Is Lachlan Galvin the last straw for questionable negotiation tactics?

It has happened yet again.

A contract saga in the NRL, with Lachlan Galvin indicating that he will be departing the Wests Tigers at the end of the 2026 NRL season.

The Tigers statement released regarding the decision sounded quite bitter around the way the negotiations took place between the club, Galvin and his controversial player manager.

To those that follow rugby league closely, it comes as no surprise that player manager Isaac Moses is right in the thick of it.

Now the question must be asked - as more clubs stand up to his conduct, will this be the straw that triggered an all-out revolt against him (and potentially other player managers) from NRL clubs?

In a statement, the Tigers revealed that “Despite the club having the largest contract offer for a junior in the history of the club on the table, Lachlan and his management have decided his future lies elsewhere and were not willing to review the offer.”

According to Fox League's James Hooper, Moses had been backgrounding clubs and media about how Galvin's next decision is going to be about coaching rather than money in what appears to be a direct attack on Benji Marshall's coaching ability.

Veteran News Corp journalist Phil ‘Buzz' Rothfield was even more scathing of Moses' conduct.

He described Moses' conduct as “the worst act by a player manager” in his time covering the game, which dates back in 1978.

The rejection of the monster contract offer was the line in the sand as the club knew the games that Moses has played before.

The 2017 contract debacle involving stars James Tedesco, Mitch Moses and Aaron Woods would circle across Concord once again if the saga went on any further.

Instead, to the Tigers credit, Shane Richardson caught the bluff from Moses and took decisive action, nipping contract talk in the bud rather quickly and making a decision to move on from Galvin, while also confirming no early release would be offered or agreed upon.

Moses has long been a player agent who has been criticised by teams and fans for his conduct in negotiations for his clients, with a personal tactic of the ‘player option' being used as leverage for Moses to negotiate with other clubs on behalf of players.

It has even triggered Roosters supremo Nick Politis to refuse to deal with the agent in the aftermath of the Joseph Suaali'i affair, where Moses' conduct was again drawn into question.

The pair have fallen out several times, but the way Moses negotiated the Suaali'i deal was enough to throw any chance of reconciliation out the window and the pair have reportedly not spoken since.

Moses has long been a controversial figure in the sport, having recently returned from an 18-month suspension for breaching “his obligations as an agent in 2017 while working with then client Tim Mannah.”

But will this be the straw that breaks the NRL?

Well, given how powerful he is through his management company Cove Agency. It appears almost impossible for clubs to hold a mutiny against him, with over 100 players on the books with the firm.

It will certainly create issues at a club such as Manly where coach Anthony Seibold and a vast array of Sea Eagles are managed by the man in question.

Several other prominent players and coaches such as Kyle and Shane Flanagan are managed by Moses' management company.

That being said, the NRL has dealt without him before with minimal issues throughout his suspension.

But what could be possible is for the clubs to come together and ensure that they hold fire on aspects such as contract options in negotiations, so clubs in question have control of situations such as this one, which now threatens to derail the Tigers season.

AJ is one half of The League Scene Podcast, with weekly round reviews and lower grade wraps posted to Youtube each Wednesday.