Tyrone May

Tyrone May

Personal information
Full name	Tyrone May
Born	(1996-06-21) 21 June 1996 (age 28) Blacktown, New South Wales, Australia
Height	189 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Weight	98 kg (15 st 6 lb)
Playing information
Position	Stand-off, Centre, Scrum-half
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 2017–21 Penrith Panthers 56 10 0 0 40 2022–23 Catalans Dragons 45 7 2 0 28 2024– Hull Kingston Rovers 31 6 0 0 12 Total 132 23 2 0 80 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 2017 NSW Residents 1 0 0 0 0 2018–22 Samoa 2 1 0 0 4
Source: [1] [2] As of 10 January 2024
Education	Patrician Brothers' College, Blacktown
Relatives	Taylan May (brother) Terrell May (brother)

Tyrone May (born 21 June 1996) is an Australian international rugby league footballer who plays for the Hull KR in the English Super League. Primarily a stand-off, May has played in a number of other positions during his career, including centre , scrum-half , loose forward and fullback.

May previously played for the Penrith Panthers in the NRL with whom he won the 2021 NRL Grand Final coming off the bench.

Background

May was born in Sydney, Australia, to a Samoan mother and Australian father. ^[3] He was educated at Patrician Brothers' College, Blacktown.

He played his junior rugby league for the Minchinbury Jets in the Penrith District Rugby League.

May's younger brothers Taylan and Terrell are also professional rugby league players.

Playing career

2017

May playing for Penrith in 2017

In round 19, May made his first grade debut in the Panthers 34–22 win over the New Zealand Warriors at Mount Smart Stadium scoring a try on debut. ^[4]

2018

On 23 June, May made his international debut for Samoa, playing five-eighth in the 22–38 loss to Tonga, scoring a try. On 20 August, May was fined $1100 after he was charged by the NRL for punching an opponent in Penrith's loss to Newcastle. ^[5]

2019

On 5 March, May was stood down from playing by the NRL after being charged by NSW Police in relation to sex tapes the player filmed dating back to February 2018. May was charged with two counts which were filming and disseminating the footage without consent. May and Penrith Intrust Super Premiership NSW player Liam Coleman who is the son of former South Sydney player Craig Coleman were summoned to Penrith Police Station where May was granted bail and was ordered to appear at Penrith Local Court on 1 May 2019. ^{[6] [7]}

May on international duty with Samoa at the 2021 RLWC

On 16 July, May was hit with fresh charges at Parramatta Local Court by NSW Police bringing the total number of charges to eight. NSW Police laid additional counts of recording and distributing intimate images without consent against May. ^[8] May faced a possible ban from the sport altogether if he was found guilty. ^[9]

On 22 November 2019, May pleaded guilty to four charges of intentionally recording an intimate image without consent. He appeared again at court for sentencing on 31 January 2020. ^[10]

2020

On 31 January, May narrowly avoided jail and was sentenced to 300 hours of community service plus a three-year good behaviour bond over sex tapes filmed without consent. Magistrate Robyn Denes spoke in the court to May saying "This behaviour is not only morally reprehensible, it's criminal, Ultimately, this is an offence which takes what was consensual sexual acts to another level. It does breach trust". ^{[11] [12]}

On 8 February, it was announced by the NRL that May would be suspended for the first four matches of the 2020 NRL season and fined 25 percent of his 2019 salary which he earned at Penrith. ^[13]

May played 16 games for Penrith in the 2020 NRL season as the club won the Minor Premiership. He scored a try for Penrith in their preliminary final victory over South Sydney and was selected ahead of teammate Brent Naden for the 2020 NRL Grand Final. Following Ryan Papenhuyzen's try where he ran past May untouched, Melbourne raced out to a 26–0 lead in the grand final. May was substituted by coach Ivan Cleary and took no further part in the game as Penrith mounted a comeback but ultimately lost 26–20. ^[14]

2021

May played a total of 21 games for Penrith in the 2021 NRL season including the club's 2021 NRL Grand Final victory over South Sydney. ^[15]

Following Penrith's grand final victory, May posted a story on both Instagram and Twitter saying "And the dirt that they threw on my name turned to soil and I grew up out it, Time for y'all to figure out what y'all gon' do about it. Love my brothers". After posting the story, several Penrith players also took to social media in support of May's message. May later removed the post from both social media platforms after it caused outrage from the general public, most notably from Fox Sports commentator Andrew Voss who said “Someone has to pull this bloke to one side and say, ‘What the hell? What world do you live in?, “He was an inch away from being sent to jail. And the support of the players. No less than 10 players came out (saying), ‘With you brother’ … and all that. Just keep it in-house, boys. I don't think it did Tyrone any favours at all".

