No, evidently the reason the Roosters are marching May towards the exit relates to an interview I conducted with

him at Kensington’s Bar Lucio in mid-August, and the story that was subsequently published by this masthead on the

eve of the finals about a month later.

Over the course of an hour, May offered up his life story. Sharing it was a chance to give the fans a rare insight into

why his relationship with rugby league has been a complicated one.

May initially played football to please his father, then because his siblings Taylan and Tyrone – who both played at

NRL level before running into off-field dramas – were good at it. Because football provided a better life to a family

that struggled to put food on the table while growing up in housing commission lodgings in Mount Druitt. Because

there were teachers who overlooked him for the school footy team and told him he would never amount to anything.

Because of the scrutiny the game put on his family. Because there were other things he was also passionate about,

like again working in the disability sector. Because he wants to be his own man.

“I hate getting compared to my brothers, we’re all different,” he told me.

At times, it became too much; on two occasions, at the age of 18 and 20, he walked away from the game, revealing, “I

just didn’t want to play any more”.

“It’s a weird feeling. I don’t think many people experience it where one week they love the game and go on the TV

screens and the next week they don’t want to be there at all,” May said at the time.

“Sometimes I just feel I could quit, like in a day. It sounds a bit weird, but I get those thoughts sometimes where I’m just like, ‘Is this really for me? I’m very grateful to be where I am and play with the Roosters, but rugby league isn’t the whole of me’.

“Then you just look at the bigger picture. You need to support your family and I couldn’t do it without footy. I have aspirations to take the club to the grand final and to play for NSW.”

Of all of the conversations I’ve had with footballers for over a quarter of a century, this was one of the most candid. Sadly, given the fallout, maybe fans can expect less of it in the future.

May’s sentiments have been seized upon as the reason he has been tapped on the shoulder. There has also been a narrative pushed that there were cultural reasons for the decision, prompting him to post on his Instagram account: “Nothing to do with off-field stuff.”

Neither explanation holds water. There is nothing the Roosters would have read about May that they didn’t know already.

There is no doubt May is different. The 25-year-old has a quirky sense of humour, one the public rarely sees. When Herald photographer Louise Kennerley asked to take a photo of him without his bum bag, he politely declined because he wanted to be seen as his authentic self. He’s also abstained from social media for long periods over concerns about how he will be portrayed.

“That’s just the way I am, all the boys know I just mock everything and I take nothing serious,” he said.