NRL 2025 live: Galvin set for first grade return at Leichhardt Oval as Tigers face Sharks

Watching an NRL game at Leichhardt Oval is one of life’s special treats … providing it’s not raining cats and dogs.

So for the sake of the crowd, let’s hope that Mother Nature cuts them some slack. It’s a big game for both teams.

Obviously, the reinstatement of Lachlan Galvin to the Tigers starting line-up has been a huge talking point, and it will be intriguing to see what sort of reception he cops from the fans. It’s certainly a lot of pressure on a 19-year-old’s shoulders.

Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall has refused to justify his decision to recall Lachlan Galvin a week after dropping him, declaring: “Why would I care what people say?”

Galvin, who is back in the first-grade fold for Sunday’s clash with the Sharks, was dropped to feeder team Western Suburbs Magpies in the previous round after turning down a contract extension.

Four of his teammates fronted the media on Friday to declare there was no tension in the camp, despite Galvin’s minders serving the club with a legal letter claiming he had been bullied. The interplay between the 19-year-old and his senior teammates – Jarome Luai and Sunia Turuva made social media posts seemingly critical of his actions – will make for fascinating viewing at the club’s first game of the year at Leichhardt.

Not that Marshall was buying into it during his pre-game press conference on Saturday morning. The former Kiwi international tried to deflect a series of questions about Galvin’s return.

“I’m sick of talking about that,” Marshall said. “I said it every week … I’ll pick the team that I think’s best. So we’ve moved on. Focusing on the game this week. We’ve just got to get the win.”

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