Lachlan Galvin is 19, the NRL’s most hyped young talent in years, and with a healthy helping hand from McDonald’s, is going to get bigger.
The Tigers five-eighth has grown another two centimetres to stand at 193cm (the tallest regular No.6 in the game) and shaved three seconds off the 1.2km time trial in which he already held the club record.
But having played at around 85kg in his impressive rookie season, the Tigers want Galvin adding size to his lean frame, a remit he’s struggled with so far this pre-season.
The Tiger’s licence to eat won’t quite trigger a Donald Trump-esque pivot to a dozen Diet Cokes, Doritos and McDonald’s for Galvin.
But along with coach Benji Marshall “hovering around me, making sure I do all my reps” in the gym, a steer toward his post-game indulgence in McDonald’s dinner boxes on a more regular basis is encouraged.
“I don’t eat enough. Every morning I’m in here, they tell me, ‘Eat breakfast, eat lunch’, they watch me eat [because] I’ve got to put the kilos on. I struggle with that but I’m trying my best,” the Tigers tyro said.
“The dietician Clare (Flower), she says, ‘Eat what you want, Lachlan’, so it’s pretty good.
Lachlan Galvin has been told to pack on the kilos by any means necessary.Credit: Wolter Peeters
“I get a dinner box from Macca’s on the way home [after games]. Clare spoke about calorie targets but I don’t even know what that means. I’ll just try to eat as much as I can. If I come in the morning and I weigh more than I did yesterday, I’m happy.”