Terrell May confirms State of Origin snub as surprising reason behind Laurie Daley’s decision comes to light

Tigers enforcer Terrell May has shocked the NRL world by declaring he won’t be picked in the NSW Blues squad.

Tigers star Terrell May dropped a bombshell while livestreaming on Thursday night declaring he won’t be picked in Laurie Daley’s Game 1 side.

May has established himself as one of the premier props in the game and has led from the front for the Tigers in 2025.

The 26-year-old is a big-minute player, averaging just under 73 minutes a game, and his incredible impact on the game sees him currently in second place on the Dally M leaderboard.

May also ranks first in the NRL for offloads and among NSW middles is second in average run metres and tackle busts only to Payne Haas – who will undoubtedly be named as one of the starting NSW middles when the Blues team is unveiled on Sunday evening.

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But it appears Daley is still not sold on May and will go in a different direction, believing that a big-minute forward is not what they need.

And on Thursday night, May confirmed the rumour he is set to be snubbed on Twitch - a live streaming platform and social network - where he was playing and streaming Call of Duty Warzone with his friends.

Breaking the news of his NSW Blues omission to his mates and the general public, the Tigers enforcer instructed his friend to throw the Blues jersey he bought for him in the bin as he confirmed the rumour he is set to miss out.

“You know that Blues jersey I bought you? Chuck it in the bin,” May said on his Twitch stream on Thursday night.

You can watch Terrell May revealing his NSW Blues snub in the player above.

Terrell May has confirmed he won't be selected for the NSW Blues. Image: Getty

His friend replied: “Oh yep. Have they already done it (named the team) ?”

To which May responded: “Nah but have you seen the thing that came out?”, with his mate then asking, “Isn’t that just the media?”

May responded: “Nah it’s not the media. How do you think it got leaked, you think they’re not just playing Chinese whispers.”

After dropping the bombshell he won’t be selected by Daley, May joked he may have to defect from NSW to get a run in the Origin arena.

“Might have to switch my allegiance,” May quipped.

Terrell May’s defence called into question

May’s revelation comes after whispers emerged earlier this week about Daley contacting several figures in the Wests Tigers camp, who reportedly didn’t give May a glowing review.

The report is that May’s defence isn’t always up to scratch and that his character may not gel well with others in camp – a bit of a stretch given it only goes for 10 days.

But even the defensive issue reason is a peculiar one. He is averaging a tick over 40 tackles per game, at an efficiency of well over 90 per cent, making him statistically at least one of the competition’s best.

Terrell May has had an enormous year and currently sits second on the Dally M leaderboard. Image: NRL PHOTOS

It was a point echoed by viewers of May’s stream last night with one of his fans writing: “Aint no way they said you have to clean up your defence”.

Reading the message May chuckled before switching the subject.

However, it isn’t only Daley who isn’t sold on May, with former NSW Blues adviser Greg Alexander also stating he isn’t ready for the Origin arena.

“A lot of his runs for mine aren’t effective runs, they’re just taking the ball up,” Alexander said on SEN on Wednesday.

“I’m not knocking Terrell May; he’s been great for the Tigers but I don’t have him ahead of some of the front rowers that can play for NSW.”

Terrell May let slip a huge secret on Thursday night.

“You wouldn’t start Terrell May and May’s appeal for the Tigers is the fact that he can play big minutes. But if you’re bringing someone off the bench, you want impact.” 

But fans cannot believe May is set to miss out on pulling on the Blues jersey.

“If Laurie Daley doesn’t pick Terrell May he should be fired then and there,” one angry Blues fan wrote on X.

“It’s kinda laughable now that first he was picking on form yet now the reports are that hes snubbing one of the consistently best props in the game,” another chipped in.

“May not getting picked is surely a joke,” a third wrote.

Terell May continues to make headlines for his online activity

May’s online activity continues to make waves with his YouTube Vlog making headlines earlier this week.

May’s video which showed an NRL fan asking if he could take a selfie with several Tigers players while they were waiting in a terminal at Brisbane Airport last weekend was surrounded in controversy.

Tigers captain Jarome Luai appeared to be in the middle of a video call with his family and had headphones in his ears at the time of the request.

The star playmaker then appeared to brush the fan off and his decision not to engage in conversation with the member of the public sparked debate about the obligations expected of NRL players off the football field.

Throughout the clip May humorously directed the fan to instead take photos with Royce Hunt and Jahream Bula as he attempted to rile up his teammates.