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Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | (2001-09-16)16 September 2001 (age 24) Port Kembla, New South Wales, Australia | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 174 cm (5 ft 9 in) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 80 kg (12 st 8 lb) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Playing information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Five-eighth, Halfback, Hooker | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source:[1] As of 15 June 2025 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Jayden “Bud” Sullivan (born 16 September 2001) is a professionalrugby leaguefootballer who plays as ahalfback,five-eighth orhooker for theSouth Sydney Rabbitohs in theNational Rugby League (NRL).
Sullivan was born in Port Kembla NSW and is of Macedonian and Indigenous Australian descent.
Sullivan played his junior rugby league atWestern Suburbs Red Devils inIllawarra Rugby League.
In 2019, he was selected for theNew South Wales Under-18's team after an impressive year where he won the 2019 S. G. Ball Cup with theIllawarra Steelers as captain.[citation needed]
Sullivan made his debut forSt. George Illawarra againstMelbourne in round 20 of the2020 NRL season.[2]
Sullivan made five appearances for St. George Illawarra in the2021 NRL season as the club missed out on the finals by finishing 11th on the table.[3]
Sullivan played nine games for St. George Illawarra in the2022 NRL season as the club finished 10th on the table and missed the finals.[4]
In round 10 of the2023 NRL season, Sullivan scored two tries for St. George Illawarra in their 16-18 loss against the bottom placedWests Tigers.[5]
In July 2023, Sullivan toured the Wests Tigers facilities after he was given permission to speak to other teams.[6]
On 17 August 2023, Sullivan was released from the final years of his contract to sign with theWests Tigers on a four-year deal.[7]
Sullivan played nine games for the Wests Tigers throughout the2024 NRL season as the club finished with theWooden Spoon for a third consecutive year.[8]On 20 December, Sullivan was released by the Wests Tigers. The clubs CEOShane Richardson said to the media “The only reason we’ve let Jayden go is because you can't have him on that money when we’ve signedJarome Luai". On the same day, Sullivan signed a contract to joinSouth Sydney ahead of the2025 NRL season.[9]
On 3 September 2025, it was reported that Sullivan had signed a full time deal with South Sydney for the 2026-27 seasons and would not be returning to the Wests Tigers. Sullivan played 13 matches for South Sydney in the2025 NRL season which saw the club finish 14th on the table.[10][11][12] On 16 October, the Rabbitohs confirmed the two year extension for Sullivan.[13]
| Season | Team | Pld | T | G | FG | P |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 |  St. George Illawarra Dragons | 1 | - | - | - | 0 |
| 2021 | 5 | 2 | - | - | 8 | |
| 2022 | 9 | 2 | - | - | 8 | |
| 2023 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 18 | |
| 2024 |  Wests Tigers | 8 | 1 | 3 | 10 | |
| 2025 |  South Sydney Rabbitohs (loan) | 13 | ||||
| 2026 | South Sydney Rabbitohs | |||||
| Totals | 48 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 44 |
[14]*denotes season still competing
On 12 January 2025, Sullivan received praise after he helped rescue members of a family who were kayaking in Lake Illawarra, Sullivan helped while a rescue team was making their way over to finish off the rescue.[15]