NRL 2025: Terrell May reason for leaving Roosters, Trent Robinson, State of Origin, NSW Blues, Adam Reynolds contract, Broncos, Reed Mahoney, Bulldogs, Panthers
Eamonn Tiernan is the lead NRL reporter at foxsports.com.au and he writes Extra Time fortnightly.
The real reason for Terrell May’s shock exit at the Roosters can be revealed and it’s a simple case of cash money – and a club losing control of the narrative.
The Roosters dropped a bombshell last October when coach Trent Robinson called May and told the prop he was free to leave immediately, despite having signed a two-year extension just six months earlier.
But the club then tried to play it a little too cute when they let a narrative run that May wasn’t the right cultural fit at Bondi Junction. It was done to avoid backlash from their fans for turfing one the club’s best young players.
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May was left stunned at being let go in what he initially thought was a prank call, but the worst was yet to come for the father of two.
The rugby league rumour mill went into overdrive when the keyboard warriors ran with the ‘bad fit’ line and they spread wild lies about May’s off-field behaviour.
Nothing stays secret in rugby league and if any of it had been true it would have come out by now and derailed May’s life.
Instead, he’s lighting up the NRL across town at the Wests Tigers where he’s quickly built a reputation as one of the club’s hardest workers.
The truth is, the Roosters needed to free up some salary cap space to pay other players and they knew May could be off their books in a matter of days due to his contract situation.
Last April, May wanted to repay the faith the Tricolours had shown in him when they handed him a career lifeline after he’d quit the game at just 21.
So Penrith junior re-signed on unders, penning a two-year deal until the end of 2026 worth $475,000 per season.
Fast forward to November 1 last year and the Roosters knew May wouldn’t have any trouble picking up a better deal. They were right.
A few weeks after receiving Robinson’s bolt-from-the-blue phone call, May signed a three-year deal with the Tigers worth $2 million.
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It took over a month but Robinson eventually spoke out to deny May was shown the door for culture reasons.
“He’s not a bad character, he hasn’t done anything wrong,” Robinson said.
“He was a value-add for our group but there’s just some small bits there around how we want to play.
“We felt like it was time to move in a different direction and express that to Terrell. But the difficult thing is that people have questioned his character and that shouldn’t be the case.”
Despite those comments, the parties haven’t spoken since.
You only have to look at May’s form this season to know how badly the Roosters got this one wrong.
May is playing like a man possessed and it can be revealed he made it his mission to play State of Origin this year the minute he signed with the Tigers.
It wasn’t to prove the Roosters wrong but rather because Tigers coach Benji Marshall promised him a starting spot and May then knew he’d have the minutes to build a case to NSW selectors.
We touched base with the Fox Sports Lab and on the numbers alone, he’ll be one of the first picked in Laurie Daley’s squad.
Among middle forwards in the NRL, May ranks third in average run metres (148m) behind Payne Haas and Addin Fonua-Blake.
He ranks equal-first in offloads and fourth in tackle busts behind Haas, Fonua-Blake and Stefano Utoikamanu.
May has a 93.4 per cent tackle efficiency while being just one of two non-hookers, alongside Siua Wong, to attempt 300 tackles this season.
You can expect him to pull on a Blues jumper in a few weeks.
REYNO RARING TO GO IN 2026
Adam Reynolds will be going around again next season and it won’t be on the $300,000 the Broncos currently have left in their salary cap for 2026.
Reynolds’ management will sit down with Brisbane officials in the coming weeks to discuss an extension for the veteran halfback.
Reynolds is keen to play on for at least one more season and wants to stay at Red Hill, but he’s also open to offers from rival clubs.
The problem is the Broncos’ cap is water tight at the moment and they’re going to have to let some players go to keep their 34-year-old captain.
The club put negotiations on ice last year amid concerns about Reynolds’ body, but he’s played every game this season and is on track for a major milestone.
The premiership winner has played 77 per cent of games since arriving in Brisbane and will make his 300th NRL appearance next month.
“It’s rubbish (that he’s injury prone),” Reynolds’ manager Steve Gillis told foxsports.com.au.
“I don’t know why that perception is out there. Adam is going to hit 300 games this year, so he’s done all right for a bloke that’s apparently injury prone.
“Can he play another 40 games? I’d say comfortably.”
NRL icon Shaun Johnson, who retired at 34 last year after 268 NRL games and 35 Tests for New Zealand, said Reynolds’ age shouldn’t come into the equation.
“These sorts of things have always frustrated me, obviously through personal experience, hearing how age plays a role,” Johnson told foxsports.com.au.
“If you’re a durable player who has runs on the board and is playing at a high level at any stage of your career, you should be rewarded accordingly.
“I don’t care if he’s 35, if he’s saying he’s good to go, you pay him what he’s worth.
“I don’t think the Broncos can win a comp without him so if you base it off that, you pay him whatever it takes to keep him at the club.”
MAD DOG ON AND OFF THE FIELD
Reed Mahoney is one of the most polarising players in the NRL and very few players get under the skin of rival sides – and their fans – like the Bulldogs hooker.
That’s why he’s a walking, talking paradox.
Off the field, Mahoney is considered one of the best blokes in rugby league with a heart of gold buried under his bull terrier exterior.
He’s always been one of the smallest players on the field, which brings out the fight in him once he crosses that white line.
Foxsports.com.au asked Mahoney if his stature made him embrace the physical side of the game.
“I have to, mate. I don’t have a choice not to,” Mahoney said.
“It’s been ingrained in me my whole life. I’ve got two older brothers that I’ve had to deal with… in our household if you don’t stand up for yourself you get found out pretty quick.
“Most teams, they run at the small guys, they just run at you and I take that real personal.
“When you’ve got a six-foot-eight front-rower who is 120 kilograms running at you, you’ve got to get off the line and try and whack him.
“It’s just what you’ve gotta do and sometimes my passion takes over. Last year I probably took a bit too far, but I definitely learned my lessons this year and doing what’s best for the team.
“I think it’s just the competitiveness of how I was as a young kid. That’s what kept me in the game and why I love it, just how competitive it is and I just want to win everything.”
PANTHERS NOW HEADED FOR UNWANTED HISTORY
The equation is simple for the four-time reigning premiers.
Penrith must win 12 of their remaining 16 games to ensure they won’t be consigned to a slice of unwanted NRL history.
The number of premiership points required to play finals varies from season to season, but 14 wins guarantees a team a spot in September.
The Titans snuck in with 10 wins in 2021 but the Broncos missed out on 13 wins the very next year and that wasn’t even on point differential.
The Panthers extended their NRL-era record with a fourth straight title last year, but in a stunning turn of events they’ve won just two of their opening eight games in 2025.
To think they could be mathematically eliminated from playing finals before the State of Origin series is decided this year boggles belief.
If Ivan Cleary’s men can’t turn their season around then they’ll become just the third team in the NRL era to miss finals after winning the premiership.
Penrith would join the 2005 Bulldogs and 2006 Wests Tigers who finished 12th and 11th after winning a premiership in the previous year.
It also happened to the Storm in 2010 but that’s only because they weren’t allowed to play for premiership points as punishment for rorting the salary cap.They still managed to finish the season with 14 wins which would have seen them play finals.
The Panthers have started all but one of their games this season as favourites but they copped a sixth loss in seven weeks when they were upset by Manly on Saturday.
The loss sunk them to last on the ladder for the first time since May, 2019 when they slumped to a sixth straight loss in Round 10.
“The ladder doesn’t really matter until July or August,” Cleary said.
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