George Clarke
Wests Tigers have rekindled their NRL season with a 22-16 win over rivals Canterbury in which Bulldogs playmaker Lachlan Galvin was relentlessly booed and jeered by supporters of his old club.
Nearly a year has passed since Galvin walked out on Benji Marshall’s side to move to Belmore, but the pain of his acrimonious exit has clearly not subsided for Tigers fans.
Galvin was booed with every touch from start to finish at CommBank Stadium on Saturday and received the biggest jeers from the 17,505 crowd when Jarome Luai sidestepped and later belted the Dogs’ halfback.
The 20-year-old moved to Canterbury because he felt he wouldn’t improve under Marshall’s coaching, but since his arrival the Bulldogs’ results have gone backwards.
Canterbury have won just 38 per cent of their games since Galvin’s arrival last season and are 4-8 in 2026, boasting just one win in their last six after losing to the Tigers.
Marshall’s men, meanwhile, snapped a three-game losing run, racing out to a 16-6 halftime lead before holding off a second-half Canterbury fightback.
Buoyed by the return of hooker Api Koroisau and classy fullback Jahream Bula, the Tigers flung the ball to the left and winger Jeral Skelton crossed after four minutes.
Right winger Faaletino Tavana was next to go over for the Tigers when he claimed a Jock Madden bomb and touched down.
Bula then slid over off a Kai Pearce-Paul offload before the Bulldogs got their act together as halftime approached.
Jacob Kiraz weaved his way through the Tigers defence to get Cameron Ciraldo’s side on the board in the 37th minute before Bula got across to prevent Dogs captain Stephen Crichton from grounding the ball.
Canterbury dominated possession in the early stages of the second half and after Galvin hoofed a grubber kick dead, winger Enari Tuala move the Bulldogs to within six points.
But the match’s biggest turning point came with 25 minutes to go when Josh Curran looked to have given Canterbury the chance to draw level when he raced 40m to score after regathering his charge-down of a Luai kick.
But replays showed the Canterbury utility forward had made the slightest of contact with Luai’s legs.
With a penalty blown for the Tigers, Luai went up the other end and put in a pinballing grubberkick which fell to Skelton who scooped up and touched down.
Madden missed the conversion but opened up a 12-point buffer with 20 minutes left when he kicked a penalty goal.
Despite question mark over the grounding, Galvin was awarded a 70th-minute try, but as the Dogs searched for a late chance to draw level Luai jolted the ball loose from Sitili Tupouniua to seal victory for the Tigers.
AAP
