‘I would burn the St Marys jersey’: Why Terrell May was sacked by the Penrith Panthers

Terrell May’s punishment for not pulling his weight on the field for Penrith’s under-20s side was to be dropped to St Marys. The Minchinbury Jets junior had other ideas - and it cost him his job at the Panthers.

Terrell May has explained his sacking - not from the Roosters, but from the Panthers.

As anticipation builds ahead of Wests Tigers recruit Jarome Luai’s first clash against the club he helped win four straight premierships, there is another story of an ex-Panther that got away.

May was on an under-20s contract at Penrith when he made his NSW Cup debut in late 2019 alongside the likes of Stephen Crichton, Matt Burton and Spencer Leniu.

An NRL pre-season beckoned that summer. Or so he thought.

“I got called into a meeting because I thought I was doing an NRL pre-season,” May said.

“They just said, ‘Your attitude isn’t good and you need to go learn, we are dropping you back to St Marys’.”

“It was my attitude on the field.

“It wasn’t any off field drama, just me thinking I was better than what I was.”

But it wasn’t the fact May was dropped which deterred him from working his way back at the club. It was their request for him to play in the loathed green-and-white of St Marys.

“I told them I would burn the St Marys jersey if they ever tried to put me in that team,” May said.

“I have played for the Minchinbury Jets ever since I was a young kid.

Terrell May at North Sydney Oval ahead of the Beer, Footy & Food Festival on Sunday. Picture: Thomas Lisson

“I will never put a St Marys jersey on.”

May and Tigers teammate Api Koroisau were under the iconic old fig tree at North Sydney Oval on Thursday as they helped launch the Beer Footy Food Festival, which will be held at the famous old ground this Sunday.

The heritage games featuring the Ukraine Tridents, Philippine Admirals, Latin Heat, African United, Thailand Naga and Lebanon Cedars are the warm-up act for the main game at 5pm when the North Sydney Bears play the Panthers in NSW Cup action.

While May left Penrith for stints with Blacktown, the Sydney Roosters and eventually a long-term deal at the Tigers, he has never truly left his roots.

He not only owns two properties in western Sydney, but spends the majority of his time there when away from the Tigers training facility.

Even when it comes to recovery sessions after games, May has always tried keeping local.

Teaming up with his Tigers captain Jarome Luai, May used to travel to his halfback’s house to use his sauna. But a new purchase has all but changed that.

“Sometimes me and him would recover,” May said.

“I would go to his house and use his sauna.

“I just bought my own sauna, so now I don’t have to go to his house anymore.”

May has also just recently launched his new podcast which will add to his extensive media portfolio that includes a YouTube series and a Twitch streaming account for video games.

The Tigers enforcer will team up with brother Taylan, filming their first episode on Thursday, to give fans of the footy players a chance to learn more about them away from the field.

Terrell May has been in hot form for the Tigers. Picture: Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images

“Footy isn’t all glamour and glitz, sometimes people go down a bad path, and struggle sometimes,” May said.

“I’m not going to talk about footy too much on my podcast. I just want people to know the insides of our lives and get guests on, like boys that want to talk about life.”

Hours before the filming of his first podcast episode, May was joined by teammate Api Koroisau, who confirmed sick captain Luai will be cleared to play against Penrith.

“He was just sick, had gastro,” Koroisau said.

“He was pretty much by himself, so he’s the only one who has missed training.”

Originally published as ‘I would burn the St Marys jersey’: Why Terrell May was sacked by the Penrith Panthers