Steven May has extended his contract with the Gold Coast SUNS in a deal that sees him recommit to the club until the end of 2019.

May, 25, said captaining the SUNS' exciting core of young players had enticed him to stick around.

"Speaking with my family and with (my fiancée) Tess, she loves it on the Gold Coast, as do I," May said.

"She's happy to keep working here and so am I, so we're looking forward to the next few years on the Coast.”

May said he had always waited until the second half of the season to sign his contract extensions and this time around was no different.

He said his teammates had been very supportive and "never once did they think I was leaving”.

"People are always going to have an opinion … that doesn't bother me.

"I've matured now and I understand how that works.

May and fellow captain Tom Lynch are the cornerstones of the SUNS, but May said it was the younger players who excited him most.

"I really relish the pressure of being a captain and someone the boys look up to.

"Week in and week out you get that pressure to perform and I think that's going to help my footy.

"The young core of players coming through between 18 and 23 are really exciting and they're very talented. They've got a huge work-rate.

"Now that I've got the next couple of years locked away, I can knuckle down and focus on my job, not only as a key back, but as captain of the club.”

Recruited from Southern Districts in Darwin, May joined the SUNS as a local talent access selection in 2010.

May joins Jack Martin, Touk Miller, Ben Ainsworth, Jack Scrimshaw, Will Brodie, Jack Bowes and Brad Scheer in extending their playing contracts in 2017.