On a busy day at the Rabbitohs, Sullivan was officially signed to a two-year deal after being released from the end of his contract with Wests Tigers.
After initially going to Souths on what was effectively a loan deal, Sullivan played 13 games for the Rabbitohs in 2025 with eight of them as a starter in the halves.
There was long a desire to retain Sullivan at the Rabbitohs, after he fell down the pecking order at Wests Tigers in 2024 despite being on a lucrative contract.
He will likely start 2026 as a back-up half to Cody Walker and Jamie Humphreys, but the Rabbitohs' long run of injuries have emphasised depth.
Those injuries preceded the second revamp of the club's high-performance staff in as many seasons.
One year on from replacing Andrew Kroll as high-performance boss, Trent Elkin has left the club after just one season.
Rehabilitation physio Vicki Locke has also departed, while sports science boss Brendan Fahrner has opted to leave for family reasons.
The chances will see the Rabbitohs' long-time strength-and-conditioning lead Jack Milligan replace Elkin, while Penrith's Corey Bocking will take on Milligan's former role.
Bocking was the trainer banned for five matches earlier this year for running in front of Jayden Campbell as he lined up a shot at goal for Gold Coast in round 22.
But the strength-and-conditioning coach comes as a high-profile arrival, including a stint with the West Indies cricket team last decade.
Davis Theobold is also the club's new senior physio, after a six-year stint with St George Illawarra.
Souths' injury crisis was so bad in 2025 that Wayne Bennett labelled the situation the worst he had seen in his 38-year coaching career.
The Rabbitohs at one stage had half of their 30-man squad unavailable for a game against Brisbane, while only five players managed more than 20 games this year.
Star players Latrell Mitchell, Cody Walker and Campbell Graham all missed more than half the season, while Cameron Murray only featured in the final round after a pre-season achilles rupture.
"We have the utmost confidence in our football department coaches and staff, led by Wayne, to return the club to the right end of the competition ladder, and to produce future first graders through our pathways systems," CEO Blake Solly said.
"Our players will start to return to training as a group from early November and we look forward to them preparing for their premiership campaign in season 2026."
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