Terrell May became one of the few starting front-rowers in the NRL to play 80 minutes last weekend – then revealed he was fuelled by a secret pre-game coconut-water concoction that has since become popular with some of his Wests Tigers teammates.
May went hard against New Zealand Warriors pack on Sunday without a spell, which he also did for the Sydney Roosters last year in round 16.
The Sydney Roosters’ Naufahu Whyte and Canterbury’s Josh Curran are the only other starting front-rowers to produce 80-minute games this season.
According to statistician David Middleton, 30 starting props have lasted the whole 80 minutes the past five seasons – including Manly’s Jake Trbojevic, who has done it seven times.
Tigers teammates revealed May drank coconut water mixed with raw organic honey and Redmond Real Salt – or Celtic salt – for extra hydration in the sheds before games. Himalayan salt, according to May, contained too many plastics.
“I’d rather drink that than processed sports drinks – now a few of the boys have jumped on board,” May said.
Terrell May played 80 minutes against the New Zealand Warriors.Credit: Getty Images
“I watch this guy called Paul Saladino on YouTube, and he’s all about animal-based diets. I only eat fruit, meat, honey and dairy. It’s all organic.
“I’ve done it for three years now and it’s finally starting to work. It can get expensive, but my body is my temple, and I need to treat it like a temple.”
Dr Tiffany Patterson Norrie, an accredited practicing dietician and associate lecturer in public health at Western Sydney University, told this masthead: “It sounds like Terrell has created his own brand of sports drink without the preservatives and junk.
“There are no additional health benefits, but it’s certainly a better option if you can afford to do it.
“Coconut water is made up mostly of H20. It has a couple of additional minerals like potassium and sodium, and a little bit of sweetness. It’s quite comparable to water.
“The organic honey provides good glucose; the quick-releasing sugars will give his muscles energy while he’s out there in the game. And adding salt in his drink is an excellent idea before a game because it’s an electrolyte replacement.”
Fellow prop Alex Twal said he loved the raw organic honey and had followed suit, as has fullback Jahream Bula, who is happy to skip the addition of salt.
May played 65 minutes in round one, followed by similar stints against the Eels and Dolphins, before his Herculean effort against the Warriors. The big minutes were also high quality, which explains why May has entered the NSW Origin debate. He will do his chances no harm with a big game on Saturday against Brisbane’s Payne Haas and Pat Carrigan at Suncorp Stadium.
“I played 80 minutes last year, it’s nothing new to me. I’m not surprised, and knew what I could do – I just needed an opportunity, and I feel like since coming here, ‘Bags’ [coach Benji Marshall] has given me that opportunity,” May said.
Marshall, who was happy to skip the pre-game coconut fix, said of May: “If you see the work he puts in on his days off and behind the scenes, you’ll understand why he can [play 80 minutes].
“The conversation I had with Terrell before we signed him was how I thought he was a starting middle who had more minutes in him. He agreed.
“I’m not planning every week for him to play 80. We lost Adam Doueihi in the warm-up, and we were short of a middle last Sunday, which meant we had to [play 80]. But we know he can do it.”
NRL is Live and Free on Channel 9 & 9Now
Michael Chammas and Andrew “Joey” Johns dissect the upcoming NRL round, plus the latest footy news, results and analysis. Sign up for the Sin Bin newsletter.
