Panthers: How Tyrone May’s simple act of generosity helped Josh Mansour battle his demons
Laying in hospital awaiting reconstructive surgery, Penrith star Josh Mansour was pondering the end of his NRL career until this moment of kindness.
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Bearing the gift of a soft serve ice cream, Tyrone May walked into Josh Mansour’s hospital room – where the Penrith winger was recovering from surgery after a severe facial injury.
The $1.20 McDonald’s dessert might have just saved Mansour’s rugby league career.
Surgeons had just reconstructed Mansour’s face after he collided with Anthony Don’s knee when playing against the Gold Coast Titans in 2018. It left him with five fractures.
His jaw wired shut, Mansour, who had already suffered through a shoulder reconstruction in 2014 then an ACL injury in 2016, questioned whether he had it in him to lace up the footy boots ever again.
Until May turned up with a small gesture that had big ramifications.
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“I was just thinking when is this bad luck going to end. When I hurt my face, I was really low. I didn’t know if I had it in me anymore,” Mansour told The Daily Telegraph.
“It was a special moment with T.May, it was the day after the operation. He came to the hospital to spend some time with me.
“He went to Maccas and got me a soft cone … I couldn’t even chew on the chocolate flake, my jaw was just so shut.
“I was really lonely in the hospital, I’m not going to lie, it was really tough.
“You’re in a box, surrounded by your thoughts. You think all sorts of stuff, good and bad. But him coming along, just being there, was what I needed.
“I’ll never forget it.”
May still doesn’t know the deep impact his hospital visit over two years ago had on his teammate.
But Mansour told The Daily Telegraph he would finally open up to May if Penrith defeated the Melbourne Storm in Sunday’s grand final at ANZ Stadium.
“I haven’t really opened up about it too him … but I will when the time is right, maybe when we are on the piss and things get a bit emotional and I can open up about it,” Mansour said.
Once the darkness started to clear for Mansour, the 157-game veteran was determined to overcome his mental demons and return to the football field for the club he loves so much.
“I didn’t see my run ending like that … I’m so indebted to this club,” Mansour said.
“I have been here for nine years, I’m so in love with this place and the values it stands for, It’s my second home.”
What Mansour didn’t know at the time of making the decision to fight for his career was that 11 months later, he would himself turn into May’s counsellor and companion in a time of need.
In March 2019, May was charged with recording and disseminating intimate images without consent.
He subsequently pleaded guilty to all charges and was sentenced to a three-year community corrections order over a sex tape scandal.
“He went through all lot last year, it was a big mistake on his behalf, but he’s had to work hard to get where he is now,” Mansour said.
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“With everything he was going through behind the scenes, he’d still come to training and train as hard as he could.”
May was also banned under the NRL’s no-fault stand down policy which effectively saw the utility back miss the entire 2019 season.
Coach Ivan Cleary has named the Minchinbury Jets on the bench for Sunday’s grand final but, May, who accepts he made a grave error in judgement, knows his story could have been very different.
May wants to use the experience, which almost cost him his NRL career, to help ensure other young players don’t make the same mistakes he did.
“When you’re riding the highs, that you aren’t untouchable. You’re just like everyone else, in the sense that you can get into trouble … you’re not above the law,” May said.
“”You’re not above everyday. Think before you act.
“Just slow down a bit. Life can be a bit fast, but take step back and look at where your next decision will take you.”
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Penrith assistant coach Trent Barrett has issued a warning to his exhilarating young Penrith side: “Don’t take this grand final for granted.”
And the future Bulldogs coach has also opened up on how the Panthers’ amazing success this year had made him “hungry and driven” to succeed at Canterbury next season.
Despite a glittering career, Barrett couldn’t win an NRL premiership and played in just one grand final — for St George Illawarra against Melbourne in 1999.
“A lot of the young blokes in the Penrith team think this is normal. We have been stressing to them that they can’t take this for granted,” Barrett said.
“They ask me if I played in a grand final or did I win one? I played in one – I was only 21. It was the same scenario.
“I thought it would happen every year and it didn’t. I’d never make another one. It’s something we’re trying to drill into their heads. It would be a shame not to finish this season off.
“In the back of their minds, they know it’s a big game. I think they understand that and they are a pretty level-headed group. They won’t need too much motivating, the occasion will motivate them.
“They just love playing footy and we’re not going to stop them. We don’t want them to tighten up because you have to play footy to beat Melbourne. You can’t go into your shell.
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“We’ve been willing to chance our arm through the year albeit they know when to pull back and when to go. They have found a balance. Nathan (Cleary) is playing a really calming role but he knows when the pull the trigger as well.
“We have to pick our moments and make them count because they don’t give you too many. It would be a hell of an achievement if they knock off Melbourne. We just have to make sure our best day of the week is Sunday – not Friday, not Saturday. The thing we can’t do is overcook them.”
Barrett will start at Belmore in just 10 days time, his task to lift the batting Bulldogs from 15th place on the NRL competition table. He will also be faced with a success-starved and demanding fan base and ongoing board issues.
This year at Penrith, Barrett says, will have him ready for any challenge from 2021.
“And the things I went through at Manly, mate, are going to put me in good stead to handle what will be thrown at me now,” he said.
“It’s been a really enjoyable year. It’s just worked. We have had pretty good synergy within the coaching staff as well.
“I have certainly picked up a lot of things along the way this year which has made my hungry for success and driven to make it work at Canterbury. I’m looking forward to it and it will be a totally different set of circumstances this time around.
“The longer you coach, the more experience you get and the different situations you get put in. You’ve got to keep learning from them. You cop some ups and downs along the way.
“I’m only in charge of the offence here at Penrith but I’ve been really happy with the progress we’ve made and the players have bought into everything we are doing. We just need one more win.
“This year was a real good opportunity to finetune a lot of things, particularly offensively, but to also sit back look and see some different things defensively and other things in and around the group – culture, building culture, leadership.
“It’s been great to go through a finals series and then make a grand final. We just have to make sure we get it done this weekend.
“I will be forever grateful to be able to go back to Penrith and to do what we’ve done is already pretty special but no one will remember what we’ve done now – we have to go and win.”
Originally published as Panthers: How Tyrone May’s simple act of generosity helped Josh Mansour battle his demons