Sydney Roosters forward Terrell May grew up running hills in Western Sydney and doing video analysis alongside his brothers Tyrone and Taylan before he was 10 years old.
His father Jay’s passion for the game and tough love has made the 24-year-old rising star who he is today, but May also recognises he wouldn’t be playing rugby league if his brothers didn’t challenge him to work harder.
“Growing up, my parents always said we would be lucky if just one of us makes it, so we were always joking with each other that we would be the one that actually does make it,” he laughed.
“But to have all three of us be playing rugby league professionally, it’s pretty surreal.”
May’s journey started in the backyard, where his father taught him and his brothers how to run the ball, pass and tackle. Rain, hail or shine – they practiced almost every day.
“Talent wasn’t really a big thing in my family,” he reflected.
“No one really cared how good we were, especially my dad because he’s really strict.
“He put so much hard work into us, he didn’t care how many tries we scored or how good we played.
“People would tell us, ‘You played so good today, you scored three tries’ and we’d get home and dad would tell us we played trash because we missed three tackles.”
His father’s dedication to ensuring his sons succeeded on-field was often criticised by others but May says he knows deep down that his dad’s stern parenting style was all out of love.
“We didn’t realise it at the time, we always thought our dad lowkey hated us because he was making us work so hard,” he said.
“I wasn’t allowed to go to my cousin’s house and stay with my cousins or anything like that because my dad would pick us up and give us a hiding for trying to sneak out.
The Minchinbury Jets junior battled with his own desire to pursue rugby league professionally throughout the pandemic, stepping away from football to work and play video games.
“I was on a train and trial at the Wests Tigers when Covid hit and I thought to myself you know what, I don’t want to play footy anymore, so I quit,” he said.
“Both my brothers said, ‘Bro, What are you doing? You’re the best out of the three of us, you’re naturally talented but you just don’t work hard’ and I told them I didn’t care, I don’t even like footy and I quit.
“During that time, I was a hard-out gamer, I was playing games and being lazy, I ended up putting on something like 30 kilos during Covid.
“I was sitting at 135kg, and I thought nah I’m not playing footy ever again.”
Seeing Taylan debut for the Penrith Panthers in 2021 and play alongside Tyrone motivated the forward to start taking footy seriously again and chase the dream of playing with his brothers.
“I came back and did an NSW Cup pre-season with Blacktown Workers and ended up having a strong year there, which is when I thought, ‘Oh, I think I might give this another go.’
“Then I spoke to my brothers and they told me I need to give it a crack because I can make it.
Seeing my younger brother debut before me actually gave me a lot of motivation to come back and play, that’s really pushed me to get to where I am now.
- Terrell May On seeing his Taylan make his NRL debut first.
Originally signed on a NSW Cup contract with the North Sydney Bears, May made a lasting impression on the Roosters’ coaching staff during a five week training period and earnt himself an opportunity to play NRL.
The powerhouse prop went from training in the rain in his Mt Druitt backyard with his brother Taylan to making his first-grade debut at the Sydney Cricket Ground against him.
“That week, Robbo said, ‘I’m going to give you a call, I’m going to name you this week but you’re going to be in the 24,’” May recalled.
“I remember it was Wednesday afternoon and we didn’t have training and I got the call from Robbo and he said, ‘Hey mate, I’m going to debut you this week’ and we were so excited.
“Robbo told me it’s not a secret, don’t hide it from Tiny, and I said ‘I can’t, he’s sitting right next to me and you’re on loud speaker,’
“Growing up we always dreamed of playing in the same team but to play against him in my debut game was weird, but it’s all love.”
With Taylan signed to Penrith and Tyrone based in France, May found a new brother in Siosiua Taukeiaho – who took him under his wing and helped him feel at home in the East.
“There’s a lot of players I’ve learnt different things off, but for my position obviously Jared and Lindsay have had a big impact,” he said.
“One person who really helped me a lot off the field is Siua. When I came here, I was really shy and didn’t really talk to many people.
“When I started training with NRL full-time Siua was a big help on the field too, I was always hanging around him and he would tell me ways to be better and tell me how to carry myself off the field. He treated me like one of his younger brothers.”
Continuing to build week upon week, May has his sights set on playing representative football one day - whether that be for Samoa or Australia.
“When we were younger, we set a goal of playing for Australia, because we’re half Australian and half Samoan but we were born and raised here.
“Playing for Samoa is another goal of ours because we grew up around our Samoan side of the family.
“Seeing both of my brothers play for Samoa, my family was so proud. The only thing they wished for is that I could be there too, but I didn’t mind watching them, it’s all love still.
“But a big goal of ours is to play for Australia because it would be a dream come true for our dad, he has put so much time and effort into our careers and even if it’s just one of us he would be so happy.
“He’s still proud of us for playing for Samoa because he knows how close we are to that side of the family, but that Australia jersey would be a tipping point. He wouldn’t believe it.”
But as the Roosters continue to fight for a spot in the Top 8, May has narrowed focus to the task at hand and is confident he can step up for the team under immense pressure.
“Robbo tells me each week to play the way that I play, because I have a different style to a normal front rower, I don’t really run straight, I step and offload,” he said.
“He always tells me to bring my type of style and I think the boys like the way I play because it’s something different.”
May Gets His First NRL Try
After 23 NRL matches, May feels a great sense of pride being able to look back on his journey to first grade - knowing he gets to share his accomplishments with his dad and brothers, who have invested countless hours into his growth as an athlete and a person.
“We struggled a bit growing up out west, my brothers and I would fight constantly because there wasn’t much food for us.
“Seeing the way my parents struggled when we were younger … it’s nice to know they don’t have to go through that struggle anymore. Hopefully they’re proud of us and where we’ve come from.”
