An NRL team has reportedly exited the race to secure the services of Sydney Roosters forward Terrell May after he was told that he is free to leave to the club immediately.
One of the competition's most impactful players, May has become one of the most sought-after forwards - only behind Leo Thompson - in recent weeks as his time at the Roosters looks to have come to an end.
Re-signing with the Sydney Roosters in April, the news surrounding May being granted permission to leave the club came as a surprise, with the 2024 NRL 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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After holding talks and meetings with the Canterbury Bulldogs, St George Illawarra Dragons and Wests Tigers, The Sydney Morning Herald has reported that the Bulldogs have now informed May's agent that they will not be making a play for his services.
The news comes as they 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.
Canterbury's exit from the race leaves the St George Illawarra Dragons and Wests Tigers as the only two clubs currently in the hunt for the Samoan international.
It is understood that the meeting between May and the Tigers went extremely well, and he walked away impressed. Terrell, the brother of Tyrone May and Taylan May, is also very close to new recruit Jarome Luai.
The Dragons have also not been shy about revealing their interest in the impact front-rower.
"We might leave one of those spots open until January or February, maybe even going into the season," Shane Flanagan said via AAP.
"We saw last year when Corey Allan did his ACL, we needed (the flexibility) to get someone else in.
"We talk to a lot of players ... It's like buying a house. You don't put bids in for all of them and we'll be similar with Terrell.
"We're at talks but whether it's at a point that we're putting offers in and so on, we'll see."
Last week on Tuesday, Trent Robinson spoke about the reason why May was granted permission to explore his options immediately.
“They're difficult ones,” Robinson said.
“Terrell 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.
“Terrell 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.
“I 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.
“We 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.”