NRL 2024: Terrell May posts off-colour Reece Walsh comment on Instagram | Sport Confidential
Sydney Roosters prop Terrell May has found himself in a social media scuffle with fans after commenting on an Instagram post from teammate Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii. See the full SPORT CONFIDENTIAL.
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Sydney Roosters prop Terrell May has found himself in a social media scuffle with fans after commenting on an Instagram post from teammate Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii in the wake of his State of Origin send-off.
May commented “HIS [sic] DEAD” on a post where Suaalii opened up on his dramatic Blues debut, by saying he was disappointed to let his brothers, family and state down over the high shot that floored Queensland star Reece Walsh.
Some fans hit back at May, saying his comment was “out of pocket”, while another called him a “gronk”.
However, when one Instagram user criticised his spelling, the 25-year-old shot back: “Have fun at work bum.”
Suaalii has been flooded with support from both NSW and Roosters teammates, as well as injured Blues halfback Nathan Cleary and former Maroons and Wallabies flyer Israel Folau.
TEDDY IN DARK OVER ORIGIN SPOT
James Tedesco has no idea whether he has pulled on the NSW jersey for the last time. He hopes he hasn’t, but the sight of Dylan Edwards in the Blues dressing sheds after their defeat in the opening game of the State of Origin series on Wednesday night was a reminder that he may have made his swan song at Accor Stadium.
“You never know when it is your last,” Tedesco said.
“So it is a huge honour to play for NSW – I have done it for a long time now. I was feeling for Dyl – he definitely deserved this jersey and he has been playing some awesome footy.
“Who knows in rugby league? Things just happen. It was a pretty crazy week and I just wanted to come in and enjoy it as much as possible.
“But we’ll just have to see what happens in the next couple of weeks.”
Tedesco ran for 173 metres and broke six tackles as the 12-man Blues were put to the sword by Queensland in Origin I.
There were a couple of errors and a missed tackle on Ben Hunt, but apart from that it was your typical Tedesco performance – all energy and inspiration.
He came in on short notice after Edwards’ injury and made it his intention to enjoy himself, fully aware he may not get another chance.
“I was enjoying it for sure,” he said.
“I just wanted to lead by example. I only came in for a couple of days but I just wanted to enjoy it as much as possible. It is just hard.”
The result wasn’t what Tedesco had hoped for and he plans to take a break for a few days with his wife and children to overcome the bruises and bitter disappointment.
Then it will be back to work for the Roosters. All he can do is play well and hope that it is enough for NSW coach Michael Maguire, although Edwards’ shadow looms large as the Blues prepare to head to Melbourne to try to keep the series alive.
Tedesco insists there were enough positive signs on Wednesday night to suggest NSW are more than capable of levelling the series.
“It is hard to judge with a man down but I definitely didn’t think we rolled over and let them do what they wanted,” he said.
“We fought hard. There are so many leaders in this year. I felt like the connection was really strong and we showed that with how we fought with a man down.”
SUAALII APOLOGY: ‘I LET MY STATE DOWN’
Joseph-Aukuso Suaalii has broken his silence on his State of Origin send-off, revealing his disappointment at letting his state and family down on the biggest night of his rugby league career.
Suaalii was given his marching orders only eight minutes into his NSW Blues debut after ironing out Queensland superstar Reece Walsh with a high shot.
The Blues battled in Suaalii’s absence as they slumped to a lopsided loss to open the Origin series on home soil.
Suaalii was charged with a reckless high tackle after the game by the match review committee after the game and is facing a four-match ban with an early guilty plea.
“Mixed emotions,” Suaalii wrote on Instagram.
“Disappointed let my brothers, fam n state down. Blessed and honoured to put the blue jersey on. #311
“Onto the next.”
Suaalii then fronted the media outside the Blues’ team hotel on Thursday morning, explaining how he didn’t mean to injure Walsh.
“Obviously a bit disappointed. Let my fam, my state and especially my teammates down. I feel like that’s the toughest thing about it, but yeah I’ve just got to move on from here,” the 20-year-old said.
“I didn’t mean it at all. I just went in there to go tackle him and I accidentally clipped his head.
“I hope he’s doing all right. I hope his family is doing well. I didn’t mean to hit him in the head.
“I haven’t reached out yet, but it’s something that I’ll do.”
