A former New South Wales representative at State of Origin has been released from his NRL contract ahead of a reported move to Leeds Rhinos.
Jack Bird represented the Blues five times across the 2016 and 2017 Origin series when playing for Cronulla Sharks. He’s since played for Brisbane Broncos, St George Illawarra Dragons and Wests Tigers, though the 30-year-old has been released by Benji Marshall’s side.
It was reported earlier in the week that his future with Wests was in jeapordary with Bird having revealed that he had agreed to a move to London Broncos, something that fell through when they failed to earn Super League status.
It’s now confirmed that he will leave Wests and according to reports from The Daily Telegraph, he will finally be getting his Super League move but it Headingley will be his destination.
Per reports, Bird is set to sign a deal with Leeds Rhinos, who suffered a spate of injuries in their pre-season friendly against Bradford Bulls.
What would Jack Bird bring to Leeds Rhinos?
Bird has over 170 NRL appearances with 17 of them coming in 2025 during his debut season with Wests.
He has a total of 36 tries in the NRL and can play a variety of positions, though he’s predominantly a centre. Leeds Rhinos saw young centre Max Simpson suffer an ACL injury in their win over Bradford, whilst captain Ash Handley saw his groin issue resurface.
When the Rhinos lost Maika Sivo to a season-ending injury in their final pre-season game last year, they brought in Ethan Clark-Wood from overseas and Bird could represent a similar option, although of far better quality.
Bird can also feature in the pack where Leeds Rhinos saw James McDonnell suffer a syndesmosis injury that’s expected to rule him out for four to six weeks.
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