always going to fail.

Hopefully next year brings a lot more stability which we can then build on

I don’t want to come across as being malevolent but I wouldn’t mind Galvin copping a season ending injury this Sunday preferably in the 79th minute while trying to tackle Luai as he scores the match winning try

 

[Tiger05]

I don’t want to come across as being malevolent but I wouldn’t mind Galvin copping a season ending injury this Sunday preferably in the 79th minute while trying to tackle Luai as he scores the match winning try

I'm not a prick and I don't wish Galvin ill but I don't wish him well either.

 

[Ron's_Mate]

‘Romy’s the one we’re building this club around’: How Tigers moved on from Galvin
By Christian Nicolussi
August 3, 2025 — 5.00am

Amid all the vitriol and animosity of Lachlan Galvin’s messy departure from Wests Tigers this season, one thing seems to have got lost: they wanted to build the club around him.

“Lachie Galvin leaving didn’t leave a bad taste in my mouth, but we had set things up around him in terms of our path forward,” Tigers boss Shane Richardson says.

“I’ve got a whiteboard in my office with all the names of the players we have, how long they are contracted for, and how our roster should look for the next three years. I’ve always had it.

“Galvin’s name was on the whiteboard, and it was going to be on there forever. He was a major part of what we had planned to do. But he didn’t want to be there. His name then came off straight away. And with him leaving, it’s worked out well for everybody.

“I always say a no is as good as a yes. It would have been worse had he left it until November 1 to tell us he was going.

“I know why Galvin wanted to leave. That will stay between me and him. What I do know is I’m so glad we’ve still got Jarome Luai. We needed him. We’d be in a lot of trouble if we didn’t have him.

“People are going on about Galvin, but nobody has even talked about him this week. ‘Romy’ is the one we’re building this club around.”

Galvin will be jeered when he runs on to CommBank Stadium on Sunday when he plays against his Tigers teammates for the first time.

The only problem is the booing could be drowned out by the Bulldogs’ faithful, who are expected to outnumber the Tigers’ supporters at their own home game.

Things turned nasty earlier this season when Galvin and his manager did not even bother listening to what the Tigers had to offer, which was worth $5.5 million over six years.

A few Tigers teammates vented their frustrations via social media when Galvin indicated he wanted to try his luck elsewhere. Galvin was dropped to reserve grade, then recalled, then eventually released to join the Bulldogs.

He is only 20 years of age, has an abundance of talent and will play finals football this year, something he would not have done had he stayed at the Tigers this season.

But losing out to the Bulldogs in the chase for Luai would have been so much worse, according to the Tigers hierarchy.

Richardson and coach Benji Marshall were this week happy to celebrate the player they had rather than half they had lost.

Luai could have easily been running out in the Bulldogs’ blue and white, having all but agreed to join the Belmore club in late 2023 only for the Tigers to strike with a five-year, $6 million deal.

Marshall this week told this masthead about the importance of Luai, their relationship and the sales pitch that ultimately paved the way for him to choose the Tigers over Canterbury.

Luai told colleague Michael Chammas from NSW Origin camp last year that when it came to his partnership with halfback Nathan Cleary at Penrith, “he’s Batman and I’m Robin; I want to be Batman”.

Well, Marshall claims Luai pinched that line from him.

“I knew Romy – we had roomed together when we were playing for the New Zealand Maoris in 2021 in Townsville – and I actually told him how at Penrith, ‘You’re Robin, but I think you’re a Batman’,” Marshall says.

“It made him think about it, and think deeply about what I was saying. He had a lot of success at Penrith, but I thought he was pigeonholed into that role of being on the left side, Nathan did a lot, and how I thought Romy had more to give.

“He had won competitions, but the bigger challenge was getting us out of the hole we were in here, taking us to the finals, and one day winning a comp.

“How do you convince a guy who had won four premierships to come to a team that had won three wooden spoons?

“He’s such a competitive guy. Even at training, I’ve tried to make everything competitive for him to get more out of him.

“Day one of pre-season training, he was all about accountability and standards, and what he was prepared to accept at training, and what he wasn’t.

“It was a different level of expectation, and some of the things that were happening were simply not good enough or at a standard he knew [was required to win]. He set the benchmark from the start. He doesn’t shy away from the tough conversations, but it’s also never personal, and always team first. That’s what I love about him.”

