{"id":489185,"date":"2026-02-19T02:44:08","date_gmt":"2026-02-19T02:44:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/489185\/"},"modified":"2026-02-19T02:44:08","modified_gmt":"2026-02-19T02:44:08","slug":"taylan-may-opens-up-on-diagnosis-and-moving-forward-nrl-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/489185\/","title":{"rendered":"Taylan May opens up on diagnosis and moving forward – NRL News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Taylan May<\/a> has endured a turbulent and controversial few years since making his NRL<\/a> debut in 2021, playing just 37 games amid personal and legal challenges.<\/p>\n

After missing the entire 2024 season due to domestic violence charges\u2014which were later withdrawn\u2014the Samoan centre faced another battle off the field, his mental health.<\/p>\n

Last year, Taylan was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder, a revelation that he says brought clarity to a lifetime of feeling \u201cdifferent.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI always knew there was something, like I always felt different,\u201d Taylan told The Daily Telegraph.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just didn’t ever want to put a label on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taylan admitted himself to a psychiatric ward at the beginning of last year to improve himself and aid his pathway back into the NRL<\/a>.<\/p>\n

With the support of his wife Jessica, he confronted the reality of his condition and began regular sessions with a psychologist.<\/p>\n

He is now medicated and continues to actively manage his mental health.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought mental health was fake, but honestly, now that I have checked into it and seen the signs, yeah, it’s real,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don’t really talk to anyone, but I know (opening up in) therapy doesn’t go anywhere. So it’s good to speak to someone who can hold that secrecy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rejoining the NRL<\/a> midway through 2025, May has focused on consistency throughout the pre-season with the Wests Tigers<\/a> while keeping his eyes on higher ambitions.<\/p>\n

Alongside his brother Terrell, his ultimate goal is playing for NSW, with the Samoa<\/a> centre revealing it’s the main form of NRL<\/a> he consistently follows.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I keep my body right, everything else off the field right, I’m hoping to do a lot of amazing things \u2026 They gave me a chance, so I’ll stick out to my contract,\u201d he said regarding his contract with the Tigers and his representative ambitions.<\/p>\n

Both May brothers will be on the open market from November 1, but have expressed a desire to remain together.<\/p>\n

They are among several former Penrith players who have joined the Tigers under the guidance of Benji Marshall<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead to 2026, May is optimistic about his team’s prospects. \u201cYeah, 100 per cent, definitely top eight,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Get set for the footy with the FREE Zero Tackle 2026 NRL Season Guide!<\/a> Packed with 130+ pages of player profiles, team previews, insights and analysis, the 2026 NRL Season Guide<\/a> is built for fans who want the full picture. Download your free Season Guide HERE.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Taylan May has endured a turbulent and controversial few years since making his NRL debut in 2021, playing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":81351,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-489185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489185","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=489185"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/489185\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/81351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=489185"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=489185"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=489185"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}