Wests Tigers' Recent Moves and Future Plans - What Fans Need to Know

It feels like Groundhog Day at Wests Tigers. Two steps forward, three steps back. Another false dawn, possibly a fourth straight wooden spoon and the two best local juniors the club’s produced in five seasons out the door mid-season.

For all the goodwill around the arrival of five new recruits for 2025 and two wins out of the opening three games it’s quickly reverted to standard operating procedure. Six straight losses including the Melbourne Storm putting on a 64-blot scoreline is all too familiar for members and fans.

The Lachlan Galvin circus was a shambles and now the latest bad taste is the departure of another local junior in hooker Tallyn Da Silva. The difference between the Galvin exit and Da Silva joining the Parramatta Eels is worth unpacking.

Whereas Galvin and his agent went in to see CEO Shane Richardson armed with a list of grievances about Benji Marshall’s coaching and agitated and manipulated an exit, Campbelltown product Da Silva genuinely wanted to stay. The catch was Da Silva – who was signed until the end of 2026 – needed clarity around whether Wests Tigers intended to re-sign captain Api Koroisau beyond his current deal which also expires at the end of 2026.

Tigers CEO Richardson clearly thought long and hard about the call before siding with coach Marshall and agreeing to back Koroisau with another two-year deal until the end of 2028. The Api deal’s not done yet but it will be done in the next fortnight.

A big part of the decision to back Api was the Tigers are lacking leadership aside from Koroisau and big-money recruit Jarome Luai. Api’s also been through a lot of the hard roads in terms of trying to help the club get out of its current predicament in terms of wins and losses.

There’s no question there’s a clique of ex-Penrith players who now have some of the loudest voices at the Tigers in co-captains Koroisau and Luai and winger Tito Turuva. Given they’ve come out of a four-time premiership-winning system it makes sense they’ve taken control of the leadership void at Wests Tigers.

By backing Koroisau the Tigers have also pushed all-in on trying to get Luai to remain at the club longer-term. Luai has two get out clauses in his contract allowing him to leave the Tigers at the end of the 2026 and 2027 seasons.

If Da Silva goes on to become as good as most talent scouts claim then we’re tipping in the fullness of time letting the young gun hooker go will be viewed as a bad call. The same way the departures of James Tedesco, Mitch Moses, Aaron Woods and Ryan Papenhuyzen are viewed now.

The only way it won’t be viewed as a bad call is if the Tigers can begin to win games and land some other big-name recruits. The Tigers have gone to great lengths to point out how letting Da Silva join the Eels arms them with an extra $600,000 to spend.

They’ve already turned to Taylan May as a strike outside back effective immediately along with Kai Pearce-Paul from Newcastle who arrives at the end of this season to try and strengthen the roster.

There’s no question the Wests Tigers needed a circuit breaker in terms of the decision-makers who’d driven the club into the iceberg so it was the right call to move on CEO Justin Pascoe. New boss Richardson has decades of experience as an NRL administrator and has gone on record saying he wants players who are in for the crocodile roll to help turn the club around.

But even Richo would have to admit trying to get the Wests Tigers back on course shapes as arguably his greatest challenge. Richo oversaw Penrith going from a wooden spoon to a premiership in two seasons back in 2003. They did so on the back of a talented group of local juniors including Craig Gower, Luke Lewis, Trent Waterhouse, Luke Rooney and Shane Rodney.

At South Sydney it was an even more brutal assignment but ultimately after a decade at the helm the Rabbitohs smashed a 43-season premiership drought in 2014. Wests Tigers coach Marshall conceded the club took a step backwards in the loss to Manly in round 17.

How they respond against the Roosters on Sunday missing Koroisau, Luai and gun fullback Jahream Bula is anyone’s guess. The Tigers face a tough run home in the club’s final nine games of the season meeting finals contenders the Roosters, Warriors, Penrith, Bulldogs and Raiders along with Manly, the Cowboys and the Gold Coast Titans twice.

If the Tigers can’t finish the season holding their gloves up then it’s going to be another long off season with more tough decisions. Irrespective it’s now got to the point where they’ve come this far with coach Marshall they need to stick with him for next season. Especially after the call to keep Koroisau over Da Silva.