Greg Bird will have to prove he is worthy of captaining the Titans

TITANS players believe Greg Bird should be their captain but a nervous Gold Coast board may revoke his appointment regardless of what the team wants.

Titan's Greg Bird tackled by Bulldog's Josh Morris during the NRL game between the Canterbury Bankstown Bulldogs and the Gold Coast Titans at Central Coast Stadium.Picture Gregg Porteous

TITANS players believe Greg Bird should be their captain but a nervous Gold Coast board may revoke his appointment regardless of what the team and coach recommends.

The Courier-Mail can reveal that Neil Henry must justify his captaincy choice to the board, which is already cautious about whether Bird is again worthy of the honour.

The new seven-man board is understandably weighing Bird’s off-field history against his on-field credentials ahead of the formal and crucial February decision.

The veteran backrower has made no secret of his desire to be captain again and believes the honour brings out the best in his football.

Bird was sacked from captaincy duties in December 2014 after he was issued with a criminal infringement notice for urinating beside a cop car.

“I’m incredibly embarrassed and disappointed at myself,” Bird told reporters at the time.

Titans CEO credentials says Greg Bird’s captaincy will need to be verified by the board.

He was stripped of his captaincy and fined $15,000.

Bird was then embroiled in the Titans cocaine saga but his charges were thrown out of court.

Graham Annesley confirmed to The Courier-Mail the captaincy appointment would need to be verified by the board but would not discuss the Bird issue further.

“In February at some stage, Neil will present his choice of captain to the board and they will make a decision from there because the captain needs to be a leader not just on the field but also in the community,” Annesley said.

Bird is clearly the natural on-field leader in the team and 2015 captain Ryan James went out of his way to nominate him as his successor on Thursday.

Bird’s on-field behaviour inspires his team mates and they feed off his leadership on the training field.

James, who is a captaincy candidate himself with Bird, prop Luke Douglas and new recruits David Shillington and Nathan Friend, said the firebrand forward deserved the honour.

“Birdy is a great leader. As soon as it comes to competition and games, he takes it to that next level,” James said.

“He’s one of those people who has that aura.

“He has that respect from the boys. He’s probably the frontrunner.

“He might not be playing the best but then he will go out and kill an Origin game.

“He just has natural leadership.”

James said he enjoyed being captain last season but believed Bird and Friend were more suitable than him.

“I have always looked up to those blokes so I don’t really look to that role (now),” he said.

“To be put in there was a great honour. But we have great leaders at the club now and I am happy to hop in behind those blokes.”

Originally published as Greg Bird will have to prove he is worthy of captaining the Titans