Why Tigers love Terrell May’s outspoken honesty

George Clarke |

Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall wants Terrell May to keep being and expressing himself.
Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall wants Terrell May to keep being and expressing himself.

Benji Marshall will encourage straight-shooting prop Terrell May to keep speaking his mind after the Wests Tigers star made several headline-grabbing claims about his treatment in the NRL.

Marshall said the Tigers admired May’s honesty after his star front-rower appeared on the Unscripted podcast with ex-NRL winger Josh Mansour.

May, who was mysteriously cut by the Sydney Roosters in 2024, remains unsure why he is unable to get a look-in by the NSW State of Origin set-up despite becoming one of the NRL’s leading props since joining the Tigers.

NRL
Benji Marshall is standing right behind Terrell May. (Mark Evans/AAP PHOTOS)

The 27-year-old claimed he and his brother Taylan had been blacklisted by the NRL’s social media team – a suggestion League Central has denied – and said his loyalty was to Marshall and not to the Tigers.

“Loyalty is a two-way street. It means everything, it’s what you want your players to be,” Marshall said.

But the Tigers front-rower also accused Matt Cameron of referring to him as a “gangster” when May met with the Penrith chief executive about signing with the Panthers in 2022.

Penrith face the Tigers on Sunday and Marshall said: “As a game, we want players to be honest and express themselves and be who they are, and then when they are who they are and tell the truth, we don’t like it.

NRL
Terrell May is one of the NRL’s most physical and fierce competitors. (Mark Evans/AAP PHOTOS)

“One thing that I love about Terrell is and what we want (is for) him to be himself and express himself.

“He tells the truth and sometimes people don’t like that, but that’s who Terrell is and we love that part of him.

“But what he says is, that’s up to him, and I want him to say how he feels.”

May is listed to start against the ladder-leading Panthers (11-1) on Sunday as the Tigers aim to keep in touching distance with the NRL’s top eight.

NRL
The Tigers will be counting on a big shift from Terrell May if they are to upset the Panthers. (Steven Markham/AAP PHOTOS)

The Tigers will be without Alex Twal after he picked up a knee injury in last week’s win over Canterbury that arrested a nosedive in form from Marshall’s side, who boast a 6-5 record in 2026.

“Winning softens your mindset and it has the ability to make you think you’re going better than you are,” Marshall said.

“We had a three-game losing streak where we let in almost 40 points a game that I wasn’t happy with.

“It’s a good reminder to us that even though we won on the weekend, we’ve got to do the fundamentals well and not feel too good about ourselves.”

AAP