I am not a LG hater but anyone signing him for a $1 million is taking an enormous risk. If your a half on that money you either need ridiculous footwork/pace/skills (which LG doesn't), or you need to be a great game manager with strong kicking game etc (which LG doesn't).
I thought he was very average tonight, and I think he has been pretty average in most games this year. I love his competitiveness (he competes on every play), but that doesn't make a million dollar player.
If Luai opens the field up like he did tonight, I think Fainu could go to another level.
You know, I was watching tonight and by the end had the thought that so far this season he hasn't exactly set the world on fire and done enough to categorise him as potentially one of the higher paid players in the NRL next contract....
Seems a fait accompli his new club will be revealed in time, but to be honest if I were that club I'd be pretty concerned. I don't see much - if any - progress from last season. Mitigating circumstances or not, he isn't better at his job than he was last year.
The worrying thing (for him) is that it is (legally) impossible he has already signed on the dotted line and confirmed his new contract; he must have only agreed in principle, and I don't get the impression there is an overflowing of honour in these dealings.
I remember Addo-Carr was coming back to the tigers and ended up at the dogs. Tigers likely played and used as leverage there, but the issues I see for Galvin are:
1. Wests Tigers are a far stronger proposition in the player market in 2025, no longer pushovers. On the contrary, Richardson appears to have already allocated the money they would've used on his upgrade.
2. His form could see him playing a lot of NSW cup - especially if Latu stays fit and kills it. Worse still, he could get injured.
3. His next club (whichever aquatic serpentine that may be) has no legal obligation to keep his offer on the table - let alone pay him $1M a season - as it cannot technically currently exist.
Frankly, he is looking more Schuster than Fittler right now and I would love to actually know why the Galvins/Moses took the route they did so far out from November 1. I don't think they expected that from Richardson and as a resul
t he took away all their leverage and exposed them.
I'm not upset any more. I don't wish anything bad for Galvin.
But I do think there's a possibly of him becoming a cautionary tale of stage parenting and flat out greed. Would be a shame, but there always has to be a first to lose out to stop the rot.