'Bad business': Tigers let $2.1m star walk in rare move

Wests Tigers boss Shane Richardson has explained the decision to part ways with halfback Jayden Sullivan, despite having three years to run on his contract. The young playmaker joined the club in 2024, but managed just a handful of games and was at long-odds to play next year with the arrival of Jarome Luai. Sullivan was set to earn $2.1 million over the remainder of his deal at the Tigers, but has opted to take an offer from the Rabbitohs and will make the move for 2025. The contract will see Sullivan move to Redfern for one year, before a two-year deal to return to Concord in 2026 and 2027. Speaking to The Sydney Morning Herald, Richardson explained the rare decision and heaped praise on Sullivan for the way he has handled the situation. "The only reason we've let Jayden go is because you can't have him on that money when we've signed Jarome," the chief executive said. "Once we signed Jarome, it was always going to be difficult to carry Jayden on the money he was on. There have been no issues with Jayden, we just couldn't afford to keep paying him what we were paying him. "Obviously if he gets exposed and plays regular first grade, he might attract interest and have a chance to land a better deal; we're open to letting him go if that happens." Tigers coach Benji Marshall believes the 23-year-old will find his feet at the Bunnies. "Bud is a good person and a very talented player, and we all hope this move works out for him," he said in a statement on Friday morning.

Dragons gun stood down after hammer attack guilty verdict

Shane Flanagan's tenure as Dragons coach has taken a major turn with star five-eighth Talatau Amone stood down by the club after he was found guilty of a hammer attack on a roofing contractor that could result in jail time.Amone appeared in Wollongong Court on Tuesday to face an assault charge over the incident last November and was found guilty.The Dragons have since released a statement, confirming he had been stood down from all duties with the club."The Dragons acknowledge the guilty verdict handed down to player Talatau Amone in Wollongong Court today in relation to an assault last November," the statement read."As a result of this outcome, Amone has been stood down from all club activities until further notice."The club will make no further comment at this time as court proceedings continue."Amone will be out on bail for seven weeks before he and his father are sentenced in December, with both facing potential jail time.It's a major blow for the Dragons who released half Jayden Sullivan to the Wests Tigers in August on a four-year deal.Throughout the 2023 season, Sullivan's future was up in the air, with Flanagan previously revealing the struggle to keep him due to the halves depth at the Dragons with Amone and Ben Hunt. "Three doesn't go into two, Jayden's got the opportunity to have a look around ... I think he's a good young player, but if he's got the opportunity to go somewhere else we'll consider it," Flanagan told 2GB's Continuous Call Team back in July.

Dragons' devious ploy to keep young guns from joining rivals

It's been a nightmare year for the Dragons - but they have salvaged something from the wreck by getting boom youngsters Tyrell Sloan and Jayden Sullivan to backflip on their plans to quit the club and play elsewhere.Both were adamant they wanted out and their managers made that plain to the club - yet now they are staying.How the Dragons managed to get the pair to change their minds is the most interesting part of this tale, however.It will be denied all around, but the club told both kids that 2023 is certain to be Anthony Griffin's last year as head coach of the Dragons.Neither youngster likes playing under Griffin and the club is an unhappy work environment at the moment - a fact clearly illustrated by the fact that just three players attended the recent awards night.The club extended Griffin before a ball was kicked in 2022 - a baffling decision that they are now regretting after all the problems the club has had to deal with this year.It's well known Griffin is under massive pressure to perform in the final year of his contract next season - but from what was told to Sloan and Sullivan, his papers look to have already been marked.

Young gun wants out as a result of Hunt deal

Dragons playmaker Jayden Sullivan has reportedly requested an immediate release from St George Illawarra, following the re-signing of Ben Hunt.The club's decision to extend Hunt on a two-year deal means Sullivan's path to a starting spot has been blocked, leading him to seek a release despite being contracted until the end of 2025, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.It's understood Sullivan is expected to land at Canterbury, where he is earmarked to play alongside Matt Burton, who has given a strong indication he wants to stay at the club long term.The Dragons have several halves on their books with Sullivan, Hunt and Junior Amone on the depth chart.According to the Herald, Dragons recruiter Shane Flanagan will decide Sullivan's fate, which could throw his son Kyle's future off course at the Bulldogs if he gives the green light.Speaking to the publication last month, St George Illawarra chairman Craig Young said Sullivan could use Hunt's extension to his own advantage."It's a good opportunity for Sullivan, if Ben re-signs, to learn from him," Young said at the time."Sometimes young players need to be patient – they end up getting a better outcome in the long term, have longer careers."If you're patient, get the work ethic right and all of that stuff, you want to hang around for a long time, not a short time."Sometimes young players want it all too quick and that's all part of man management."

Joey says Dragons young gun should leave

Rugby league immortal Andrew Johns has urged Jayden Sullivan to think about moving on from the Dragons in order to kickstart his first grade career.Despite the fact that the 20-year-old is currently contracted until at least the end of the 2025 season, Johns said that as long as Ben Hunt is in town, there's no path forward for the young gun."If someone like Jayden Sullivan wants to play halfback, he won't do it at the Dragons for the next couple of years," he said on Nine's Immortal Behaviour.Sullivan has featured in first grade just six times in 2022 - five of those off the bench, and his lone start coming in the No.7 jersey when Hunt was absent on Origin duty."I've seen bits and pieces when he's played NRL and I've watched bits and pieces when he's in lower grades. He's obviously a really good talent, any other club he'd probably be starting at halfback - he's got Ben Hunt in front of him, Ben Hunt's carrying that team," Johns said.But while he's urged Sullivan to look for greener pastures, Johns said that Tyrell Sloan should stay put, despite also finding limited opportunities this year."I don't know why he hasn't been playing. I don't know what deficiencies they see in his game, but how do you improve that? On the field, making mistakes," he said."I just think he's got a bit of x-factor, Tyrell, and he'd look good in red and blue."Cody Ramsey has been preferred to Sloan in the No.1 jersey for most of the year - but even when the former was injured, it was the veteran Moses Mbye that slotted in at the back, not the 20-year-old, who has also been limited to just six games this year."It's a conversation both of those young men have to have with the coach, Anthony Griffin," Johns said.