Taylan May backs young Tigers teammate after critics circle ahead of a freshen-up
taylan may has moved quickly to shield his young Wests Tigers teammate from the noise that followed a difficult night against Brisbane. The broader question now is not just how the teenager responds, but how the club manages a player still being asked to learn on the job while the pressure rises around him.
What happens when an 18-year-old is suddenly under the spotlight?
Heamasi Makasini has been one of the most talked-about young players at the Tigers this season, after a strong start in the centres and on the wing. But last weekend’s match against the Broncos turned into a rougher lesson. After doing some of the early work well, he finished with costly errors late in the contest, and Brisbane won by a single point through Adam Reynolds’ field goal.
The reaction was immediate, with critics focusing on the mistake count rather than the wider context of a teenager still adjusting to first-grade football. That is where taylan may stepped in, arguing that the conversation has to reflect both the age of the player and the size of the challenge in front of him.
What does the Tigers’ current selection picture tell us?
Benji Marshall has confirmed that Makasini is dealing with a foot injury and is currently in a moon boot with some bone bruising. He is not named for Thursday’s match against the Raiders and will not play NSW Cup this weekend either. Marshall also made clear that, even without the injury, he would have preferred to give the teenager a break to protect his development.
The coach’s view is that stepping away for a short period is not a punishment. It is a reset. Marshall said the Tigers are in a position to make that call because they sit third on the ladder and have players returning. Taylan May is back from injury, Starford To’a returns this week, and Luke Laulilii comes in for Makasini. Patrick Herbert and Jeral Skelton remain in the mix for NRL spots.
What if the pressure on young players keeps building?
| Scenario | What it means |
|---|---|
| Best case | Makasini uses the break to recover physically and mentally, then returns with more confidence and less noise around every touch. |
| Most likely | The Tigers manage his workload carefully, giving him time to learn while others cover his role in the short term. |
| Most challenging | The outside criticism keeps building, making each error feel larger and increasing the pressure on a player still early in his career. |
Marshall’s comments suggest the club is trying to interrupt that cycle before it hardens. He said young players are often judged too quickly by comparison with the game’s greats, and that Makasini remains a unique long-term prospect. He also acknowledged that the teenager has been dealing with confidence issues, while adding that he will bounce back.
For Taylan May, that message lands with added force because he has lived through criticism of his own. He described how hard it is for an 18-year-old to come into this environment, especially when the expectations are already high. His defence of Makasini was not just about one poor game; it was about the reality of how quickly public judgement can move in rugby league.
Who gains, and who loses, from this kind of reset?
The Tigers may benefit most if the pause helps a promising player settle into a longer development arc. A careful approach could also reduce the risk of exposing him too early while the club has other options available.
Makasini, meanwhile, loses immediate game time but may gain clarity and confidence if the break is handled well. The biggest risk is reputational: once a young player is framed mainly through mistakes, every future performance is judged through that lens.
The Raiders add another layer to the weekend picture, with Simi Sasagi ruled out because of a minor hamstring injury. That leaves Canberra without one of its standout centres, while the Tigers will be trying to balance selection, recovery and development at the same time. In that sense, taylan may is part of a wider story about how clubs protect talent while still chasing results.
What readers should take from this is simple: the Tigers are treating Makasini’s setback as a development moment, not a collapse. The injury, the dropped selection and the public defence all point to the same conclusion — this is a young player still being shaped, not defined. The next few weeks will matter less for headlines than for how the club handles the next step in the arc of taylan may.
