St George Illawarra Dragons youngster Jayden Sullivan has broken his silence after backflipping on a request for an immediate release.
The 21-year-old claimed that he was eager to remain at the Red V after he initially raised concerns about his personal development with the club.
The young halfback also revealed there was a breakdown in communication with coach Anthony Griffin and has since sat down with club powerbrokers and is eager to learn from skipper Ben Hunt.
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“I’m learning off Ben Hunt, not trying to take his position,” Sullivan told AAP.
“I’m not going to say it’s my turn, I’m not a sook.
“I just want to learn as much as I can and I just felt like I wasn’t learning anything coming off the bench for two minutes.”
His request came only weeks after Tyrell Sloan was also looking for an exit, with the Dolphins reportedly circling the young fullback.
But after a good chat with the 20-year-old, it was clear they both had the same problems.
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“When all that stuff was happening we sat down and really had a deep, hard think – do we really want to do this?” Sullivan said.
“He was in the same situation as me. Our communication was poor, between us and the coaches. We didn’t really know how to have that tough conversation.
“The club knows I want to be a halfback… and playing out of position pretty much the whole year was a bit confusing.
“But I had a good chat with (Griffin) and all the coaching staff. We put myself in a direction and I’m eager to have a good pre-season and really rip in and show the Dragons what I’m capable of.”
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Sullivan admitted the blame wasn’t solely on Dragons officials and will enter the 2023 season with a renewed focus.
“Our communication was a bit off, and that’s from both ends,” Sullivan admitted.
“There were a few things that were a bit clashing. Our communication fell out the door.
“I wasn’t kicking stones but I was confused on what I meant to the team. One week I was in, one week I was out.
“But the club has definitely given me a direction of where my career should go.”