Asked had his Blues teammates got around him in the aftermath, Suaalii said, “Yeah 100%. Every single person in the team, the staff, we’ve created a brotherhood. It definitely showed yesterday and today.”
Suaalii’s lengthy suspension will rule him out of contention for the second State of Origin game, to be played in Melbourne in three weeks.
Walsh, meanwhile, has been ruled out of the Broncos’ game against Cronulla this weekend
“He got me flush on the chin hey,” Walsh said on the Today show on Nine.
“It’s all part of the game. It was a good hit. You have to kelp rolling with the punches. At the end of the day it is what it is.
“At the end of the day you make a decision and you have to live with it. That’s footy.”
RICHO’S PERSONAL PLEA TO UTOIKAMANU
Wests Tigers chief executive Shane Richardson plans to sit down with Stefano Utoikamanu as he looks to follow up the club’s $4 million pitch with a personal plea for him to stay.
Richardson returned from a trip to England this week as he begins an overhaul of the Tigers roster and his immediate priority is to resolve the future of Utoikamanu.
The young forward’s current contract is littered with clauses that are likely to mean he is off contract at the end of this year.
The Tigers are desperate for him to stay and have tabled a five-year extension worth $4 million.
Richardson, having been in England to meet prospective signings and speak to clubs about some of their existing players, is keen to sit down with Utoikamanu in coming days.
“We’re really keen to keep Stefano,” Richardson told Sport Confidential.
“We would like him to stay on. We have made an offer, a really excellent offer to him for a five-year deal. We want him long term at the club.
“We will be sitting down with them over the next fortnight and work through it with his manager to try to get the deal done.
“We have shown our hand – we want him to be there, we want him to be part of it all. I don’t want to talk about the clauses.
“All I can do is show him we want him to be there. I think he will stay, I think he wants to stay.”
Utoikamanu has a pair of clauses in his contract that could see him on the open market in coming months. A one-year extension automatically kicks in if he plays another two State of Origin games or if the Tigers make the finals.
Should he miss Origin and the Tigers miss the finals, he will be free to leave at the end of the season.
FLASHBACK
Ricky Stuart celebrated in style on this day 25 years ago. Playing for the Bulldogs, Stuart landed a field goal to give Canterbury a 19-18 win against South Sydney at Stadium Australia. The Bulldogs were in the midst of a five-game winning streak.
COURT BATTLE LOOMS FOR HAAS BEFORE FINALS
Payne Haas could be bogged down in a court battle in the weeks leading up to the finals. Haas and his former manager Chris Orr have been locked in a court battle for the past two years and the case is headed for a hearing, with a judge to decide on Friday when the matter will be heard.
Sources told Sport Confidential that they expect it to kick off in August and Haas will take centre stage after launching legal proceedings against Orr over agent’s fees.
The development comes as Jackson Topine’s case against Canterbury is delayed until July. Topine’s legal stoush with the Bulldogs was expected to begin with an initial directions hearing next week.
However, Sport Confidential understands it has been pushed back after the parties agreed to a short delay. Topine is suing the Bulldogs amid allegations that a punishment he was forced to endure over being late for training was a “deprivation of liberty” and “unlawful corporal punishment”.
Topine’s legal team claimed that he was subject to “assault”, “battery” and “humiliation” after being forced to wrestle more than 30 teammates, one after the other.
PONGA-ROOSTERS CONSPIRACY SHUT DOWN
Conspiracy theorists went into overdrive last week when a car bearing the logo for the Sydney Roosters was seen outside the house of Andre Ponga, the father of Newcastle superstar Kalyn Ponga.
The explanation, however, was completely innocent. Andre Ponga has mentored a number of girls from the Newcastle women’s team in recent years and one of them – who is now with the Roosters – had dropped in for a visit.
A neighbour of the Pongas, sniffing out a chance to cause some trouble, took a picture of the car and posted it on social media. The rumour mill immediately kicked into overdrive.
This, remember, all came only a matter of weeks after the contractual storm-in-a-teacup involving Kalyn and his deal with the Knights.
Suffice to say Kalyn is happy at the Knights and closing in on his return from injury.
TIGERS CLUTCHING AT STRAWS
Wests Tigers have gone all in on their preparation for the Dragons on Friday night, lighting up an LED screen during their captains run with the words “Slay the Dragon”.
