South Sydney Rabbitohs half and utility Jayden Sullivan has called out the NRL's six-man bench rule, claiming it has put him in a "s**t" position.
The Dragons junior who has finally found his feet in the NRL at South Sydney, has been listed as a reserve six times this year, becoming a victim to his versatility and talent.
Named on the bench in eight of his ten NRL games, Sullivan has, on top of six 80-minute bench days, had another five games where he has played less than 20 minutes.
It has left him managing just 292 minutes at NRL level this year, to go with seven NSW Cup games.
That exact situation was the fear of many players and pundits prior to kick-off this year when the rules were announced, and Sullivan may have copped the rough end of the stick more than most.
Speaking to the media on Monday, he said he would do anything to play in the NRL, but admitted it wasn't ideal to be playing so little footy.
“Unfortunately, it's a s*** position to be in, because I still want to be in that first-grade team, whether that's being on the bench,” Sullivan said.
“(But) I haven't really been a big fan of the six-man bench.
“It's frustrating because I've been healthy all year and haven't really been playing much footy.”
Sullivan will play games in the coming weeks given Ashton Ward is out with a hamstring injury, and could be critical to South Sydney qualifying for the finals, but will need to find his feet and shake of any rust in a hurry.
The South Sydney utility who joined the club from the Wests Tigers now has 60 first-grade games under his belt.
