Gutherson to the Dragons 👍 one it’s good to see he didn’t come here (sorry Eddie), two at least there is some movement on the transfer landscape.
Wests Tigers Podcast - Talking everything Wests Tigers!
The obvious thought is that this is not a person with a crocodile roll attitude! That doesn't fit Richo's narrative.
But he is the quality of player we need to sign. I guess it all depends on where Luai feels May is at and how he fits Benji's philosophy (he has already said similar comments about the game not being all of him).
For me, the release of this article and its contents are all a little convenient and serves to benefit Roosters. TBH I thikn its pretty low. If its true/real then the only people who could have leaked this information to the media are Terrell (unlikely) or the people directly involved at the Roosters and that is a low act IMO and also IMO deliberate. Remember Cleary's comments about Luai when he was considering paying him of $1M to come here, directly saying it wasnt a good idea, it reminds me of that,
Bottom line is his form on the field was excellent and better than anything we had including a bloke we were offering $900K to. If thats his form when his heart isnt in it, Id take that as a baseline and hope that surrounding him with Luai, Fainus, Turuva etc gets his heart back into it.
Get him Richo.
It is concerning what May has said in the interview but the 2 times he quit he was very young & still maturing & learning what it takes to be successful. I am not as huge a fan of him as some but at 25 he has his best in front of him. I wouldn’t be breaking the bank to sign him but if we’re keen, and I hope we are as we need another middle, then I’d hope whatever interviews take place they address these quotes & his desire to become a better player etc. We need to be sure he’s 100 percent up for the fight because if there is even a tiny doubt then we can’t do it.
Nailed it, Rusty.
The Tigers don't have a good record of handling problem children
I’m genuinely excited by the chance we get May and Hetherington.
I’m genuinely excited by the chance we get May and Hetherington.
We should know soon on Hetherington.
Wests Tigers Podcast - Talking everything Wests Tigers!
For me, his performance last year does not reflect someone that wasn't putting in, he averaged over 110m and had a 97% tackle efficiency which was better than twal.
He has the ability to play 50-60mins, I would still sign him after thinking about it.
In memory of Geoff Chisholm (1965-2022)
I’m genuinely excited by the chance we get May and Hetherington.
We should know soon on Hetherington.
MUCH prefer May
Well, if we get Hetherington there’s no place for him.
and vice versa. Who do you think we need more, a big body big minutes prop or a smaller bodied prop/lock? IMO we need the big body big minute prop more and thats May. I would hate to miss out on May by signing Hetherington.
I’m genuinely excited by the chance we get May and Hetherington.
We should know soon on Hetherington.
MUCH prefer May
Well, if we get Hetherington there’s no place for him.
and vice versa. Who do you think we need more, a big body big minutes prop or a smaller bodied prop/lock? IMO we need the big body big minute prop more and thats May. I would hate to miss out on May by signing Hetherington.
May needs to be the priority.
In memory of Geoff Chisholm (1965-2022)
I agree but there is still some concern there & that needs to be addressed.For me, his performance last year does not reflect someone that wasn't putting in, he averaged over 110m and had a 97% tackle efficiency which was better than twal.
He has the ability to play 50-60mins, I would still sign him after thinking about it.
I’m genuinely excited by the chance we get May and Hetherington.
We should know soon on Hetherington.
MUCH prefer May
Well, if we get Hetherington there’s no place for him.
and vice versa. Who do you think we need more, a big body big minutes prop or a smaller bodied prop/lock? IMO we need the big body big minute prop more and thats May. I would hate to miss out on May by signing Hetherington.
May needs to be the priority.
There’s no evidence that he’s even on our radar.
Wests Tigers Podcast - Talking everything Wests Tigers!
If we’re keen on signing May I like the idea of a chat with him over a meal or a coffee. I’d try to get to know as much about him as I could in one hour or so, just a chat about him mostly. I’d raise the concerns at some point in the discussion but it’d be mainly about him, his goals, ambitions, life away from footy, so on & so forth. No contract talk, just a chat to get know him a little.
Story by Adrian Proszenko
Apparently, I have blood on my hands.
