The father of NRL bad boy Taylan May believes there is still hope for the fallen footy star despite facing domestic violence charges in court in 2025.
The May family grew up tough in the western Sydney suburb of Tragear, near Mount Druitt.
However all three of the Sibling brothers, Tyrone, Terrell and Taylan, made it to the NRL – largely because of brutal training their father Jay put them through to escape poverty.
Despite all three reaching the NRL, it has still been a rocky road.
Tyrone was sacked by the Penrith Panthers in 2021 after he pleaded guilty to four counts of recording intimate images without consent and then posting on social media about it. He is now playing for Hull KR in the UK Super League.
The youngest of the brothers, Taylan, has been stood down under the NRL’s no-fault stand-down policy and will face court on March 10 to answer charges he allegedly assaulted his wife.
Jay is the father of current and former NRL players Tyrone, Terrell and Taylan Man
Taylan is facing domestic violence charges in court in 2025 and has been stood down by the NRL until the case has concluded
Taylan, Tyrone, Jay and Terrell return to their family home in Tragear in western Sydney
Then Terrell faced a social media storm when he was released by the Sydney Roosters. He has since signed with Wests Tigers.
Despite all the hardship, Terrell loves his family and got the brothers and his father back together to visit their family home for his latest YouTube video.
In the video, Jay reveals the brutal training he put the boys through at Tragear Hill almost every day.
Jay has previously said that he and the boy’s mother Sally believed there was only three ways out of Tragear, making the NRL, finding a 9-5 job or jail.
‘It wasn’t easy, but I did it out of love,’ he said.
‘Everyone thinks I trained yas because I wanted you to make the NRL, that was never the case,’ he said.
‘The truth is I just wanted to be around you boys.’
Jay revealed the shame he and Sally felt at their situation, with the May brothers often going to school hungry despite the fact they were both working.
Terrell and Taylan May with their mother Sally from their childhood days growing up in Tragear
Jay with his sons Tyrone, Terrell and Taylan who grew up tough in a low-income suburb
‘Obviously money was hard, but we lived in the housing commission so we can’t complain,’ he said.
‘The rent is pretty cheap in the housos.
‘The conditions are not the greatest, you know, it’s full of asbestos and things like that.
‘Sometimes it was tough because they would miss a meal or two sometimes, they didn’t take much lunch to school.
‘We didn’t really have time to fix lunch or do that because we were in and out.
‘They were only young, so we felt bad about it. But it was just one of those things. You have to go through it when you’re living a little bit poorer than everybody else.
‘But we never complained about it and it was never an excuse for them not to go to school or have a bad attitude or think that the world was against them.
Taylan May is the youngest of the brothers. Growing up, he was quietly a favourite in his father’s eyes for his tenacity despite his diminutive stature, earning the name Tiny.
Taylan May has parted ways with the Penrith Panthers and cannot be registered to play for another team until his court case has concluded
However the recent allegations and charges against Taylan have soured their relationship.
‘Tiny was born facing the ceiling and I thought we were going to have a strong bond throughout all of our lives,’ Jay said.
‘Now he’s become a man, we’ve had our issues.
‘But I know in a couple more years once he gets to 25, 26, he’ll realise that I wasn’t just trying to teach him stuff, I wasn’t trying to be evil to him.
‘I was just trying to tell him the right things to do in life.
‘You often don’t want to listen to your parents when you get older and unfortunately for Tiny, he hasn’t been listening to me lately.
‘But I’m still proud of him and I hope he gets through all the things he’s going through and gets through to the other side and becomes the man I know he can become.
‘But I love him all the same.’
Terrell Harrison was released by the Sydney Roosters in a shock move and has now signed for Wests Tigers
Jay has also revealed his biggest regret about the punishing training he put the boys through.
While Tyrone and Taylan lapped up the pressure and wanted to push harder to succeed, Terrell was cut from a different cloth.
Jay admitted that he should have eased up on the middle brother, who was more like his Samoan mother than his Australian father.
‘It was borderline bullying on my part,’ he said.
‘If I could change anything from when I was growing up with him, it would have been the fact I should have eased up on him.
‘Everybody has a different personality. I pushed Tyrone and Tiny because they wanted to be pushed. They could handle the pushing.
‘But Tyrell could not. If I am being honest, I should have taken a different approach to Tyrell because he’s a different person.
Jay is thankful that Terrell has grown into the kind-hearted man he has become and called him the family’s ‘gentle giant’.
‘Terrell has always been the one who wants everybody to be together, he’s really family orientated,’ he said.
‘If there is an actual Samoan in my house, it would be his mum and him. He’s more Samoan than the other two.
‘The other two are fake Samoans, that’s for sure.
‘They grew up more like me, Aussie. But Terrell, he always wanted to have the family together.
‘He was a caring person, but when he snaps, it’s time to run.
‘He’s a gentle giant, but when he gets angry, especially if you say anything about his mum, it’s over.’
