He was booed, as expected. There was no way a full Sunday afternoon house at Leichhardt was going to do anything else.

But it was the man-of-the-moment, Lachie Galvin, who killed off the boos himself in the ninth minute when he showed the rugby league world exactly what all the fuss was about.

He hit the line at speed off Jarome Luai, drew two defenders and shifted deftly and brilliantly to back-rower Samuela Fainu, who scored to put the Wests Tigers in front over the Sharks. It was a lead which was never relinquished in a heart-stopping golden point win.

The boos were suddenly cheers for the teenager who has been under more pressure than Clive Palmer’s belt buckle in the past fortnight. That he could put the scrutiny all behind him, and perform, is a credit to him.

It’s a pity the holidaying CEO Shane Richardson wasn’t there to hear the reception Galvin initially got. As he was landing in the US for a bizarre two-week mid-season breather, the boos came thick and fast early.

In his hubris, Richardson would have probably felt justified – believing the faithful’s protest was directed only at Galvin, whom they believed was the true villain in yet another shameful episode at the hapless club.

Lachie Galvin and the Tigers on Sunday.Credit: Steven Siewert

But for every boo there was for Galvin, there were equally as many directed at the club in general. Just imagine what would have happened if Richardson himself rolled out to the middle before the teams ran on.

In........

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