Tigers superstar Jarome Luai has made his feelings on halves partner Lachlan Galvin clear, explaining he “loves playing with the kid” following a 20-18 golden point win over the Sharks.
The victory marked Galvin’s first NRL appearance for the Tigers after he informed the club he would not be re-signing beyond his current contract, which expires at the end of 2026.
Benji Marshall subsequently made the call to drop the 19-year-old gun prior to Round 7, with the Tigers going on to lose 38-22 to the Eels on Easter Monday.
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Along with his exile, Jarome Luai made a ‘Team First’ social media post aimed at Galvin alongside another jab from winger Sunia Turuva.
Galvin’s management then issued the club with a legal letter, claiming he was being bullied before Marshall made the decision to recall the rising star.
Luai lined up alongside Galvin on Sunday afternoon, with both playmakers delivering strong performances and the No.7 made it clear he has no qualms playing alongside the young gun.
“Not once have I said that I don’t like to play with him,” Luai said in the post-match press conference.
“I love playing with the kid, I love what he brings to our team, I love this club and I love this team and I think we all showed that.
“We love this jersey as well, proud of the boys and hopefully this builds on.”
Marshall also heaped praise on his five-eighth who prepared to receive a barrage of boos when he ran out in front of the Tigers faithful at Leichhardt Oval.
However, he was instead supported by the fans, laying on an impressive try assist to help Jahream Bula crash over for the first four points of the clash.
“I thought he was great, he just went out and played footy, it’s what he has always done,” Marshall said.
“From that first try that he set up, that sort of calmed the nerves and got everyone in the game to just focus on footy.
“We had a good chat before the game about a few things and I thought he did all of those things.”
However, while his side secured what was an impressive win, the 88 minutes of football clearly took a toll on Marshall.
“That was so up and down emotionally… were some special efforts there, never giving up, seriously,” Marshall said.
“To mention a few, Starford’s try-saver at the end, Jahream saved a couple and a couple of charge downs. We were down to 12 men at one stage.
“What he’s about” Matty praises Galvin | 01:20
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“They just kept fighting and that’s the spirit they’ve shown all year, but from a club perspective that’s the pressure reliever we need to be honest.”
Sharks coach Craig Fitzgibbon also heaped praise on the Tigers in an encounter he labelled a “cracking game”.
“There was a lot to like to be honest… a lot to like about the effort, hanging in there,” Fitzgibbon said.
“We just need to execute some things a bit better I reckon… they were great, that was a big day for them and they played well.”
Meanwhile, Luai revealed he enjoyed his first game at the Tigers’ spiritual home in front of a mammoth crowd.
“I loved it man, my first grade game here. Just to look up at that hill was pretty daunting, because I am used to being against it,”
“But they were with us and behind us all the way. They gave us energy and they got us home.”
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