Around the clubs: Terrell May agrees to new two-year deal to remain a Rooster

Terrell May will remain a Rooster after agreeing to terms on a two-year contract extension.

The deal, which is yet to be officially signed off, will total about $850,000. St George Illawarra coach had publicly expressed an interest in May if he was keen to genuinely test his value on the open market, while Canterbury were also monitoring the situation with interest.

Terrell May will remain a Rooster.Credit: Getty

However, the rising prop never wanted to leave Bondi Junction and the parties have agreed to a deal that will result in him earning $425,000 per season.

May had expressed a desire to one day play alongside his siblings, Taylan and Tyrone. The Dragons were prepared to accommodate Terrell and Taylan, although the latter recently recommitted to Penrith.

May had been on a deal worth just $200,000 for this season, but the payrise reflects his status as one of the most improved front-rowers in the NRL.

It’s been a good day for the Roosters on the signing front. The club has also announced the addition of USA Sevens representative Liz Tafuna to its NRLW squad for the upcoming 2024 season. She is now in line to become the first American to play in the NRLW.

The 21-year-old Tafuna was the outstanding female athlete at the NRL’s talent combine in Las Vegas and was courted by several clubs, including the Raiders.

Born in New Zealand before her family moved to Utah, Tafuna began playing rugby union as a teenager and has represented the USA in the 15-a-side version of the code as well as sevens.

“Liz stood out to me with her speed, footwork, ball skills and toughness and I believe that she has the physical attributes to play our game at the highest level,” Roosters NRLW coach John Strange said.

“Most importantly, Liz has demonstrated a huge desire to test herself in the NRLW and I have no doubt that with hard work, she can have a great impact on this year’s NRLW competition, and I expect her to contribute, along with our whole squad, to what we are building here at the Roosters.”

The Tigers spent big on their new NRL rookie. Their CEO wants that to change

Latu Fainu will be the second prodigious teen to make his Wests Tigers debut in a month – and, in an ideal world for the joint venture, the last they need to lure to the club.

Fainu has been called onto the Tigers bench to face Wayne Bennett’s Dolphins on Saturday night less than a year after meeting the veteran coach while weighing up his future.

The 18-year-old eventually signed a lucrative four-year deal alongside brother Samuela after the Dolphins withdrew their own offer late in negotiations. Latu went on to play three Tests for Tonga despite not having played first grade.

Fainu replaces Easter Monday hero Lachie Galvin, who accepted a two-week suspension on Tuesday for a hip-drop tackle. Jayden Sullivan has been elevated to the halves in his place.

The Fainu brothers’ recruitment was hailed as a coup for the wooden spooners last year and the club is quietly content with its progress under rookie coach Benji Marshall, who could pilot the Tigers into the top four if he scores a win against his former mentor at Redcliffe.

Alongside Galvin, fullback Jahream Bula, lock Fonua Pole and hooker Tallyn Da Silva, the Fainu brothers make up the most promising young cohort the club has had in a decade.

Latu Fainu has earned an NRL call-up.

Local juniors Kit Laulilii and Justin Miller (Liverpool), Justin Matamua (Campbelltown) and Brandon Tumeth (Concord) are not far behind.

As the Tigers prepare to announce a three-year strategic plan on Wednesday, which will deliver a significantly increased commitment to the Campbelltown and south-western Sydney region, CEO Shane Richardson wants the club’s brightest prospects hailing from the area, not bought at market.

“Latu’s a long-term investment,” Richardson told this masthead.

“He and Samuela have been a revelation for us. They’ve trained really well and come in with good attitudes and they’ve bought into the systems that Benji wants to bed down.

“We’ve got an array of talent coming through and I’ve always said that we’d only have to recruit at the highest level.

“We have enough young kids in our own ranks to fill [an NRL team] and that they need the opportunities to mature and grow under Benji’s guidance.

“We’re not a recruitment club, we’re a development club. We’ve got 9266 juniors, we’re shooting for 10,000 next year and then 11,000.

“That growth area out there is a massive part of it. It’s a major part of our thrust as a club and it’s a major part of the next three years for us. It’s falling into place, it’s a matter of being patient now and put systems in place to keep improving things out there.

“We’ll buy in at the NRL level when we have to, but we’re a development club and especially at the lower levels, we’ll rely on our own kids.”

The Tigers will play five NRL games at Campbelltown Stadium this season and have set up an office in the region following the club’s contentious off-field review that led to the board being dissolved.

Benji Marshall and the Tigers are staking their future on local juniors.Credit: Getty Images

The club’s bid for increased stadium funding for Leichhardt Oval continues, however clarity on the Tigers’ home venues for next season and beyond is not expected to be included in the announcement.

While the Tigers welcome back fan favourite Alex Twal from concussion against the Dolphins as well, Melbourne’s Cameron Munster is set to return from a groin injury for his first game since slipping in the shower during a pre-season trip to Fiji.

Munster, Jahrome Hughes (suspension) and Christian Welch (concussion) are back against Brisbane on Thursday night, though Nelson Asofa-Solomona’s comeback from a hamstring injury continues via NSW Cup.

Rival clubs, including St George Illawarra, are monitoring the Kiwi enforcer’s situation after reports of an underwhelming pre-season and suggestions he could be lured away from the Storm.

Star front-rowers Lindsay Collins (hamstring) and James Fisher-Harris (shoulder) return for the Roosters and Panthers respectively. The Bulldogs have recalled Blake Wilson for Friday’s clash with the Roosters given Josh Addo-Carr (head knock) is out, while Fijian rookie Kitione Kautoga makes his debut from the bench after Jacob Preston broke his jaw against the Rabbitohs.

Newcastle have recalled Jackson Hastings at the expense of Tyson Gamble when they host the Dragons, but Canberra coach Ricky Stuart has resisted making wholesale changes despite threatening to do so after the Raiders’ “embarrassing” loss to Cronulla.

Blues Mountains: NSW head west for Origin camp

NSW will swap the sun of surf of Coogee for the Blue Mountains as their home base as part of a radical revamp under new coach Michael Maguire.

The Blues have decided to go west in their bid to prevent a third straight State of Origin series defeat, setting up base camp in Leura, 100 kilometres west of Sydney’s central business district. The team will stay at the Fairmont Resort on the cusp of the Jamison Valley, a world away from their previous home at Coogee’s Crowne Plaza.

Maguire was keen to revamp preparations for this year’s series and the Blue Mountains represents a seismic shift from the previous locations the side has bunkered down in. The focus will be solely on bonding on preparing for the clashes with the Maroons, far away from the spotlight of the eastern suburbs.

The players are likely to train at the nearby Blue Mountains Grammar School oval, with the prospect of a new training ground being built at Leura Golf Course in time for the 2025 and 2026 campaigns.

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