The white background with what looks to have the words written in blood lit up Concord Oval as the players ran out for their last training session before Friday night’s clash.
Coach Benji Marshall is hoping his players react to the sign, and it helps snap their eight game losing streak.
“In a long season you have to try and find something to attach to,” Marshall said.
Speaking to the media on Thursday morning, Marshall said the club uses motivations like the sign every week.
“We want to try and do that,” Marshall said.
“It’s going to be a tough ask for us but we’re coming off a bye, everyone’s freshened up, had a few days off, we’re just looking to get back on the field.”
SHARKS STAR GIVEN PERMISSION TO LEAVE
Cronulla has given prop Royce Hunt permission to test the open market as rival clubs come circling the Samoan international.
Hunt is not off-contract until the end of 2025 but having been inundated with requests from other clubs, the Sharks have granted Hunt permission to talk with them but with one twist – it is only for the 2026 season and beyond.
The Sharks have no intention – at this stage – of letting Hunt walk early from his deal. Although their salary cap situation is tight they don’t need to move him on and consider him an important member of their squad.
The likes of South Sydney and Canterbury are among the clubs to express an interest. Hunt will be free to talk with other clubs come November 1 but Cronulla’s decision will now expedite that process.
Cronulla’s stance is similar to the one they took with Connor Tracey recently. Tracey was given permission to talk with clubs months before the November 1 window opened. Eventually he did a deal with the Bulldogs and the two clubs agreed to a player swap with rising star Michael Gabrael joining the Sharks.
While Cronulla have made it known they want to keep Hunt for next season, his future at the club beyond that is not guaranteed. So it means Cronulla would need a player in return should they allow Hunt to leave 12 months early from his deal.
At 28 he is chasing what could be his last NRL contract. Clubs have continually asked the question of a host of players at the Sharks considering their impending arrival of Warriors star Addin Founa-Blake from next season.
Cronulla are in discussions about extending the off-contract Jack Williams while they also want to do long-term deals with Tom Hazleton, Cameron McInnes, Briton Nikora and Teig Wilton whose deals all expire at the end of next year.
MANLY KEEN TO LOCK DOWN STAR FORWARD
Manly are keen to tie down another one of their stars long-term with the Sea Eagles opening discussions with prop Taniela Paseka.
Fresh from Jason Saab re-signing until the end of 2029, the Sea Eagles have now turned their attention to Paseka whose own deal does not expire until the end of 2026.
Despite having two years left on his deal, Manly want to ensure he remains at the club long-term with discussions already well advanced.
While one extra season had been spoken about, it is understood that Paseka’s camp is eyeing at least two more years on top of his current deal.
That would see Paseka, 26, remain at the club until at least the end of 2028.
With 109 games to his name, Paseka is about to enter the prime of his career. Manly are showing faith in their current squad as they proactively try to keep them together well before rival clubs can speak to them.
Saab extended despite having time left on his deal while NSW debutant Haumole Olakau’atu is locked in until 2031.
Luke Brooks, Ben Trbojevic and Tolutau Koula are contracted until at least the end of 2027 with Koula having an option in his favour for that season.
NRL BACK ON TWITTER
The NRL media team’s official Twitter/X page has been resurrected after a long hiatus. We’re told the current key holders to the account will take a different approach to the last time the page was used where it took some joy at having a dig at journalists. This time around though the @NRLMedia handle will stick to promoting the game.
EX-PLAYERS TO TAKE ON SYDNEY MARATHON
The careers of many NRL stars can go past in the blink of an eye, but life after league can feel like a confusing and confronting marathon that they aren’t prepared for.
To help recently retired players adjust to life after league the Rugby League Players Association is now running the Transition Program.
As part of the program, a group of high-profile former players are taking on the Sydney Marathon, including Justin Horo, Jamie Buhrer, Nick Youngquest, Corey Norman, Lewis Brown and Tim Mannah.
The ex players are out to prove that the 42.2km run is as much of a mental commitment as it is a physical one.
This year’s marathon will be Australia’s largest ever, with 24,000 runners signed up to take on the course on September 15.
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Originally published as NRL 2024: Terrell May posts off-colour Reece Walsh comment on Instagram | Sport Confidential
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