If rugby league doesn’t work out then Sean O’Sullivan should think about a career in acting.
The 23-year-old halfback deserves the Gold Logie for his acting display leading up to his first game in a Penrith jersey having known for at least two weeks he would be replacing injured superstar Nathan Cleary at halfback.
O’Sullivan didn’t show it but he was more nervous than he’d ever been before a game when he ran out for the Panthers in their 28-6 win over Manly in the season opener.
But he only had since Tuesday, when it was officially revealed he would be playing instead of Cleary, to lean on his friends and family to help him prepare for the big day having acted like the understudy until then.
“I was probably the most nervous I have ever been for a game. It just showed how much I care really,” he said after he set up two tries in the round 1 win.
“I have known for a little bit but I had to keep it a bit quiet. No one knew. Since before the second trial I knew.”
So how did he keep it a secret?
“Just a simple ‘I don’t know yet’,” he replied when asked how he kept it from his family.
“They are pretty good with all that stuff. They understand when it’s OK for them to know they will know.”
Thursday’s game was the culmination of a long journey for O’Sullivan to play for Penrith. Stints at the Roosters, Broncos and Warriors readied him for something he’d been waiting for since he started primary school.
“I moved here when I was in year 1, I played for the Glenmore Park Brumbies,” he said.
“So it’s a dream come true to pull on the Penrith jersey. I used to come here as a kid and watch their games.
“I believe that everything happens for a reason, but when I left here as a 17-year-old I probably never thought I was going to come back.
“I just think I am probably a little bit older now. I understand. I played the most games I played last year at the Warriors. I am a bit more confident and starting to understand my game a bit more.”
The decision to return to the foot of the mountains canxjmtzyw’t have been too easy given he had the State-of-Origin-winning halves in front of him.
But that was actually the reason he wanted to come back so he could learn from the best in the business, Nathan Cleary.
“He has been amazing this whole pre-season. He is a great teacher and a great mate. I couldn‘t speak more highly of him,” he said.
“That was the main thing why I came here to learn from Nath. I am only 23, so I really felt I could take a lot out of this and head down, keep learning from him and hopefully I nail it.
“Even yesterday I was nervous at captain’s run, just the way he spoke to me after. The work is already done, don’t be worrying about anything. He is just so calm and hopefully that can come into my game.”
With Cleary set to miss the next two games, O’Sullivan has the chance to really settle into this team; a role he will almost certainly reprise if Cleary and Jarome Luai get picked for the Blues again.
He was calm and composed in his first outing and looked like he’d been in the system for years. So, will there be a selection headache for Ivan Cleary when his son is fit again?
“Never, never. He is the best. He can come back whenever he likes,” O’Sullivan laughed.
“I’m not even worried about that. I just want to do my job for the team. That is the main thing, that is all I am worried about. For however long Nath is out I execute and we get some wins on the board and then he comes back and does his thing.”
O’Sullivan is on a one-year deal at Penrith, which raises the obvious question about his future beyond 2022. It’s not as simple because his dad, Peter O’Sullivan, is one of the best recruitment managers in the game
And he just so happens to be at the Dolphins trying to sort out a competitive roster when they join the league next year.
“Nah, nah, nah, he’ll do his own thing,” Sean said. “And I am happy doing my own thing too.”
