Wests Tigers risk losing Talyn da Silva on top of Lachlan Galvin
Wests Tigers chief executive Shane Richardson has conceded the club may be powerless to keep young hooker Tallyn da Silva beyond next season as they prepare to sit down for talks with captain Api Koroisau over a contract extension.
Da Silva, a local junior who has featured in all seven games for the Tigers this season off the interchange bench, enters the final year of his deal on November 1.
In an ideal world, the Tigers would retain da Silva at the club as part of a succession plan for when Koroisau decides to call it a day.
The issue for the Tigers is that Koroisau too enters the final year of his deal on November 1 and looks set to continue well beyond that given the way he has played this season.
Koroisau is also an important leader among the playing group and it is understood he and the Tigers will kick off discussions over an extension as early as next month.
That could mean da Silva follows his good mate Lachlan Galvin out of the club as he looks to lock down a starting spot elsewhere.
Richardson concedes any decision to extend Koroisau may cost them da Silva.
“Tallyn doesn’t want to move on mate,” Richardson said.
“Tallyn’s decision I think will be based around what we do with Api and that’s fair enough. He wants to play first grade.”
If there is a silver lining from Galvin’s decision to depart at the end of next season, it is that the Tigers now have clarity around their salary cap for 2026 and beyond.
The Tigers had finalised an offer to Galvin that would have included an upgrade next year as well as $5 million for the five years after that.
However, with Galvin set to depart at the end of 2026, they now have more money to spend on retaining some of the players whose careers were in limbo pending talks with their talented teenage playmaker.
“But again, everything with Tallyn was also based on what happened with Lachie,” Richardson said
How much money you’ve got depends on whether Lachie is here or not. Now I can actually think about the Tallyn da Silvia’s and (Adam) Doueihi and (Brent) Naden’s and everybody else in his club. So it’s not a bad thing that way.
“And Tallyn da Silva is a great kid, he‘s come through (as a junior) but he wants to play first grade and start. He doesn’t want 20 minutes and 25 minutes.
“Api has been a great leader for us and I haven’t sat down and spoken to his manager about (an extension) yet. The first thing, the first piece of the puzzle was sorting out Lachie.”
SPOTTED
Powerful player agent Isaac Moses meeting with Parramatta officials in western Sydney on Thursday morning. Before you get too excited Eels fans, this masthead can reveal the meeting was over some of the juniors that Moses has at the club.
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FOXX ON THE RUN
Josh Addo-Carr has continued his outstanding try-scoring record since his move to Parramatta, crossing five times in five games for his new club.
It’s not just his form on the field that has won over the club’s fans and officials. Talk to those at the Eels and they will tell you that Addo-Carr has been a positive influence on the playing group and a favourite among the fans.
The Eels have until the middle of June to take up an option in Addo-Carr’s contract for next season. It is no longer a matter of if, but more a matter of when that happens given the way Addo-Carr has been embraced by the club and its fans.
RAIDERS RAMP UP PLANS TO RE-SIGN RAKE
Canberra have stepped up plans to retain Tom Starling after outlining their desire to keep the in-form hooker on a two-year deal.
It is understood Starling’s management met the Raiders in the nation’s capital on Thursday and have taken a significant step towards keeping the 26-year-old, who has been one of the competition’s form players this season.
The arrival of Jayden Brailey next season has done little to dissuade the Raiders as they prepare to head into 2026 with three quality hookers in their ranks – Owen Pattie is regarded as one of the best young players in the game.
Starling has started all seven games for the Raiders in 2026.
The Raiders have stepped up plans to retain Tom Starling.
