Wests Tigers coach Benji Marshall has revealed the reasoning behind moving Terrell May from the starting front-row to the interchange bench as the forward responded with a standout showing against the Roosters.
In the past few weeks, May has struggled to rekindle the form that saw him enter State of Origin conversations earlier in the season, prompting Marshall to make a tactical change in a bid to get the best out of the forward.
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Marshall said he felt opposition sides had been targeting May from the opening kick-off and believed a stint off the bench could let him enter the game against more fatigued defenders.
However, the plan was quickly thrown out the window when Alex Twal (head knock) was ruled out of the match after a single minute.
“To be honest, asked him for a bit more today,” Marshall said post-match.
“I thought teams have been going after him at the start a little bit.
“I thought if we can just bring him off the bench after 20 (minutes) and let him come on when they’re a bit more fatigued, we might get a different version.”
The move appeared to have the desired effect, with May responding with the aggression and intent Marshall had been demanding.
This saw him finish with 2o carries for 149 running metres, two tackle busts, one offload and 36 tackles.
“To his credit, he went on after one minute, but he had a bit of a chip on his shoulder that we needed from him today,” Marshall added.
“I think that move might have sparked something in him to give the coach a little bit of a ‘I’ll show you’, and you know what he showed me.”