Name Jack Bird Awards Dally M Award Best Rookie Date joined 2015 | Height 1.83 m Weight 93 kg | |
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Role Australian Rules Football Player Similar People Valentine Holmes, Wade Graham, Michael Ennis, Andrew Fifita, Ben Barba | ||
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Jack Bird (born 20 March 1995) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently plays for the Brisbane Broncos in the National Rugby League. A New South Wales State of Origin representative, he plays at centre and five-eighth.
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Background
Born in Wollongong, Bird is of Indigenous Australian descent and played his junior rugby league for the Berkeley Eagles, before being signed by the St George Illawarra Dragons. Bird attributed his early success to his idol, the Balmain Brawler, Jody Pennell, who was a Tigers great back in the 80's. Pennell was quoted as describing a young Bird as someone he could see great potential in, on and off the field.
Early career
In 2013 and 2014, Bird played for the St George Illawarra Dragons' NYC team. On 3 May 2014, he played for the New South Wales under-20s team against the Queensland under-20s team. On 18 September 2014, he signed a two-year contract with the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks starting in 2015. On 18 October 2014, he played for the Junior Kangaroos against the Junior Kiwis.
2015
On 31 January and 1 February, Bird played for the Sharks in the 2015 NRL Auckland Nines. In Round 4 of the 2015 NRL season, he made his NRL debut for the Sharks against the Gold Coast Titans, playing off the interchange bench in the Sharks' 22–24 loss at Remondis Stadium. In Round 5 against the Sydney Roosters, he played at five-eighth for the Sharks in the absence of regular five-eighth Ben Barba. Bird scored two tries and set up another in the Sharks' 20–12 upset win over the 2013 premiers, causing him to be selected again at five-eighth the next week ahead of Barba who was named on the interchange bench. On 3 May, he played for New South Wales Country against New South Wales City in the 2015 City vs Country Origin match, playing at halfback in Country's 34–22 win at Wagga Wagga. On 28 September, at the 2015 Dally M Awards night, he was named the Dally M Rookie of the Year after playing in 23 matches and scoring 8 tries for the Sharks.
2016
On 15 January, Bird re-signed with the Sharks on a one-year contract. In February, he played for the Sharks in the 2016 NRL Auckland Nines. On 8 May, he played for New South Wales Country against New South Wales City for a second time. Following an injury to New South Wales incumbent Josh Morris, Bird was named to make his State of Origin debut at Lang Park in just his second year of first grade, coming off the bench in the spot left vacant by Dylan Walker who took Josh Morris' spot at centre. On 2 October, Bird played in the Sharks' 2016 NRL Grand Final victory over the Minor Premiers Melbourne Storm. He played the majority of the game with a suspected broken arm.
2017
In 2017, Bird signed on with the Brisbane Broncos on a three year contract starting in 2018.