NRL 2020: Jayden Sullivan ready for Dragons debut
The emergence of exciting fliers Cody Ramsey and Max Feagai has given Dragons fans some hope for next year — but it is the cliub’s latest debutant who has sparked the most excitement.
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When Jayden Sullivan runs out for his NRL debut on Sunday afternoon he will reach down and touch the grass.
He can’t remember when his superstition started but the great hope of St George Illawarra knows he will do it just moments before his first taste of NRL action.
“I feel like once I have that first touch of the grass I know what I’m here to do and I think ‘let’s get the job done’,” Sullivan said.
Dragons fans have had little to celebrate in recent seasons. The emergence of exciting outside backs Cody Ramsey and Max Feagai in recent weeks has given them some for next year.
However it is Sullivan, who only turned 19 earlier this month, which has sparked the most excitement. The fleet-footed local junior captained the Steelers‘ premiership-winning SG Ball team just last year before representing the under-18s NSW team.
The ride to first grade has not been without its bumps. Weighing just 80 kilograms and standing four centimetres shorter than fullback Matt Dufty, Sullivan was told constantly he was too small for the NRL.
“I had a lot of people tell me I should give up footy,” Sullivan, who is contracted until the end of 2022 said.
“It motivated me a lot to try and prove people wrong. I remember coming into (under-16s) Harold Matthews and I wasn’t involved in anything during the summer training. I just trained really hard and started every game from there.”
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Sullivan quit the game just before his teens. Racist taunts and constant belittling about his height led to him walking away.
“I used to cop so much stuff,” Sullivan said.
“Every game I would be called so much stuff. Growing up playing, I have a lot of bad memories with footy. But playing first grade was all I’ve wanted to do.”
Sullivan said dad Jason, whose face Sullivan has tattooed on his leg, and ex-Dragon Luke Bailey helped set him on the path towards the NRL. Bailey was working as a mentor at Sullivan’s Illawarra Sports High School and the pair bonded instantly.
Former representative star Bailey said he noticed Sullivan’s talents instantly but was taken aback by their first interaction.
“I told him to go for a lap of the field and he told me he wanted to throw me under a bus,” Bailey said.
“He jogged and walked and got annoyed with me. After that we would catch up two to three times a week.
“Unlike some of the other kids Jayden had a strong support network at home through his father. On the field he looked like he had ‘it’. He was quiet but when he was on the field he was barking orders.
“At a young age I saw something special.”
Sullivan hasn’t played a game of 13-per-side in almost a year, last taking to the field in the Koori Knockout last October. He featured in the nine’s earlier this year but injured his ankle the day before the Dragons’ opening trial attempting to tackle Corey Norman.
Sullivan thought he may have missed his chance to debut until coach Dean Young’s name flashed up on his phone on Tuesday.
“My heart started racing,” Sullivan said.
“He asked me what I was doing on Sunday. I was sitting on the edge of my bed and after the call I just looked in the mirror and thought ‘wow this is happening’.
“I had to wait 20 minutes to call my dad. We will see on Sunday if I’m ready but I like to play with a lot of confidence.
“I’m coming in at such a young age. I don’t want to overplay my hand. I’m still not in a rush. I have plenty of time.”
WHY IT’S NOT ALL DOOM AND GLOOM FOR DRAGONS
By Nick Campton
Dragons fans might be counting down the minutes until 2020 ends but the future promises to be brighter for the Red V with the club to blood their most exciting prospect in years in the season finale against Melbourne.
With the finals long gone, Young will use his final game as coach to hand halfback Jayden Sullivan and Eddie Blacker their NRL debuts.
Blacker, a tough, no-nonsense prop who set records in the gym during the pre-season, has been on the brink of first grade for a few months while Sullivan is counted as the best rookie playmaker to come through the club in some time.
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Sullivan captained Illawarra’s SG Ball premiership side last season and will be pitched into action against the Storm less than a week after his 19th birthday.
“He’s very naturally gifted, he’s got a beautiful dynamic between game management and knowing when to switch on, when to really take them on,” said Sullivan’s SG Ball coach Ben Linde.
“He’s a really level-headed kid as well, he shows great natural leadership for a kid his age.
“You see some young men at that level who try to hard as captains to be leaders, but it just came naturally to him.”
Sullivan finished last season in Jersey Flegg and would have spent 2020 in NSW Cup had it not been cancelled due to COVID-19.
A dangerous runner and sharp ballplayer with a good kicking game, Sullivan’s debut is a rare positive in a miserable campaign for the Dragons.
After winning their first game under Young, Saints have dropped four matches in a row but Sullivan’s inclusion could be a glimpse of a brighter future.
The Port Kembla product will start at five-eighth alongside Adam Clune against the depleted Storm with Ben Hunt injured and Corey Norman dropped.
Still just 80kg, Sullivan will not doubt come under heavy pressure from the Storm but Linde is sure he can handle the defensive workload.
“He’s very brave for his size. It’s great to see him put a bit of armour on that body, he probably needs just a little bit more, but he’s getting that armour,” Linde said.
“He’s not scared to get in their way in defence.
“Everything Sully gets he’s earned. He works really hard, and this is a credit to him and the way he’s been brought up.
“He works so hard on his game to help better the team, he’s one of those unique individuals and he’s a pleasure to coach.
“He’ll handle it, I’ve got no dramas about that.”
Max Feagai, a teammate of Sullivan’s from that same SG Ball side, will line up on the wing after he debuted against Newcastle last week while Blacker will come off the bench.