Galuvao to minister to Manly
* By Josh Massoud
* From: The Daily Telegraph
* August 08, 2009 12:01AM
EXACTLY three years after being told to retire to a ministry, Joe Galuvao has continued his remarkable resurrection by inking a two-year deal with premiers Manly.
Having wound back the clock to produce the form that made him a 2003 premiership hero at Penrith, Galuvao has spent the past three months agonising over whether to leave current club Parramatta.
The Sea Eagles began their overtures in May, but the veteran has been holding out for a counter-offer from the Eels as the entire team rediscovered its mojo to become a finals force in recent weeks.
Parramatta, however, were unable to make a satisfactory bid after filling their 2010 cap with a host of top-line recruits.
"It's been a pretty drawn-out process, because I'm very happy here at Parramatta,'' Galuvao, 31, said. "But in the end there was just no money for me. I don't want people to get the wrong idea and think I'm going to Manly kicking stones. I'm not. They are a great club and I really appreciate Des (Hasler) for being so patient and understanding.''
A major part of Galuvao's deliberations revolved around the nightmarish logistics of commuting from his family home in St Marys to Brookvale with only one car between he and wife, Maybelle. Galuvao was also wary of the impact the move would have on his commitments to troubled youth in Sydney's west, where he provides religious counselling.
"Manly have agreed to help out with a car and they've also said I can spend some night's at (recruitment manager) Noel Cleal's house,'' Galuvao said.
"The biggest thing for me was time. To be honest, I have spent a lot of time this year considering life after football because there was nothing guaranteed. Me and my wife have spoken a lot about this decision, and we think it's a great opportunity at this stage of my career.''
The former Kiwi international also agrees that it's an unexpected one.
