An invaluable member of the Sydney Roosters squad, forward Terrell May is reportedly set to be offered a contract extension from the club.
A mainstay off the Roosters interchange bench, May has not only impressed the club's fans in limited minutes but also coach Trent Robinson with his work ethic.
The Minchinbury Jets junior made his NRL debut in Round 11, 2022 and has since gone on to appear in 16 games this season.
In these appearances, he has managed 23 tackle busts, 654.5 post-contact metres, 342 tackles, 1583 total running metres and even crossed the line for a try against the Wests Tigers in Round 26- three weeks ago.
Currently on a contract worth less than $200,000 (approx.) per season, the Sydney Roosters have turned their attention to retaining May, per the Sydney Morning Herald.
Contracted until the end of the 2024 season, he is free to negotiate with rival clubs from November 1 if the Roosters don't extend his deal by that period.
While May and the Roosters will take on the Melbourne Storm this weekend, the prop surprisingly revealed that he came close to signing with the club he will be facing this week to make it into the preliminary final against the Penrith Panthers.
Per NCA Newswire, May detailed that he flew down to Melbourne in 2022 and was offered a contract with the club. It was even reported that club officials were confident at the time that they had signed him but the forward had a change of heart.
“To be honest, I was going to sign there, but then I ended up debuting here last year,” May told NCA Newswire.
“I flew over but they wanted me to move down there too quickly. I'm a very family-oriented guy, so I couldn't leave my family, otherwise I would have gone.
“I'm glad I stayed and I'm happy here.
“They (Storm coach Craig Bellamy and head of football Frank Ponissi) are very good people. I really enjoyed talking to those guys. The timing just wasn't right to leave my friends and family.
“It was pretty weird because I didn't know anything about the Storm wanting me, and then I flew over. But my focus is here, not elsewhere.”
While Terrell May is yet to experience a long run in the finals, both his older brother Tyrone May and younger brother Taylan May are no strangers to success.
Playing for the Penrith Panthers, Tyrone was a part of the 2021 Grand Final team, while Taylan was unlucky to miss out on playing in the 2022 Grand Final due to injury.
However, Terrell May revealed that while all three have found success in the sport, they don't talk about rugby league when they are with each other away from the field.
“We don't talk footy at my household at all. My brothers and I stay away from that stuff and we just relax,” he revealed to NCA Newswire.
“I think that's for the best because if we think about footy too much then you go into games all stressed out. We're really chilled and we don't like to think about all that.
“We have other things to talk about like my little nephew – Taylan's kid – and other family stuff.
“We also love boxing and UFC, so we talk about that a lot. I need to train a bit more if I want to get in the ring one day, so I'm just helping my little brother (Taylan) because I think he's going to have another fight later this year.”