Sydney Roosters forward Terrell May has officially been granted a release by the club, and is reportedly set to join a Sydney rival.
One of the competition's most impactful players, May has become one of the most sought-after forwards - only behindย Leo Thompsonย - in recent weeks and now it has been confirmed his time at the Roosters has come to an end.
After holding talks and meetings with the Canterbury Bulldogs, St George Illawarra Dragons, and Wests Tigers, The Daily Telegraph has reported that May has agreed to a three-year deal with the Wests Tigers and the club is set to confirm this announcement as early as Monday.
It is understood the deal will see May earn around $2 million over the next three years.
โTerrell is not only a talented footballer, but also a good person and we would like to thank him for his contribution to the Club,โ Roosters head of recruitment Daniel Anderson said in a statement confirming his departure from the Roosters immediately.
โTerrell will always remain part of our Sydney Roosters family, and he leaves with our very best wishes for the future,โ he added.
Re-signing with theย Sydney Roostersย in April, the news surrounding May being granted permission to leave the club came as a surprise, with the 2024ย NRLย season arguably being the best of his career to date.
Playing 27 games, predominantly off the interchange bench, he finished the year with 110 metres per game, 40 offloads, 64 tackle busts and a tackle efficiency of almost 98 per cent and has now become one of the most sought-after forwards in the competition.
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The news comes as the Canterbury Bulldogs continue to ramp up their chase of Ryan Papenhuyzen from the Melbourne Storm, with the Bulldogs now considered the favourites to sign him as he runs off-contract at the end of the 2025 season.
Last week on Tuesday, Trent Robinsonย spoke about the reason why May was granted permission to explore his options immediately.
โThey're difficult ones,โ Robinson said.
โTerrell is a really, really good player. That's why I played him in so many games this year. But it does give opportunities to some guys underneath that to play more.
โTerrell is not going to have trouble finding a club, the quality he plays with. He is not of bad character, he has not done anything wrong.
โI think that has been thrown out there. He has been a value add to our group and there are just some small bits there around how we want to play and also the longevity of Terrell.
โWe felt like it was time to move in a different direction and expressed that to Terrell. The difficult thing has been that people have questioned his character around that and that shouldn't be the case.โ
