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Bud’s Wiser: New Club, new name for the 22-year-old taking the reins at Tigers
Jayden Sullivan, if he gets his father’s consent, may play his first game for Wests Tigers with a new name.
Known to family and friends as “Bud”, that’s how he wants to be addressed from now on.
“Everyone in my family calls me Bud and then Jayden if I’m in trouble,” he grinned. “Jayden is all right but I always ask the commentators to call me Bud. Personally, I like the name Bud, I want to actually change it to Bud.”
Whatever name you call him, Sullivan is ready to call the shots at the Tigers.
At just 22 years of age, and with only 27 NRL appearances, Tigers coach Benji Marshall wants to hand the former Dragons playmaker the keys to the team from his first day of preseason training on Monday.
The Dragons granted Sullivan a release from his contract to take up a four-year contract with the Tigers. The deal was sealed during a not-so-secret meeting at the club’s Concord base in July, which will likely result in the Western Suburbs Red Devils junior partnering with veteran half Aidan Sezer next season.
“Benji just pretty much told me straight up, he just wants me to come and own the team and make my mark,” Sullivan said. “I feel like that’s when I’ll play my best footy, when I have ownership and a bigger responsibility.”
Responsibility is something Sullivan knows a bit about. One of nine siblings, he left school in year eight to work as a scaffolder alongside his father, Jason.
The money was good, but those early starts and long hours are a timely reminder of just how good he has it now as a professional footballer.
“I set a goal a couple of days ago that I won’t drink until Mad Monday comes around again,” Sullivan said. “That’s just because I wanna focus on footy and put all my eggs in one basket and go hard.”
“I just felt like school wasn’t for me,” he said. “I was a scaffolder, I was waking up at four in the morning going to work, finishing at like three or four in the afternoon and then going to training with SG Ball and Harold Matts. “I just felt like I didn’t want to work any more, so I was telling Dad I want to take footy seriously. I didn’t want to work 13-, 14-hour days as a 14-,15- or 16-year-old kid. It’s tough, it’s definitely not the life for me.”
“I like a challenge. Not everything in life is easy,” he said. “Coming into this season we’re starting behind the eight-ball, but we’ve got no expectations. The only thing we gotta prove is to ourselves and where we want to take it. That’s the most exciting thing, we’re gonna create our own legacy. We don’t have to live up to anyone else’s.” (SMH)
Bud’s wiser: New club, new name for the 22-year-old taking the reins at Tigers
He’s shifting from the Dragons to Wests Tigers, but a tattoo will provide Jayden “Bud” Sullivan with a constant reminder of the most influential person in his life.
