As part of the establishment rules, the Gold Coast SUNS were given the Northern Territory as an access zone during 2009 and 2010, before the AFL then handed the rights to fellow expansion side, Greater Western Sydney, for the following two years.
During this time, Gold Coast contracted three players from the Northern Territory in the form of Michael Gugliotta, Liam Patrick and Steven May, signing them as zone access recruits.
Of the trio, May has gone on to forge a career at the highest level, emerging in the last two years as one of the best young key defenders in the competition to bring his career games tally to 71 over his five seasons at Metricon Stadium.
Given the manner in which May’s game has developed in the last two years, All Australian selection is not beyond his reach. Nor is the likelihood of him entrenching himself as one of the premier defenders in the game for the next decade.
If his career progresses this way, then he might become the club’s most successful recruiting coup given what he cost – essentially nothing.
During a period where Gold Coast had multiple first round draft picks and lucrative draft concessions – think Jaeger O’Meara and Jack Martin who were acquired early via trading high picks – May looms as a genuine steal.
But despite appearing at home on the best forwards in the AFL, May was originally recruited to play at the other end of the ground. And with good reason given he was named full forward in the 2010 Under 18 All Australian side.
By the time he was bestowed that honour, Gold Coast had already committed to securing his services, along with the 12 underage access recruits the club signed in 2009.
At the time, May was nearly two thirds of the way through a scholarship at prestigious school Melbourne Grammar and wanted to complete his studies before relocating to Southern Queensland. The wish was granted, with May joining the club on a full time basis at the end of 2010 ahead of the SUNS inception the following year.
After cutting his teeth in his first two years at the highest level, and then earning a regular game in 2013, May took significant steps forward in 2014, finding a role in a defensive key post and playing on some of the biggest names in the game.
He followed up his breakout campaign with an even better 2015 to storm home in the second half of the season and finish third in Gold Coast’s best and fairest behind winner Tom Lynch. The pair emphatically stamped themselves as bookends under Rodney Eade, both in terms of their leadership and their football.
May’s upward trajectory in recent years suggest there is no ceiling on where he can get to in the coming years. Already, he is clearly a recruiting coup, but by the conclusion of his career he could be one of the biggest drafting steals of the expansion era.
Recruiting Bargains: Steven May
Gold Coast acquired key defender Steven May as a Northern Territory zone access selection, and already he looms as one of the biggest recruiting coups in the expansion era.
