Taylan May has admitted he may walk away from the Penrith Panthers at the end of his current deal, which runs through to the end of next season, so he can play alongside his brothers Terrell and Tyrone again.
The 22-year-old has been a great find for the Panthers out of the club’s junior system, with the young star slotting into the three-time champions’ backline with ease since his debut in 2021. He has since proven key in attack across 22 games, scoring 16 tries, and was missed in the team’s 2023 campaign as he recovered from an ACL injury.
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The Sporting Base understands the Panthers have already made moves to extend May’s deal beyond 2024 and has even worked with the youngster to help him move into the centres as he returns from a 12-month absence.
There’s every chance May stays, of course, especially considering all word out of the club says he’s very happy at the foot of the mountain, but the allure of playing with his older brothers (Tyone is 27 and Terell is 24) may just prove a little too strong as negotiations roll on.
“I don’t know what’s happening with the contract talks because I leave that with my manager,” Taylan told NCA on Monday. “Whatever happens, happens. I don’t mind. If I could then I’d probably [like to stay] but then again, I want to play with my brothers… all of them if I could. That’s definitely a goal for me.”
It’s something the trio have already spoken about with relish, he added.
“We’ve spoken about it, and whatever that looks like for us is something that I don’t know what it looks like,” he explained. “I’m just happy to play here and finish off my contract. If they want to re-sign me, then I’ll let my manager deal with that stuff.”
None of the trio have started a game together despite playing a cumulative 149 games between them across the NRL and Super League. Tyrone has just signed with Hull KR in England for the 2024 season after 45 games with Catalan, while Terell has been representing the Sydney Roosters since early 2022. If the three were to reunite, it would likely be in the English competition for at least a season considering several breaches have semi-barred Tyrone from the NRL.
Terell is also a free agent at the end of 2024 and while the Roosters have seemed slightly interested, it’s more likely he finds a playing career in 2025 and beyond away from Sydney.
