mickeylane
Bench
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I think bird is angling for an immediate release this year which means we will pull out of the Roberts dealings and Bird goes straight to FB or Right Centre
QUOTE=getsmarty;11265466;31120]Jack Bird aims to sort NRL future by Christmas
December 11, 2015 8:00pmCHRISTIAN NICOLUSSIThe Daily Telegraph
JACK Bird will make a call on his future before Christmas, but Cronulla officials said they wouldnt a hold a gun to his head as the rookie of the year also weighs up a lucrative offer from St George Illawarra.
The race to sign Bird is down to the Dragons and Sharks, with the latter holding a fresh round of contract talks with the youngster yesterday.
Cronulla boss Lyall Gorman made a clear statement when he told The Saturday Telegraph our club is on the move, and we play second cousin to nobody.
Gorman also wanted Bird to commit because he wants to be here, not because we held a gun to his head.
Bird has been given several options by the Shire club, including a one year, two year and three-year deal.
A decision has dragged on for a couple of months, but Bird has indicated hell have a final answer before Christmas.
What we want to do is give Jack the time to come to his own conclusion, and weve never wanted to hold a gun to his head and put a deadline on things, Gorman said.
We want him to be part of our club moving forward. We havent applied any pressure.
Ive never been a fan of deadlines on players, unless its having an impact on the club as a whole, and Jacks situation hasnt done that as yet.
Its well documented St George Illawarra are pursuing him, but we remain optimistic and positive well come to an appropriate conclusion, and one this side of Christmas.
We met with him today and well have another chat next week. We just wanted to reinforce a few things for him so hes got the full confidence and understanding of where the club is heading on a raft of fronts.
We want to show players were not a last resort, and we play second cousin to nobody.
The Dragons signing of Tim Lafai yesterday will do little to dent the joint ventures pursuit of Bird. The 20-year-old Wollongong junior is tight with Dragons coach Paul McGregor and star fullback Josh Dugan.
However, Bird is also close with several of his Cronulla teammates, and ditched the Dragons in the first place for the chance to play first grade.
He enjoys playing five-eighth, where he starred for the Sharks in his rookie season, and fullback, where hes been training in recent months.
But given the depth in the halves and fullback at Cronulla, Bird could pay the price for his versatility by being shifted to his non-preferred centre or lock forward positions.
Cronulla also have experienced trio Mick Ennis, Luke Lewis and skipper Paul Gallen off contract at the end of 2016. They have a combined 764 NRL games between them, but Gorman said talks were yet to commence with any of those topliners.
Jeff Robson, the man who partnered Bird in the halves before he linked with the New Zealand Warriors, said his former teammate was an outstanding kid who I have a lot of time for.
Hes great with the ball in his hands, and hes a naturally-gifted footballer, Robson said.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...ry-fni3gol8-1227642336837#load-story-comments[/QUOTE]
QUOTE=getsmarty;11265466;31120]Jack Bird aims to sort NRL future by Christmas
December 11, 2015 8:00pmCHRISTIAN NICOLUSSIThe Daily Telegraph
JACK Bird will make a call on his future before Christmas, but Cronulla officials said they wouldnt a hold a gun to his head as the rookie of the year also weighs up a lucrative offer from St George Illawarra.
The race to sign Bird is down to the Dragons and Sharks, with the latter holding a fresh round of contract talks with the youngster yesterday.
Cronulla boss Lyall Gorman made a clear statement when he told The Saturday Telegraph our club is on the move, and we play second cousin to nobody.
Gorman also wanted Bird to commit because he wants to be here, not because we held a gun to his head.
Bird has been given several options by the Shire club, including a one year, two year and three-year deal.
A decision has dragged on for a couple of months, but Bird has indicated hell have a final answer before Christmas.
What we want to do is give Jack the time to come to his own conclusion, and weve never wanted to hold a gun to his head and put a deadline on things, Gorman said.
We want him to be part of our club moving forward. We havent applied any pressure.
Ive never been a fan of deadlines on players, unless its having an impact on the club as a whole, and Jacks situation hasnt done that as yet.
Its well documented St George Illawarra are pursuing him, but we remain optimistic and positive well come to an appropriate conclusion, and one this side of Christmas.
We met with him today and well have another chat next week. We just wanted to reinforce a few things for him so hes got the full confidence and understanding of where the club is heading on a raft of fronts.
We want to show players were not a last resort, and we play second cousin to nobody.
The Dragons signing of Tim Lafai yesterday will do little to dent the joint ventures pursuit of Bird. The 20-year-old Wollongong junior is tight with Dragons coach Paul McGregor and star fullback Josh Dugan.
However, Bird is also close with several of his Cronulla teammates, and ditched the Dragons in the first place for the chance to play first grade.
He enjoys playing five-eighth, where he starred for the Sharks in his rookie season, and fullback, where hes been training in recent months.
But given the depth in the halves and fullback at Cronulla, Bird could pay the price for his versatility by being shifted to his non-preferred centre or lock forward positions.
Cronulla also have experienced trio Mick Ennis, Luke Lewis and skipper Paul Gallen off contract at the end of 2016. They have a combined 764 NRL games between them, but Gorman said talks were yet to commence with any of those topliners.
Jeff Robson, the man who partnered Bird in the halves before he linked with the New Zealand Warriors, said his former teammate was an outstanding kid who I have a lot of time for.
Hes great with the ball in his hands, and hes a naturally-gifted footballer, Robson said.
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/sp...ry-fni3gol8-1227642336837#load-story-comments[/QUOTE]