Lawyer and Wests Tigers chairman Lee Hagipantelis, who acted for a woman depicted in a video recorded by May, also reacted to the post. "I do hope that Tyrone doesn't think that a premiership victory somehow vindicates criminal behaviour, One only needs to have a look at the comments made by the magistrate when Tyrone was convicted to see how serious it was. It's something he should quite probably be quite embarrassed and ashamed of and not necessarily espouse or seek to justify, if that's what he was intending to do". ^{[16] [17]}

On 19 October, May was stood down by Penrith and issued a breach notice by the NRL alleging he acted contrary to the best interests of the game for posting and being part of social media posts which do not align with the values of the game. The Breach Notice proposed May must complete further education programs as directed by the NRL. May was also issued with a proposed $7,500 fine. ^[18] On 27 October, May was issued with a show cause notice by the Penrith club due to a serious breach in his playing contract which was in relation to his post on Instagram following the club's victory in the 2021 NRL Grand Final. ^[19]

On 3 November, May's contract was terminated by the Penrith Panthers board. ^[20] On 1 December 2021, it was reported that May had signed for Catalans Dragons in the Super League. ^[21]

2022

In round 1 of the 2022 Super League season, May made his club debut for Catalans Dragons where they lost 28-8 against St Helens R.F.C. ^[22]

In June, May signed a one-year contract extension to remain at Catalans until the end of the 2023 season. ^[23]

In October May was named in the Samoa squad for the 2021 Rugby League World Cup. ^[24]

2023

On 21 August, May signed a two-year deal to join Hull Kingston Rovers starting in 2024. ^[25] On 14 October, May played in Catalans 2023 Super League Grand Final loss against Wigan. ^[26]

2024

May played 28 matches for Hull Kingston Rovers in the 2024 Super League season. On 12 October, May played in Hull Kingston Rovers 2024 Super League Grand Final loss against Wigan. ^[27]

References

1. "Tyrone May – Career Stats & Summary". Rugby League Project. Retrieved 22 July 2017.
2. NRL Digital Media. "Tyrone May – Panthers". penrithpanthers.com.au. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
3. "Penrith Panther's rookie Tyrone May works hard to provide the X Factor". Daily Telegraph.
4. "Cleary stars as Panthers down Warriors". 14 July 2017.
5. Five fined for fighting in melee in Penrith Panthers' loss to Newcastle Knights – NRL
6. "May stood down after being charged with video offences". www.nrl.com.
7. "Penrith Panthers utility Tyrone May arrested, charged and stood down over NRL sex tape scandal". www.foxsports.com.au. 5 March 2019.
8. "Penrith star Tyrone May hit with fresh sex tape charges". Fox Sports. 16 July 2019.
9. "NRL player can be banned after arrest for sex tape • Parlay Game | Parlay Game" . Retrieved 11 March 2019.
10. "Tyrone May pleads guilty to recording intimate images". National Rugby League. 22 November 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
11. "NRL player Tyrone May sentenced to 300 hours of community service over sex tapes filmed without consent". ABC News. 30 January 2020.
12. "'What an inappropriate name': Tyrone May magistrate tells Panthers to change community program". www.foxsports.com.au. 31 January 2020.
13. "Rugby League Players' Association deem NRL's no-fault stand down policy as unfair after Tyrone May receives punishment". www.foxsports.com.au. 7 February 2020.
14. Hytner, Mike (25 October 2020). "Melbourne Storm beat Penrith Panthers as it happened". The Guardian.
15. "One of finest NRL grand finals of all time provides cure to difficult season". www.theguardian.com. 3 October 2021.
16. "NRL star Tyrone May deletes controversial Instagram post after uproar". News.com.au. 6 October 2021.
17. "Tyrone May criticised for referencing sex tape case in social media post". www.sportingnews.com.au. 5 October 2021.
18. "May stood down as Panthers trio cop breach notices for post-GF celebrations". www.foxsports.com.au. 19 October 2021.
19. "Tyrone May ordered to front Panthers board over 'serious breach' of contract". 7news.com.au. 27 October 2021.
20. "Panthers sack Premiership winner Tyrone May after Insta post". foxsports.com.au. 3 November 2021.
21. "Catalans Dragons sign NRL Grand Final winner Tyrone May". Love Rugby League. 1 December 2021. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
22. "St Helens beat Catalans in fiery season opener – talking points". www.loverugbyleague.com. 10 February 2022.
23. "Tyrone May extends Catalans Dragons stay with new deal". www.loverugbyleague.com. 14 June 2022.
24. Full list of every squad at the Rugby League World Cup 2021
25. "Tyrone May leaves Hull KR fans eager for more after standout display". www.hulldailymail.co.uk.
26. Bower, Aaron (14 October 2023). "Wigan Warriors crowned Super League champions after downing Dragons". The Observer.
27. "Wigan v Hull KR: Super League Grand Final 2024 – as it happened". www.theguardian.com.

External links

• Penrith Panthers profile
• Samoa profile