The Manly Sea Eagles have become the first NRL team to rule out a move for teenage sensation Lachlan Galvin after it was confirmed that he will not be at the Wests Tigers beyond the 2026 NRL season.
Arguably the best young player in the NRL, Galvin has been one of the standouts for the Wests Tigers over the past two seasons, but decided in a shock announcement on Monday that he will leave the joint-venture club at the end of next season - but could potentially leave earlier.
Relegated to the NSW Cup for this round's match against the Parramatta Eels, several teams have been linked to the playmaker including the Canterbury Bulldogs, Manly Sea Eagles, Parramatta Eels and Sydney Roosters after he turned down a $5 million offer to remain at the Tigers.
Despite reports from multiple media outlets indicating that the Sea Eagles were the shock favourites to secure his services, head coach Anthony Seibold vehemently denied this and has shut down the rumours, confirming "he won't be at Manly".
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"First of all, we haven't discussed Lachlan. It was news to myself on Monday afternoon in regards to him leaving the Tigers at the end of 2026," Seibold said on Wednesday.
"We haven't discussed him internally and so I don't know where Lachlan will end up. I admire him from a distance, but he won't be at Manly.
"I've only watched him play live once last year and I was really impressed with him but he won't be coming to Manly.
"We've got a couple of plans in place going forward and Lachlan hasn't been discussed internally."
While Daly Cherry-Evans' departure at the end of the season will open a spot in the halves, the Sea Eagles have been linked to veteran Canberra Raiders halfback Jamal Fogarty and have dual-code star teenagers Joey Walsh and Onitoni Large waiting in the wings.
Getting better with age, Jamal Fogarty has spent the last four seasons with the Canberra Raiders, which has seen him take his game to a new level and be regarded as one of the best kickers in the competition.
However, his long-term future in the nation's capital has remained uncertain for some time, since the club brought in Ethan Sanders from the Parramatta Eels during the pre-season and the U19s NSW Blues representative being touted as the club's long-term halfback.
Earmarked as Daly Cherry-Evans' replacement for some time, News Corp has reported that the Manly Sea Eagles are preparing to offer him and his management a two-year contract which would see him play at the club for the 2026 and 2027 seasons.
It is understood that the contract is believed to be worth around $500,000 per season.
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Nonetheless, he may remain at his current club after he chatted about his future over coffee with Raiders coach Ricky Stuart and the Green Machine are attempting to thrash out a new deal to keep him around for 2026, per The Canberra Times.
"We're in the process of renegotiating a one-year deal for Jamal," Stuart told The Canberra Times on Wednesday.
"I had a coffee with Jamal this morning while we're away, and he knows I want him here at the club, and I know he wants to be here."
