The Penrith Panthers are moving quickly to lock in their future by re-signing promising utility Tyrone May to a two-year contract extension on Monday.
May joins teammate Dylan Edwards as the latest players to commit to the club under coach Anthony Griffin.
The Panthers now have signed May until the end of 2020 despite a long-term knee injury which is expected to sideline the 21-year-old during the early rounds of the 2018 season.
May managed nine appearances during his first season in the NRL and will boost Penrith’s halves alongside young gun Nathan Cleary and Kangaroos pivot James Maloney, who is yet to finalise his deal to become a Panther.
"It's really good that the Panthers have shown faith in me even though I've got an injury," May said.
"I was always focused on staying [at Penrith] and I never really wanted to leave.
"When the [contract] offer came up, I just accepted and was really happy and excited."
Panthers executive general manager Phil Gould said it was important the club continued to retain players coming through their junior system.
"Tyrone is another local junior who has been a part of the Panthers development system since he was 15 years of age," Gould said.
"It was exciting to see him come through to NRL level last season, and he acquitted himself brilliantly.
"We are grateful to have him as part of our club. I'm confident he has a long and successful career ahead."
