Jack Bird’s signing will either deliver a title or derail Brisbane’s premiership ambition

JACK Bird’s signing has the potential to either deliver a Broncos premiership — or derail the playmaking chemistry of a glamour club, writes Peter Badel.

Shark's Jack Bird fends off the Bronco's Tautau Moga. Picture: Gregg Porteous

JACK Bird’s signing with Brisbane has the potential to either deliver a Broncos premiership – or derail the playmaking chemistry of a glamour club hungry for another title.

That is the boom-or-bust scenario that faces Brisbane coach Wayne Bennett after Bird today advised Cronulla teammates he will be a Bronco next season.

There will be no middle ground with Bird’s signing. With marquee recruits, there never is.

The Broncos will pay Bird $3 million over four seasons, $750,000 annually, and during that time they will expect top-dollar performances from a player who is arguably the most dynamic ball-runner in the code.

Judged as an individual, Bird shapes as a magnificent signing for Brisbane. He ticks all the boxes. Young. Tough. Talented. Ferocious. Versatile. At the tender age of 22, he has played State of Origin and won a premiership. It is no fluke. Bird brings an extra dimension to any football team he represents.

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But individual brilliance alone does not win premierships. Champion teams exceed the sum of their parts and the challenge for Bennett is extracting the best of Bird within the overall structure of the Broncos squad.

The million-dollar question is where Bennett ultimately plays Bird – and how the decision is received by Broncos players.

Bird has told Cronulla insiders he has been promised the five-eighth spot.

That would mean Anthony Milford – Brisbane’s wonder boy – gets stripped of his cherished Broncos No. 6 jumper and forced, most likely, to play halfback.

Bennett insists he has given no guarantees to Bird. He believes Bird can play four positions – fullback, centre, five-eighth and lock – and will settle on his position in the fullness of time.

Anthony Milford could be shifted to accommodate Jack Bird. Pic Jono Searle.

Many will disagree with this view but a Bird-Milford scrumbase alliance is fraught with danger. Both are instinctive ballrunners who thrive on broken-play situations. Neither Bird nor Milford are military-style game-managers who think a play ahead like Cooper Cronk.

Behind the scenes, Broncos insiders know this about Milford. They know that while Ben Hunt plans and calls each play, it buys time for Milford to get his head around when to inject himself and when to service his outside men.

If Bennett shifts Milford away from five-eighth, he risks alienating his best attacking player.

If he picks Bird at lock, outside the halves, Bennett risks a difficult discussion with his new recruit.

It is a delicate balancing act and Bennett will need every scintilla of his 40 years of coaching nous to get the formula right.

Away from football, Bird is a complex individual.

At the Sharks, he is hugely respected for his raw talent but is also regarded as an aloof, highly-charged character who tests the one-in, all-in mentality of the modern-day NRL club.

Sharks players find it intriguing that Bird is allowed to sometimes miss recovery sessions. He lives in Wollongong. Instead, the team physio is sent to his home to give Bird a massage.

Jack Bird could derail Brisbane’s playmaking chemistry. Jack Bird.

A fortnight ago, as Sharks veteran Chris Heighington prepared for his 300th NRL match, the Sharks organised a special team dinner. Club legend Andrew Ettingshausen was called to present his milestone jersey. Special messages from his teammates were played on a big screen.

Bird failed to turn up. Several Sharks players were filthy. Others shrugged it off as, ‘That’s Jack’.

If there is one certainty about life at the Broncos, it is that their group sing from the same hymn sheet. There is no place for outsiders or agitators at Red Hill. As their motto goes, emblazoned on the external wall of Brisbane’s gymnasium, they are only ever as strong as their weakest.

Bennett is the greatest coach of all-time and he doesn’t waste his time signing duds. Jack Bird can be absolutely brilliant, but the super coach may have to iron out a few speed bumps to make it all work.

Originally published as Jack Bird’s signing will either deliver a title or derail Brisbane’s premiership ambition