From ugly Lachlan Galvin saga to shock finals contention: How Tigers turned turmoil into something for fans 'to cheer about'

The date was May 11 and the Wests Tigers were gunning for a third-straight victory after holding off the Dragons and Sharks in the previous fortnight.

It was never going to be an easy task for Benji Marshall's men, travelling down to face the star-studded Melbourne Storm at AAMI Park.

Within 16 minutes, the game was over as Ryan Papenhuyzen crossed for a hat-trick in rapid fashion, starting a blitz that ended with a 64-0 victory for the hosts.

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After showing some promise, the loss was a brutal reality check for the Tigers but it was also one that in hindsight, we all probably should have seen coming.

For the weeks leading into the drubbing, all the talk out of Concord had surrounded the potential exit of teenage prodigy Lachlan Galvin.

The young five-eighth had grown disgruntled at the joint venture and that prompted weeks of endless stories surrounding whether he was going to leave the club.

Galvin was reportedly unhappy with Marshall's coaching methods and held concerns over his long-term development wearing the black and gold jumper.

There were also reports of in-fighting and suggestions of bullying within the four walls, with senior players targeting Galvin following his decision to publicly announce his plans to abandon ship and look for greener pastures once his contract ended.

All of the speculation eventually made things untenable and after the Tigers lost to South Sydney heading into their round 11 bye, the writing was clearly on the wall.

The disruptions were hurting the club and eventually, Shane Richardson and company figured it would be the wise choice to rip the band-aid off and let Galvin leave early.

It didn't take long for Canterbury to swoop and their own issues with Galvin front and centre have been well-documented in the months that have followed.

But this isn't about the Bulldogs moving heaven and earth to fit Galvin into their starting team and push for a premiership under the tutelage of Cameron Ciraldo.

Instead, this is all about what has happened at the Wests Tigers in those three months.

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It would have been easy to reconcile if the wheels completely fell off for the Tigers and they dropped to a fourth-straight wooden spoon, such was the level of negativity from the outside looking in and one of their most important players walking out.

But that isn't what Marshall is building - despite what agendas and narratives have been meddled about his lack of coaching ability in just his second season in charge.

The two games after Galvin's exit saw the Tigers fall 32-28 on the road against North Queensland, before pushing reigning premiers Penrith to their limits in an 18-14 loss.

Another narrow 16-12 loss against the ladder-leading Canberra Raiders, followed by a poor display in the 28-10 defeat at the hands of Manly, saw them drop towards the bottom four of the NRL ladder and all hope appeared to be lost.

Four losses in a row after their prized youngster Galvin was allowed to leave didn't paint a pretty picture and the pressure gauge was being turned up on Marshall, even if there were plenty of green shoots evident without results going their way.

But then, all of a sudden, something switched.

An incredible 30-28 win over the Sydney Roosters was as good as it gets, especially with the formlines shown by the star-studded glamour club in recent weeks.

Marshall's men then pulled off a great escape at Leichhardt Oval with utility Adam Doueihi slotting the match-winning field goal in the 21-20 win against Gold Coast.

A setback against a red-hot Panthers outfit could have again derailed the Tigers, but they immediately bounced back to produce their best performance in years in round 22.

With emotions running high and all eyes on Galvin facing his former teammates, it was the Tigers players who stood up and secured the 28-14 win over Canterbury.

Backing it up is always the issue but the Tigers did it again on Sunday afternoon, putting a major dent in Manly's finals hopes with a 26-12 triumph at Allianz Stadium.

Their latest win has put the Tigers in the mix for the finals and while it's only an outside, mathematical chance of actually happening, the fact that Marshall has lifted them into that position with three rounds remaining in the season is quite the feat.

While he played it down, the fact that the Tigers are back in the hunt for a top-eight spot after 15 years of heartache and despair is something Marshall couldn't ignore either.

"I don't want to sound blunt, but we haven't even talked about that," the club legend said on Sunday after the surprise win.

"If we lose, we're done anyway - so we've got to one week at a time and put everything into performing each week. What I will say is that in the last couple of weeks, we've found what works for us and our style and the way we need to play.

"We've always had effort and competed in most of our games this year. It's about putting together the smarts of our footy, the way we want to play, the weapons that we do have and put it onto the field. As a coach, I've probably learned the most in the last couple of weeks about our team than I have throughout my whole career. 

"Through losing you learn a lot, but through winning you've got to learn as well. I thought we took some lessons from the Bulldogs game and put that into practice."

At the heart of the resurgence has been the aforementioned Doueihi, who has taken on the No.7 jumper like a seasoned pro and orchestrated a handful of victories.

The injury-plagued utility is back to his best and in a show of faith, opted to knock back more money at the Dragons to further commit to Marshall's rebuild.

But instead blowing smoke up his you-know-what, the coach gave Doueihi some rather pointed advice after inking a fresh two-year contract.

"Don't get comfortable because you've re-signed now, we need you to keep playing the way you're playing and keep leading," Marshall said.

Doueihi hasn't been alone when it comes to the main aspects of the Tigers' turnaround.

The inclusion of Taylan May over the past few weeks has been a god-send, adding a sense of X-factor and class out wide that the Tigers have lacked at times.

"I thought he was outstanding - he's definitely added something to our team and we'll be working hard on keeping him here for the next few years," Marshall said.

The coach might get his wish too, as Wide World of Sports understands the Samoan international is set to extend his tenure with the Tigers until the end of 2027.

May - who has joined his brother Terrell at the club - earned high praise from Jarome Luai as they look to bring their previous combination from Penrith to the forefront.

"He's an awesome player," the Tigers co-captain said.

"I've gotten a great opportunity to play some footy [with him] even before here, so it's a big responsibility for myself to get him the ball and let him use his weapons.

"To do what he's done only a couple of weeks back in full training - he's got a long way to go and I know he knows that - we're just gonna keep building."

Then there's the rise of the Fainu brothers - Samuela, Latu and Sione - who are all breathing new life into the squad in their own unique ways despite going through plenty of adversity off the field during their young lives and careers.

In the spine, Luai and Api Koroisau bring the experience alongside Doueihi, while fullback Jahream Bula is still one of the best young talents in the game.

Fonua Pole is finding his feet as a consistent starting front-rower at NRL level, but there's rep football written all over him the more he plays.

It could get even better next year for the Tigers with Kai Pearce-Paul arriving at the club and rookie centre Heamasi Makasini waiting in the wings for his first grade debut.

But for this week - and possibly the next three, depending on how results pan out with other clubs around them on the ladder - Tigers fans can once again dare to dream of what September looks like when your team is actually playing in the post-season.

"Just create some energy around our season," Luai said.

"I think being excited about where we are on the ladder and things like that, chasing the eight - give our fans something to cheer about.

"They've been with us through the highs and lows … we're giving them something to cheer about now and it's given us energy. We want to gun for that top-eight spot, we're on a good course but we've got to start it again next week."

The rise of the Tigers was perhaps best summed up by league great James Graham.

"I thought this year would be deemed a success if they don't finish last and they are no danger of that," he said on Triple M's NRL Daily.

"It would be a miracle [to play finals] - but the Tigers have improved. These past few weeks have been really impressive."

It's taken some time and there will still undoubtedly still be bumps along the way - but for the first time in a long time, Wests Tigers fans can be extremely proud of their team and be optimistic about what the future holds for 2026 and beyond.

Not bad for a team being led by a bloke who can't coach, is it?