Luai, 28, said this week he wanted to make Galvin a better player when he was here, and Marshall agreed.

“He did try to make him better by putting aside his ego and game to essentially cater for the way Lachie played,” Marshall says.

“We started the season trying to play into Lachie’s hands a bit, with Jarome taking a back seat to that. He was more on the ball, and trying to get Lachie the ball when he wanted it.

“We had a whole pre-season of playing one way, then Lachie left, and we had to change it again for Romy.”

Jahream Bula is a big addition for the Tigers on Sunday after missing the past six weeks with a hamstring injury. Canterbury will sorely miss their own No.1, Connor Tracey, who has been one of their best players this year, due to an abdominal issue.

Bula created headlines when he turned up for Canterbury’s game against St George Illawarra and sat with some of the players’ families to watch Galvin play. The softly-spoken Bula is now managed by the same agent employed by Galvin.

Bula has a mutual option in his deal for the 2027 season, but Marshall says there is no cause for concern.

“Jahream is mates with Lachie, and Jahream is committed to being here – he’s been really good,” Marshall says. “When Romy and [Sunia] Turuva played their first game for us, we had Brian To’o, ‘Critta’ [Stephen Crichton] and Spencer [Leniu] in the crowd to support their mates. It’s the same thing with Jahream and Lachie.”

Galvin has barely rated a mention internally at the Tigers this week. It sounds hard to believe, but Marshall claims it’s true.

“When you’re in a team, you’re invested in the guys here, and once they leave, you can still have relationships with them, but you’re no longer invested in what they’re doing,” Marshall says. “It’s not about them any more because they’re not here.

“You’re invested in the guys who are invested in you, and who want to be here. We’re not going out to try and beat Lachie Galvin on Sunday. We just want a consistent, 80-minute performance where we can walk off the field and say we died on our sword, regardless of the result.”

The Tigers’ players might not be focused on beating Lachie Galvin on Sunday, but the fans certainly are.

‘Romy’s the one we’re building this club around’: How Tigers moved on from Galvin

Wests Tigers’ future planning was centred on a player who didn’t want to be there. Now, they’ve come to view his messy exit to the Bulldogs as a blessing.

www.smh.com.au

 

[Nutz]

“We had a whole pre-season of playing one way, then Lachie left, and we had to change it again for Romy.”

Great article Ron, thanks for posting. You rarely comment on your articles. I wish you would because I'd like to read your opinions and get to know you more.

The paragraph above is what I've talked about. The spine is valuable and needs time to grow. Chopping and changing is the worst thing that effects a team's cohesion.

 

[Tigerm]

‘Romy’s the one we’re building this club around’: How Tigers moved on from Galvin
By Christian Nicolussi
August 3, 2025 — 5.00am

Amid all the vitriol and animosity of Lachlan Galvin’s messy departure from Wests Tigers this season, one thing seems to have got lost: they wanted to build the club around him.

“Lachie Galvin leaving didn’t leave a bad taste in my mouth, but we had set things up around him in terms of our path forward,” Tigers boss Shane Richardson says.

“I’ve got a whiteboard in my office with all the names of the players we have, how long they are contracted for, and how our roster should look for the next three years. I’ve always had it.

“Galvin’s name was on the whiteboard, and it was going to be on there forever. He was a major part of what we had planned to do. But he didn’t want to be there. His name then came off straight away. And with him leaving, it’s worked out well for everybody.

“I always say a no is as good as a yes. It would have been worse had he left it until November 1 to tell us he was going.

“I know why Galvin wanted to leave. That will stay between me and him. What I do know is I’m so glad we’ve still got Jarome Luai. We needed him. We’d be in a lot of trouble if we didn’t have him.

“People are going on about Galvin, but nobody has even talked about him this week. ‘Romy’ is the one we’re building this club around.”

Galvin will be jeered when he runs on to CommBank Stadium on Sunday when he plays against his Tigers teammates for the first time.

The only problem is the booing could be drowned out by the Bulldogs’ faithful, who are expected to outnumber the Tigers’ supporters at their own home game.

Things turned nasty earlier this season when Galvin and his manager did not even bother listening to what the Tigers had to offer, which was worth $5.5 million over six years.

