Andrew Johns’ post-match live TV snub breaks NRL star Taylan May

Taylan May was cruelly left hanging as a post-match interview with Andrew Johns ended on an awkward note, forcing his mate to step in.

Taylan May was left hanging, and didn’t he know it.

The Penrith young gun has emerged as a serious talent on the wing this year and scored an acrobatic try in his team’s 30-18 win over the Bulldogs on Friday night.

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But his impressive efforts counted for nothing in the sheds after the match when he and Panthers teammate Izack Tago were being interviewed by NRL legend Andrew Johns.

After ending the chat by telling the Penrith stars they are “killing it”, May offered to shake Johns’ hand, but the eighth Immortal was already on his way.

He’d turned his back and headed off to find another player in the Penrith line-up to speak to, leaving May and his outstretched hand stranded.

Fortunately, his good mate Tago stepped in and shook his hand instead, leading May to break down in laughter as he hugged his centre partner.

The incident saw Johns roasted by his Nine colleagues later in the broadcast.

“And he (May) knew,” James Bracey laughed. “That’s great, he went for the hug.”

Paul Gallen added Johns “may want to go and make up with him”.

Andrew Johns left Taylan May hanging.

The Panthers shrugged off the absence of six Origin stars to defeat Canterbury and send an ominous warning to the competition that even without their biggest names, the reigning champs will get the job done.

Nathan Cleary, Jarome Luai, Isaah Yeo, Stephen Crichton, Liam Martin and Brian To’o all watched from the sidelines as Sean O’Sullivan and debutant Kurt Falls helped the Panthers do what they couldn’t in their premiership season: compete in the Origin period.

The minor premiership now looks within reach for Penrith and the season is only halfway done; the Panthers are two games clear at the top and they’ve gotten through likely their toughest game of the year in terms of personnel changes.

It wasn’t all doom and gloom for the Bulldogs, who are continuing to find their rhythm in attack under interim coach Mick Potter.

Ex-Panther Matt Burton gave the local crowd a serious fright in the second half and his combination with Josh Addo-Carr wouldn’t have gone unnoticed by Brad Fittler — the man who snubbed Addo-Carr from the NSW Origin team.

The Bulldogs had more possession in the first half and completed at 90 per cent but still found themselves three tries behind on the scoreboard.

“Apart from our overplaying, I’m quite happy with our attack but we’re just giving the other team too many opportunities,” Potter said post-match.

“We have to build our resilience in our ‘D’ early on. Right at the moment, it’s not acceptable and we need to start better.”

The Panthers played strong even without their Origin stars. (Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)

Falls showed off a radar-like kicking game and alongside the criminally underrated O’Sullivan, booted the Panthers into the field position they needed to open up a handy first-half buffer.

Dylan Edwards and James Fisher-Harris kept the captaincy warm for Yeo and Cleary and predictably, the pair were among the hardest working on and off the ball.

The star power may have been reduced but there was no shortage of magical moments. May scored one of the most acrobatic tries of his career to date and drew level with Ryan Papenhuyzen at the top of the try-scoring leaderboard.

“I was happy with the week and happy with the game,” Panthers coach Ivan Cleary said post-match.

“The start of the second half, we probably couldn’t build pressure with our last plays, which we’re normally really good at.

“But all in all I was very happy.”

With Jasper Bruce, NCA NewsWire