Galloway keen to make amends
Brad Walter
October 28, 2011
The prop is uneasy talking about his club's demise, writes Brad Walter in Manchester.
It happened seven weeks ago on the other side of the world but, even as he prepares for his first Test on English soil, Australian prop Keith Galloway is still haunted by the devastating way Wests Tigers exited the NRL finals.
And Galloway isn't alone, with all of the Tigers stars involved in the Four Nations tournament using the last-minute 22-20 loss to the Warriors as added motivation.
New Zealand skipper Benji Marshall told the Herald he was just glad to have the opportunity to play in the Four Nations, saying: ''I didn't want the year to end that way. It was a terrible feeling and I would hate to be spending all summer thinking about that.''
Galloway feels the same way and so do fellow Kangaroos Chris Lawrence and Robbie Farah, and England forwards Gareth Ellis and Chris Heighington, who all trained together after the Tigers were knocked out of the finals.
''We were devastated, pissed off, shocked - all of the above,'' Galloway said. ''It is a cruel game when something like that happens in the last minute or so.
''In a normal-season game, if that happens, you can get over it pretty quick but when you are knocked out of the competition like that it is pretty hard to take. Next year, if we are lucky enough to be in the semi-finals, I definitely hope we remember the way everyone felt because it wasn't good at all.''
Even as he spoke, Galloway seemed to find it difficult recounting Krisnan Inu's match-winning try for the Warriors, and he shifted uncomfortably in his chair in the bar of the Kangaroos' Manchester hotel.
''No one [at the Tigers] has watched that game to my knowledge,'' he said. ''I think everyone tried not to talk about it and forget about it but when it comes to the crunch next year it is something I hope we do remember.
''It was a bit of deja vu because the year before we got beat by the Dragons by one point and they went on to win the grand final the next week. This year we got beat by the Warriors by two points and they made the grand final. There are so many good players who haven't had the chance to play in a grand final, let alone win one. It's been in our grasp in the last minutes of games and we have failed. That is definitely heartbreaking but we have next year to work on that.''
In the meantime, Galloway is looking to cement his standing as NSW's No.1 specialist prop after making his Origin and Test debuts this season and he said he hadn't spoken to Marshall leading into the opening Four Nations Test at Warrington.
''There is plenty of time for that afterwards,'' Galloway said. ''The Test in Newcastle was the first time I have played against him since we've been good mates and he is their key man, so it was a bit different. But once you are out on the field, anyone in an opposition jersey is the enemy, so to speak.''
Galloway will treat Ellis and Heighington the same way if they come face to face in next weekend's Australia-England clash. ''It will be a great honour to play for Australia against them if I get selected, but they are just the opposition when I play against them.''
A Cronulla junior who made his NRL debut while still at school, Galloway has long been earmarked for higher honours after representing the Junior Kangaroos and Australian schoolboys but it has taken nine seasons for the 26-year-old to break into the Test and Origin teams.
''In 2008 I was in the Scotland train-on squad for the World Cup but I had to pull out because of injuries,'' said Galloway, who plans to visit his grandmother and other family in Dundee. ''But I have always wanted to play for NSW and Australia and I am pretty proud of my achievements this year. Obviously it is the pinnacle of the game but I still need to perform at this level to keep the jersey and I am really looking forward to getting out there and playing in the Four Nations.''
