NRL refuse to slam door on sacked Panther

The NRL will reportedly be open to registering a future contract for Tyrone May after he was shown the door by the Penrith Panthers earlier this month.

The utility, who played in Penrith's grand final winning team of the 2021 season, has had a string of off-field issues to contend with during a chequered past with the club.

May's major off-field incident was narrowly avoiding jail time after pleading guilty to four counts of intentionally recording an intimate image without consent.

The parties settled out of court after that incident, however, May's Instagram post following the grand final sparked more controversy against the 25-year-old.

The NRL fined May $7500 fort the post, however, the Panthers decided they had enough and terminated the grand final winner's contract, which was due to expire at the end of 2022.

According to The Sydney Morning Herald though, if another club was to attempt to register May, the NRL would assess it at the time, rather than simply blocking the move.

“We will always be open to any proposal that is put in front of us and give it the absolute attention it requires and then make a call,” Abdo said.

“There is no edict to say ‘player X’ can’t be registered.

“I’m always disappointed when rugby league is in the headlines for the wrong reasons. We want to make sure we’re making the best decisions and we’re in the headlines for the right reasons.

“That’s not to say any player or any person is under a cloud of not being welcome in our game. That’s a big call. We don’t make those calls too often.

“Any registration for any player that is put to us by a club and the player is considered, we run through a due process, we do it very fair and objectively, so there are no constraints around that.”

There has, as yet, been no reported interest from other clubs in May as they fill their rosters for the 2020 season.

Some clubs are already close to, or have hit, 30 players for the 2022 season, while others are just spots away from holding a completely full roster for the season ahead.