Sean O'Sullivan: three ACLs, a premiership ring and why the Bulldogs feel like home

Sean O'Sullivan joined Steve 'Chimes' Gillis on Chiming In for one of the most revealing conversations of the season, tracing a journey that began in Melbourne Storm dressing rooms as a five-year-old and has led, via three ACL reconstructions, a Broncos heartbreak and a premiership ring at Penrith, to a fresh start at Canterbury.

Born into the game

With father Peter O'Sullivan one of the most respected recruitment managers in the game, Shaun grew up watching tape, sitting in coaches boxes and absorbing rugby league from the inside out before he could tie his own laces.

"Literally ever since I remember I've been at a rugby league match. When I was with my dad, we were at a rugby league game. I would sit there four, five hours. It didn't matter."

As a toddler he wore his footy boots to preschool so often the studs wore flat. As a five-year-old he was running out at Melbourne Storm games holding the mascot's hand, sneaking into Craig Bellamy's coaches box at half-time and watching the famous Bellamy sprays up close.

One story from those early days captures exactly who he became. After Melbourne lost to the Cowboys, a young Shaun sat at dinner with his dad and Bellamy. When Bellamy asked what was wrong, the kid didn't miss a beat.

"I said, 'They didn't listen to you, Bellyache.' He's like, 'What are you talking about?' I said, 'They took the effing show off Thurston.'"

Two knee reconstructions before he was a teenager

O'Sullivan tore his left ACL at ten and his right on his twelfth birthday. Dr Merv Cross, who held an OAM and has since passed away, performed both surgeries, with the operations made especially delicate by O'Sullivan's growth plates.

"My mom had to take time off work both times to look after me. She was amazing. She had to do that twice."

The extended time away from the game was painful for a kid who just wanted to play with his mates, but it built something in him.

"It taught me discipline and a really narrowed focus. Maybe if I didn't go through that as a little kid I wouldn't have worked as hard. It taught me a lot of valuable lessons."

His father's blunt response when the kid started playing scared was the kick he needed.

"Dad said to me at 13 or 14, 'If you don't want to play, don't play. Just go get your referee certificate or something.' That was his way of saying, you've got to move on. That was the kick up the bum I needed."

Aussie Schoolboys and the road to the NRL

O'Sullivan found his feet at the Panthers, making the CCC team, Australian Schoolboys and 18s Origin, playing alongside future NRL stars Zac Lomax, Nick Cotric, Payne Haas, Thomas Mikaele and Cam Murray.

"We won 28-0 in that 18s Origin game. We had a pretty special team."

Phil Gould wanted to keep him at Penrith, but with Nathan Cleary and Jerome Luai blocking the path, brokered a deal to send him to the Roosters. O'Sullivan debuted at 19, learning the news in a breakfast with his mum when Trent Robinson called with his good news, bad news routine.

"He said, 'The good news is you could make your NRL debut.' I said, 'What's the bad news?' He said, 'You're not playing 20s Origin.' I was ecstatic."

Brisbane heartbreak and the third ACL

Lured to Brisbane by Wayne Bennett, O'Sullivan arrived on his first day to find Bennett had been sacked. He played eight games for the Broncos, started to find his feet, then tore his hamstring. Two games after returning, he did his third ACL.

"Instantly I remember thinking I'd never play again. I genuinely didn't know if I've got it in me to come back again from this."

He did his rehabilitation alone in a Gold Coast park during COVID lockdown, running by himself while his partner's mother's house became base camp.

"After three or four days I was all in on coming back."

A premiership ring at Penrith

Arriving at the Panthers in 2022, O'Sullivan was 18th man on grand final day as Penrith claimed the title. He played the first three rounds while Cleary recovered from surgery, covered for Jerome Luai during Origin and played the run into the finals before both returned.

"Obviously I would have loved to have been on the field. But there would have been so many other people who would have loved to have been 18th man on a Panthers premiership team. I was proud to be part of it."

Nathan Cleary, he said, was transformative for him both as a player and a person.

"The way he sees the game, his preparation, the detail in his work, I've never seen anything like it. Nathan was unbelievable. I genuinely couldn't speak highly enough of him."

The Dolphins and a golden point moment

O'Sullivan was a foundation player at the Dolphins under Bennett, experienced the strange reality of building a club from nothing and was part of their stunning opening round win over the Roosters.

"Boys were learning our tap plays in captain's run. We had no play calls, no positions, no cohesion. But sometimes just playing for your mate holds you in good stead."

He kicked a golden point field goal against the Warriors in year two, describing it as the realisation of something every kid dreams about from the age of six. He also tore his pec trying to tackle Payne Haas in the Battle of Brisbane.

"Probably not a smart move," he laughed.

Home at the Bulldogs

Now at Canterbury under Cameron Ciraldo, O'Sullivan spoke with genuine warmth about feeling like he belongs.

"I know I've made the right decision. Ciraldo could get the best out of me. From year one to year two to year three you can see they've really evolved and I really wanted to be part of that."

He's also completing his MBA, started his masters at Penrith after Kevvie Kingston encouraged him to skip the bachelor's degree, and is doing so with a young daughter at home who meets him at the car after big training days.

"As soon as I'm home, I'm back to being a dad. She's the best thing that's ever happened to me."

On what kind of player he is, O'Sullivan was refreshingly clear.

"I'm an old school number seven. I'm not the fastest, I'm not the strongest, but I have a good feel for the game. Wayne always said don't worry about what someone can't do, just worry about what they can do. I'm slowly starting to understand what my strengths are and doubling down on that."

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