The Roosters have told Terrell May to move on while the ink is barely dry on his contract extension and recent accounts suggest it’s got nothing to do with the club’s salary cap situation, their need to cover for injured stars Sam Walker and Brandon Smith or the surplus of forwards they have on their books.
No, evidently the reason the Roosters are marching May towards the exit relates to an interview I conducted with him at Kensington’s Bar Lucio in mid-August, and the story that was subsequently published by this masthead on the eve of the finals about a month later.
Over the course of an hour, May offered up his life story. Sharing it was a chance to give the fans a rare insight into why his relationship with rugby league has been a complicated one.
May initially played football to please his father, then because his siblings Taylan and Tyrone – who both played at NRL level before running into off-field dramas – were good at it. Because football provided a better life to a family that struggled to put food on the table while growing up in housing commission lodgings in Mount Druitt. Because there were teachers who overlooked him for the school footy team and told him he would never amount to anything. Because of the scrutiny the game put on his family. Because there were other things he was also passionate about, like again working in the disability sector. Because he wants to be his own man.
“I hate getting compared to my brothers, we’re all different,” he told me.
At times, it became too much; on two occasions, at the age of 18 and 20, he walked away from the game, revealing, “I just didn’t want to play any more”.
“It’s a weird feeling. I don’t think many people experience it where one week they love the game and go on the TV screens and the next week they don’t want to be there at all,” May said at the time.
“Sometimes I just feel I could quit, like in a day. It sounds a bit weird, but I get those thoughts sometimes where I’m just like, ‘Is this really for me? I’m very grateful to be where I am and play with the Roosters, but rugby league isn’t the whole of me’.
“Then you just look at the bigger picture. You need to support your family and I couldn’t do it without footy. I have aspirations to take the club to the grand final and to play for NSW.”
Of all of the conversations I’ve had with footballers for over a quarter of a century, this was one of the most candid. Sadly, given the fallout, maybe fans can expect less of it in the future.
May’s sentiments have been seized upon as the reason he has been tapped on the shoulder. There has also been a narrative pushed that there were cultural reasons for the decision, prompting him to post on his Instagram account: “Nothing to do with off-field stuff.”
Neither explanation holds water. There is nothing the Roosters would have read about May that they didn’t know already.
There is no doubt May is different. The 25-year-old has a quirky sense of humour, one the public rarely sees. When Herald photographer Louise Kennerley asked to take a photo of him without his bum bag, he politely declined because he wanted to be seen as his authentic self. He’s also abstained from social media for long periods over concerns about how he will be portrayed.
“That’s just the way I am, all the boys know I just mock everything and I take nothing serious,” he said.
“I forget there are all these cameras now. It’s hard because I try to be myself on the camera as well, but it just doesn’t work out. It just always gets me in trouble, so just trying to stay away from that stuff.”
Suggestions he’s failed a character test at the Roosters are also off the mark. At a time when the club got heat for handing lifelines to Matt Lodge, Brandon Smith and Michael Jennings – each arrived at Bondi Junction hauling considerable baggage – May has given the club no cause for concern.
Indeed, such has been May’s rise that he played all 27 games for the Roosters this season, including an 80-minute performance at prop. If he wasn’t fully committed to rugby league, he wouldn’t have embarked on an off-season tour to England, to represent Samoa, while his wife was pregnant. He wouldn’t have been crowned the Rugby League Players’ Association inaugural impact player of the year if he wasn’t committed.
Further, it makes little sense for the Roosters to be badmouthing a player when they’re trying to get another club to buy him.
So how did we get here?
The truth is that the Roosters roster is forward heavy, as evidenced by young gun Siua Wong struggling to crack first grade for most of last season. May’s style of play, viewed internally as being less compatible with the team’s future direction, coupled with holes in the roster that need filling, have conspired against him. Unfortunately for May, it has made him the player most dispensable.
On the cusp of Origin selection, May has plenty to offer and will ultimately find he fits in better somewhere else. The next chapter will only add to one of sport’s most intriguing stories. We shouldn’t be discouraging him from telling it.
