By Billie Eder
Misunderstood. That’s how Tigers coach Benji Marshall described Terrell May after his team’s round one defeat on Friday.
And perhaps May, who played 65 minutes at prop in his first match for the Tigers after a mysterious exit from the Roosters, is a little misunderstood. After all, he’s the 25-year-old footballer who doesn’t watch footy, makes his own video blogs and “sounds like a gronk”.
But Benji gets him.
“I feel like Benji knows me so well,” May said on Friday following the Tigers’ 10-8 loss to Newcastle. “We chat a lot; it’s the first time I have really chatted to a coach like this, like personally.
“He even texts me sometimes and just checks up on me. I just feel like he’s an older brother to me, to be honest.
“I don’t really see him like he’s a coach … I see him more as an older brother, and that’s why I want to go out there and do the best for him, and do the best for this club, because he brought me over and I’ve got to repay him back.”
Terrell May charges into the Knights’ defence on Friday night.Credit: Getty Images
For Marshall, May’s 65 minutes of impact – which included 189 run metres, five offloads and a team-high 34 tackles – wasn’t a surprise.
“That’s why we signed him,” Marshall said. “I think Terrell is a bit of a misunderstood guy, and when you get to know him he’s so smart when it comes to footy. And I think all the talk about him not actually liking footy is pretty false because he actually loves it.
“And the only thing he said was he put his family before footy, which we can’t begrudge him for. I thought today he stood up and showed he’s not mucking around coming here. He wants to lead the way and be our leader in the forward pack, and he was good.”
May isn’t sure about the “leader” part – he “doesn’t think of it like that” – but the big minutes, big moments and big impact are why he came to the Tigers.
Terrell May played 65 minutes for the Tigers in their first hit-out for 2025.Credit: Steven Siewert
“I came here to do that,” he said. “I don’t know how long I played, but I know I was out there for pretty long. I played a few straight and then came back on, but I don’t really care about what I do, I just care about winning ... I reckon I could have played 80 tonight.”
The other bonus of being at the Tigers is he gets to play alongside childhood friend-turned-captain Jarome Luai.
“It’s been amazing,” May said. “Most people know we grew up together, so easy to connect, and we’ve known each other since we were young.
“We just have our chats, not really about footy, just about life, and it’s good to connect with someone highly respected in the game and learn off him and then come and play with him.”
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