Taylan May is on the verge of a return to the NRL with clubs set to be interested in signing the former Panthers star after police withdrew charges of domestic violence which had been levelled at the 23-year-old winger.
Penrith negotiated a payout for him to leave the club last July after he was released from his contract following two show-cause notices.
May had been banned by the NRL under the no-fault stand down policy after he was charged from an alleged incident involving his wife last April.
He pleaded not guilty to assault occasioning actual bodily harm and two counts of stalking and is now free to play again after the charges were dropped on Monday.
“He was stood down pending charges of domestic violence,” ARL chair Peter V’landys told NewsCorp.
“Those charges have now been dropped. To be fair to him, he can now play. If there are no police charges, there is no reason to stop him playing.”
Taylan May. (Photo by Ian Hitchcock/Getty Images)
May had re-signed with the Panthers last March but the premiers sought to terminate his contract during his stand-down.
The club issued the Samoa international with a show-cause notice in May, relating to matters outside the domestic-violence charges.
That notice is believed to have included an October 2021 incident in Queensland, for which May was found guilty of assaulting a man during Penrith’s grand-final celebrations.
No conviction was recorded over that incident.
May also raised eyebrows when a video was posted to social media early last year that appeared to show him in the passenger seat of a speeding car.
He had launched legal action in the Federal Court, seeking damages and compensation and claiming the Panthers had breached employment laws before the two parties agreed on a financial settlement.
The five-time Samoan international representative had played 30 matches for the Panthers, including eight matches last season, since his debut in 2021.
He was controversially allowed to play in the 2022 finals series after V’landys allowed a ban to be held over until the following season.
May ended up missing the grand final due to injury and did not play at all the following season due to a torn ACL.
