Jayden Sullivan has taken to the challenge of winning back his first-grade spot with plenty of fire after helping the St George Illawarra Dragons' NSW Cup side blast past the North Sydney Bears on Saturday.
It wasn't the crowds of the NRL, but Sullivan led the Dragons through the game at Collegians Sporting Complex in Wollongong, being involved in all five tries the side scored.
Alongside other NRL fringe players Max Feagai, Zane Musgrove, Jaiyden Hunt, Michael Molo, and recent signings Paul Turner and Viliami Fifita, Sullivan had one of his best performances in the NSW Cup competition.
Cut from the NRL side due to injury ahead of last weekend's game against the Dolphins in Wollongong, Sullivan failed to win his spot back for the Round 6 clash against the Gold Coast Titans, which will be played away from home.
Coach Anthony Griffin will be hoping to be not left with egg on his face on Sunday afternoon after electing to stick with Talatau Amone, who controlled the number six Red V jersey last year, but was unable to claim his spot over the opening rounds of 2023 alongside Ben Hunt in the halves after being subject to the NRL's no-fault stand-down policy for an alleged off-field incident.
Instead of travelling to the Gold Coast though, Sullivan stayed at home and ripped the Bears, who are still affiliated with the Sydney Roosters for this season, in half.
From the opening minutes, Sullivan was on top of a game that he would end with four try assists, a try of his own, over 100 running metres, and over 300 kicking metres.
The first try, in just the fifth minute, saw Sullivan take on the line and send a wonderful short ball in the direction of Feagai who burst through.
Sullivan continued to cause headaches for the Bears with Feagai going over again shortly afterwards.
Things continued after halftime, with the Dragons taking their lead from 10-6 to 14-6 on the back of another short ball at the line, this time to Jaiyden Hunt who played in the second-row.
A lovely grubber kick would send the Dragons back into a strong position with 20 minutes to go as Ryan Couchman chased through to score, before another Sullivan grubber set up the final try of the game for himself.
The Dragons sit in 11th spot on the NSW Cup table, with Saturday's win over the Bears their first of the season.
The first-grade team, meanwhile, have two wins and two losses from their five games ahead of Sunday's battle with the Titans - the second time they have played the Gold Coast already this season after opening their season against the club in Round 2 following an opening round bye.