A few Tigers teammates vented their frustrations via social media when Galvin indicated he wanted to try his luck elsewhere. Galvin was dropped to reserve grade, then recalled, then eventually released to join the Bulldogs.

He is only 20 years of age, has an abundance of talent and will play finals football this year, something he would not have done had he stayed at the Tigers this season.

But losing out to the Bulldogs in the chase for Luai would have been so much worse, according to the Tigers hierarchy.

Richardson and coach Benji Marshall were this week happy to celebrate the player they had rather than half they had lost.

Luai could have easily been running out in the Bulldogs’ blue and white, having all but agreed to join the Belmore club in late 2023 only for the Tigers to strike with a five-year, $6 million deal.

Marshall this week told this masthead about the importance of Luai, their relationship and the sales pitch that ultimately paved the way for him to choose the Tigers over Canterbury.

Luai told colleague Michael Chammas from NSW Origin camp last year that when it came to his partnership with halfback Nathan Cleary at Penrith, “he’s Batman and I’m Robin; I want to be Batman”.

Well, Marshall claims Luai pinched that line from him.

“I knew Romy – we had roomed together when we were playing for the New Zealand Maoris in 2021 in Townsville – and I actually told him how at Penrith, ‘You’re Robin, but I think you’re a Batman’,” Marshall says.

“It made him think about it, and think deeply about what I was saying. He had a lot of success at Penrith, but I thought he was pigeonholed into that role of being on the left side, Nathan did a lot, and how I thought Romy had more to give.

“He had won competitions, but the bigger challenge was getting us out of the hole we were in here, taking us to the finals, and one day winning a comp.

“How do you convince a guy who had won four premierships to come to a team that had won three wooden spoons?

“He’s such a competitive guy. Even at training, I’ve tried to make everything competitive for him to get more out of him.

“Day one of pre-season training, he was all about accountability and standards, and what he was prepared to accept at training, and what he wasn’t.

“It was a different level of expectation, and some of the things that were happening were simply not good enough or at a standard he knew [was required to win]. He set the benchmark from the start. He doesn’t shy away from the tough conversations, but it’s also never personal, and always team first. That’s what I love about him.”

Luai, 28, said this week he wanted to make Galvin a better player when he was here, and Marshall agreed.

“He did try to make him better by putting aside his ego and game to essentially cater for the way Lachie played,” Marshall says.

“We started the season trying to play into Lachie’s hands a bit, with Jarome taking a back seat to that. He was more on the ball, and trying to get Lachie the ball when he wanted it.

“We had a whole pre-season of playing one way, then Lachie left, and we had to change it again for Romy.”

Jahream Bula is a big addition for the Tigers on Sunday after missing the past six weeks with a hamstring injury. Canterbury will sorely miss their own No.1, Connor Tracey, who has been one of their best players this year, due to an abdominal issue.

Bula created headlines when he turned up for Canterbury’s game against St George Illawarra and sat with some of the players’ families to watch Galvin play. The softly-spoken Bula is now managed by the same agent employed by Galvin.

Bula has a mutual option in his deal for the 2027 season, but Marshall says there is no cause for concern.

“Jahream is mates with Lachie, and Jahream is committed to being here – he’s been really good,” Marshall says. “When Romy and [Sunia] Turuva played their first game for us, we had Brian To’o, ‘Critta’ [Stephen Crichton] and Spencer [Leniu] in the crowd to support their mates. It’s the same thing with Jahream and Lachie.”

Galvin has barely rated a mention internally at the Tigers this week. It sounds hard to believe, but Marshall claims it’s true.

“When you’re in a team, you’re invested in the guys here, and once they leave, you can still have relationships with them, but you’re no longer invested in what they’re doing,” Marshall says. “It’s not about them any more because they’re not here.

“You’re invested in the guys who are invested in you, and who want to be here. We’re not going out to try and beat Lachie Galvin on Sunday. We just want a consistent, 80-minute performance where we can walk off the field and say we died on our sword, regardless of the result.”

The Tigers’ players might not be focused on beating Lachie Galvin on Sunday, but the fans certainly are.

‘Romy’s the one we’re building this club around’: How Tigers moved on from Galvin

Wests Tigers’ future planning was centred on a player who didn’t want to be there. Now, they’ve come to view his messy exit to the Bulldogs as a blessing.

www.smh.com.au

f**ken oath we are focused.