And Canterbury general manager Phil Gould has added his support by posting on social media that May should be congratulated for his actions.
Gould wrote in the early hours of Thursday morning that May’s scuffle with an 18-year-old man last year during Penrith’s Grand Final celebrations should be applauded because he was standing up for teammate Nathan Cleary.
Magistrate Matthew McLaughlin had described May’s actions as “reprehensible” and “cowardly” when handing down his sentence last week.
“Why argue over when Taylan May suspension should be served? Why was he suspended at all?” Gould wrote.
“No conviction recorded by court. $1000 fine. Hardly serious matter. Video clearly shows he defused situation before it escalated. Why are footballers always wrong? May should be congratulated”
The young winger was charged with assaulting a teenager during the Panthers’ grand final celebrations on the Sunshine Coast in October 2021, and was found guilty late last month.
No conviction was recorded but he was ordered to pay a $1000 fine and another $1000 to the victim.
The NRL handed May its own $7500 fine, half of which was suspended, and also proposed a two-match ban to be served next year. May is free to play in the finals starting with this Friday’s clash against Parramatta.
“A lot of ex players look at it through a player’s lens, we look at it through everyone’s lens and the most important person at the moment is the fan,” V’landys claimed on Channel 9.
“Why penalise Penrith fans for an indiscretion that the player did? The person that should be paying the penalty is the player, and (May) will, because he will miss two matches and a substantial part of his salary.”
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The incident at Duporth Tavern, Maroochydore occurred after May took exception to comments directed at Panthers co-captain Nathan Cleary by the teenager.
Cleary said the guilty verdict has shown the Penrith team the dangers of failing to handle negative attention from the public appropriately.
He said he did not immediately consider the ramifications of May’s actions. “It was probably the next day that I thought that something bad could come of it,” Cleary told reporters. “At the time, I thought he was diffusing the situation.
“There are always going to be those kinds of people who are trying to get under your skin but that’s the life we live,” he said. “We’ve got to deal with it the right way.
“Being a rugby league player is a very privileged job but it’s also a 24/7 job. It’s not just when we’re here at training or on the field. It’s off the field, anywhere we’re around people. I think (May) definitely understands that now.”
(Photo by Mark Evans/Getty Images)
The Panthers would not buy into criticism of the league’s decision to delay May’s ban and permit him to play in the post-season.
“That’s the way the NRL has dealt with it,” five-eighth Jarome Luai said. “We’re just grateful he can line up alongside us this week.”
Eels coach Brad Arthur was similarly tight-lipped when quizzed about May’s inclusion in the qualifying final at BlueBet Stadium.
“I don’t make the rules in the NRL,” he told reporters. “We just get told what they are and we follow them and we’re going to have the same approach here. All that we can worry about is what happens in our backyard.”
Luai said May wasn’t the only one who would take lessons away from the incident. “It’s a bit of a learning curve for everyone, not just Taylan,” he said. “We’re looked on in the public eye in a different manner. We just need to be careful out there because we’re role models … We can’t slip up.”
(Photo by Matt King/Getty Images)
D-day for Des at divided Sea Eagles
Manly coach Des Hasler’s future is likely to be decided at a meeting with club officials on Thursday with both parties agitating for different outcomes.
There have been several claims and counterclaims from Hasler and the club in the lead-up to the meeting which will also be attended by the coach’s agent, George Mimis.
Sea Eagles boss Scott Penn has indicated they would consider extending Hasler’s tenure beyond next year if a succession plan was put in place for the next coach to take over down the track.
Hasler could have had a 2024 option triggered in his current contract if the team finished in the top six but they faded badly with seven straight losses on the back of the pride jersey debacle in Round 20 to finish in 11th.
The decision by seven players to boycott the match because they did not want to wear the club’s inclusivity jersey has reportedly split the players while there has also been speculation about whether Daly Cherry-Evans will be retained as captain and if Tom and Jake Trbojevic will see out the remaining four years of their contracts.
All three star players have denied there is trouble in the camp but it all adds to the pressure on Hasler who is at loggerheads with certain sections of the Manly club.
Penn told News Corp that they’d be “happy to extend if we have a clear succession plan”.
“That’s all we have been looking for, as any business would,” he said. “This is the exact discussion we want to have. No one is saying he’s not going to get an extension.”
(Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
Welch won’t risk Achilles in finals
Melbourne prop Christian Welch has revealed just how close he got to returning to play NRL this year from a ruptured Achilles.
The 28-year-old Storm co-captain suffered the injury in the round-one clash with Wests Tigers in March and aimed to be back within five months to boost the team’s depleted stocks in the run to the finals.
“I was looking at the Roosters or Eels, the last two round games. If I had another month I’d be playing but I am just going to miss it,” Welch told AAP.
“I really believed I could get back, but I needed everything to go right.
“I just saw the specialist then and they said, ‘You could be running and playing but you wouldn’t be performing. Particularly with your history with two ACLs, you don’t want to do that’.
“I knew with that added injury risk it was just not worth it with what I would be offering on the field.”
Welch is now targeting a return next year as a better athlete and “not half the athlete I was”.
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