Like Galvin, Talagi was yet to make his NRL debut at that stage. Panthers CEO Matt Cameron was particularly keen on the Westfields Sports High graduate, and arranged a meeting between he and and Ivan Cleary at the coach’s home on the Nepean River.
Galvin went on to play 31 NRL games for the Tigers before his much-hyped mid-year move to Canterbury, whose title dreams were ended by Talagi and Penrith on Sunday.
Panthers No.6 Blaize Talagi at the club’s HQ on Tuesday.Credit: Kate Geraghty
Bulldogs supremo Phil Gould defended the signing of Galvin on Monday’s 100% Footy, and described the criticism levelled at him and the club during the second half of the season as “childish and extremely unfair”.
As it stands, Penrith fans would be more than happy their club opted for Talagi over Galvin.
“The feedback I’d got from people who had coached Blaize previously was how he was an outstanding human being, and I was always going to back the Panthers’ system to turn a good player into a special player,” Cameron said. “We all expected Blaize to contribute in his first year, so he’s definitely met those expectations.”
Talagi was keen to remain at his junior club, and even after meeting Cleary, was ready to recommit to the Eels, only to keep thinking about Cleary’s sales pitch to make him a better player.
The 20-year-old has been excellent in his first season at the premiers.Credit: Kate Geraghty
“I was set on staying at Parra, I didn’t want to move, I was probably scared to move I guess, but after meeting Ivan, he opened my eyes to what else was out there,” Talagi said on Tuesday.
“Just seeing how he was as a person, so cool and calm … it took me a few days to think about it. I remember saying to myself, ‘OK, I’m staying’. But almost immediately I felt like it wasn’t the right decision, so I changed my mind.”
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Talagi underwent shoulder surgery in the off-season, which cut short his chance to spend quality time on the training paddock with Cleary, but even after missing the first couple of rounds, never feared his chance to be the starting five-eighth had passed.
“I had a lot of trust in myself and Ivan and the club that I would get my shot,” Talagi said.
Talagi, 20, who produced a couple of bone-rattling tackles against the Dogs – and a front-on tackle that left Canberra’s Xavier Savage with a season-ending shoulder injury last month – grew up following Canterbury.
His favourite grand final memory was two years ago when Brisbane had the game stitched up against Penrith with 15 minutes to go, only for a Cleary-inspired comeback for the ages. “That left me in awe,” Talagi said.
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