‘I was going to sign there’: Roosters young gun reveals he could have been playing for Melbourne ahead of semi-final showdown

He’s the hard-hitting X-factor who has become an invaluable member of the Roosters bench, but Terrell May has revealed just how close he was to joining the Storm ahead of Friday’s semi-final in Melbourne.

The 24-year-old is starting to get the raps he deserves after a slow start to the season, but the Storm always knew he had something special, which is why they flew him down in 2022 and offered him a deal.

Club officials were confident that they had him signed, sealed and delivered in what would have been a huge boost with veteran forwards Kenny Bromwich, Jesse Bromwich, Felise Kaufusi and Brandon Smith moving on last year.

“To be honest, I was going to sign there, but then I ended up debuting here last year,” said May, who has emerged as a star of the future alongside fellow young gun Siua Wong.

“I flew over but they wanted me to move down there too quickly. I’m a very family oriented guy, so I couldn’t leave my family, otherwise I would have gone.

“I’m glad I stayed and I’m happy here.

“They (Storm coach Craig Bellamy and head of football Frank Ponissi) are very good people. I really enjoyed talking to those guys. The timing just wasn’t right to leave my friends and family.

“It was pretty weird because I didn’t know anything about the Storm wanting me, and then I flew over. But my focus is here, not elsewhere.”

May’s decision has proved telling for both teams, with the Storm lacking punch off the bench, while the Roosters have benefited greatly from having him with Jared Waerea-Hargreaves suspended.

It’s a long trip from western Sydney to Moore Park, but the man who loves his trendy fashion items fits right into the Roosters even though he admits things weren’t working out earlier in the year and he was dropped to reserve grade.

“There was a lot of stuff that I had to work on,” he said.

“I had to go back down (to reserve grade) to gain confidence because a lot of that was gone at the time.

“I felt like I wasn’t ready for first grade, but Robbo (coach Trent Robinson) would speak to me every week and told me stuff that I had to work on for my Cup games. There were a couple of injuries and I was lucky enough to come back to first grade.

“Robbo and I had different opinions on a few things at the time. But what I’m doing now is all off the back of the boys and the coaching staff, so I have to thank them.”

That includes a huge game against Souths in the final game of the regular season where he ran for 163 metres off the bench, while his footwork and offload up Joseph Manu’s try in the epic win over Cronulla last week.

May’s impact on the side hasn’t gone unnoticed, with Victor Radley heaping praise on the emerging star, even if he has to look after him when they go to the beach.

“A lot of the boys can’t swim so they stay (where the water) is up to their waist,” he joked.

“That’s why I’m on lifeguard duties at recovery sessions.

“In the pre-season he had the nickname ‘the Brick’. You’d get stung when he runs at you.

“He’s been enormous for us. Whenever he comes on the field, I lift with energy.

“He’s a machine and he’s ballsy, so he’ll go after moments and has been doing it all year.”

A deep finals run would be nothing new for the May family given his brothers Tyrone and Taylan have both enjoyed success with Penrith over the years.

You’d assume the pair would give Terrell some advice ahead of the biggest game of his career, but apparently that’s not the case.

“We don’t talk footy at my household at all. My brothers and I stay away from that stuff and we just relax,” he explained.

“I think that’s for the best because if we think about footy too much then you go into games all stressed out. We’re really chilled and we don’t like to think about all that.

“We have other things to talk about like my little nephew – Taylan’s kid – and other family stuff.

“We also love boxing and UFC, so we talk about that a lot. I need to train a bit more if I want to get in the ring one day, so I’m just helping my little brother (Taylan) because I think he’s going to have another fight later this year.”