State of Origin: Terrell May wants to earn NSW Blues' trust after Twitch stream comments
Terrell May has wanted to be a Twitch streamer since he was a teenager, and he was taught a vital lesson this week: be careful what you say on a hot mic.
Perhaps the form prop through the first 10 weeks of the NRL season, May looked guaranteed to join Payne Haas and Mitch Barnett in the middle for NSW in State of Origin I until reports started emerging in Sydney papers that he was further back in the queue.
When it became clear he was unlikely to get picked for the opener, May, during a Call Of Duty stream on Twitch, told a mate of a Blues jersey he had bought him: "Chuck it in the bin."
The clip, in which he also joked about switching allegiances to get his chance, was the final nail in the coffin containing his Origin hopes, for now at least.
Former coach Brad Fittler called the remarks "pathetic" and urged May to "humble up".
Two days after his absence from the Blues team was confirmed, the Tigers prop has acknowledged he "never should have said that", explaining he was joking with a friend of his who is a Queensland supporter.
"When I saw all the reports and all the articles [I] got a bit frustrated and then obviously I said what I never should have said," he told Nathan Stafford on his Instagram account dedicated to lawn maintenance.
"At the end of the day, that's on myself, it's on no-one else.
"I wish I could take that back but I can't and now I've got to live with it. I'm just going to keep grinding, trying to earn that spot and earn the trust.
"I just wish I had a way to communicate that to the staff members at the Blues, but I've just got to keep grinding for my club and that opportunity may come one day."
Haas, Barnett, Spencer Leniu, Max King and Stefano Utoikamanu were all picked ahead of May in Laurie Daley's 20-man NSW squad for next Wednesday's series opener at Lang Park.
"I just think the others are playing better than Terrell May," Daley said, adding that he had not spoken to May about the decision.
"Terrell is playing great, but obviously needs to keep knocking on the door. I'm sure his time will come at some stage."
The pre-announcement reports seemed to hinge on May's perceived defensive deficiencies despite the 26-year-old having made the second-most tackles this season with 467 — which is 57 more than any other prop.
He has also only missed 11 tackles, per NRL.com, giving him 97.7 per cent tackle efficiency, better than the likes of Origin locks Isaah Yeo and Pat Carrigan.
His 42.5 tackles per game are the best of any forward in the league, and he is second in total runs, with 219.
May is also one of just five forwards in the top 25 metre eaters, with Haas, Carrigan and Hudson Young all making the Origin squads and Cronulla's Addin Fonua-Blake ineligible.
At the end of the day, May's omission from the squad came as no surprise solely due to the media coverage in the days and weeks leading up to the teams being named.
Based purely on form, he is undeniably one of the most in-form forwards in the NRL, currently third on the Dally M leaderboard with 27 votes. Haas (23) is the only other forward in the top 10.
May's Origin omission is another perplexing decision around the Samoa international after he was unexpectedly released by the Sydney Roosters in the off-season.
It led to speculation that perhaps there was something more to the decision than what fans could see on the field, but May posted on his Instagram stories that the move had "nothing to do with off-field stuff".
1 Kalyn Ponga, 2 Xavier Coates, 3 Robert Toia, 4 Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow, 5 Valentine Holmes, 6 Cameron Munster, 7 Daly Cherry-Evans (c), 8 Moeaki Fotuaika, 9 Harry Grant, 10 Tino Fa'asuamaleaui, 11 Reuben Cotter, 12 Jeremiah Nanai, 13 Pat Carrigan, 14 Tom Dearden, 15 Lindsay Collins, 16 Beau Fermor, 17 Trent Loiero, 18 Kurt Mann, 19 Jesse Arthars, 20 Kulikefu Finefeuiaki
1 Dylan Edwards, 2 Brian To'o, 3 Stephen Crichton, 4 Latrell Mitchell, 5 Zac Lomax, 6 Mitchell Moses, 7 Nathan Cleary, 8 Mitchell Barnett, 9 Reece Robson, 10 Payne Haas, 11 Liam Martin, 12 Angus Crichton, 13 Isaah Yeo (c), 14 Connor Watson, 15 Spencer Leniu, 16 Hudson Young, 17 Max King, 18 Campbell Graham, 19 Stefano Utoikamanu, 20 Haumole Olakau'atu
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