NRL 2021: Jack Bird reveals how Dragons team-mate Adam Clune is helping with his return to the game

Nine years has passed since they last talked of playing first grade together. Now former Berkeley juniors teammates Jack Bird and Adam Clune are on the verge of realising their dream.

Jack Bird is only a few pages into his latest book, The Obstacle is The Way.

But already, he knows the read will be worthwhile.

Has to be.

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Jack Bird is nervous ahead of his NRL return this weekend.

“Because Cluney recommended it to me,” he says, referencing St George Illawarra playmaker Adam Clune. “And he’s an absolute whiz.

“Honestly, the guy is so smart.

“If you ever need to know anything at all, just ring Cluney and he’ll help you out.”

Not just now, either.

No, for the best part of 13 years, Bird has always known there was something more than a little special about the Berkeley U13s team-mate with whom he not only spent Saturdays, but also partnered at both touch footy and school, with the pair attending Illawarra Sports High.

Now, they want to play together in the NRL, too.

Indeed, with regular No.6 Corey Norman sidelined from the Dragons’ season opener against Cronulla at Jubilee Oval on Sunday, serving a one-match ban for his contentious role in a recent street fight, 25-year-old Clune is firming as the most likely replacement.

Bird hopes he gets to play outside of Adam Clune this weekend.

Yet no matter if it happens this weekend, or later, Bird insists he cannot wait to “revive the old combination”.

Explaining how nine years had passed since they last talked of playing first grade together, and with each having since endured, and overcome, a series of personal obstacles, including busted ACLs, the longest of NRL waits and claims of being too small, the duo can finally prove adversity really is something that can be overcome.

Asked what he likes most about Clune, the playmaker who waited until 25 for his NRL debut, Bird laughs: “I just love his cute face”.

Um, anything else?

“Well, we haven’t played together since U16s,” the Brisbane recruit continues. “So I’m really just looking forward to playing outside him again.

“Back when we were kids, Cluney was a 40kg midget — he wore headgear, with the long hair coming out back.

“And he was a gun, too.

Adam Clune and Jack Bird last played together in the U16s

“Just little.

“And being so small at that age, everyone wrote him off.

“But he’s just always refused to buy into it.

“There were so many times he could’ve thrown in the towel, like when he wasn’t getting picked for first grade, or when he had two groin surgeries that few people knew about.

“But in the end, his hard work paid off.

“And he’s always said, ‘I can’t wait to get you outside me in first grade, get the old Clune-Bird combination going again’.”

So as for how Bird, himself coming off consecutive ACL surgeries, will go the first time Clune, or anyone else, puts him in space?

Jack Bird is back in business.

“Ah, probably a bit slow,” he says, grinning.

“But honestly, I’ll be right.

“While I’ve been out of the NRL almost two years now, I’ve done a lot of hard work on my knee. Done everything right, too.

“And I’m confident, which is the main thing.

“So I know, eventually, I’ll get back to where I was.

“But this weekend if I get in space ... (laughs) I might wait for Matt Dufty to come up on my inside.”

Asked how he was feeling on the eve of his comeback, Bird continued: “I’m nervous.

Bird might have to rely on a bit of Matt Dufty magic.

“But nerves are good, because they show you care.

“More than just coming back from injury, I want to get out there and play some good footy.

“Because I’ve always been a guy who wears his heart on his sleeve, always wanted to do my best.

“So I don’t want to let anyone down now.

“And that’s the part I find a little nerve wracking.”

Which also explains why Clune, no stranger to smart decisions, has chosen The Obstacle is The Way for his mate.

Written by Ryan Holiday, the tome is a modern take on the ancient philosophy of Stoicism — and how it’s been embraced by a host of historical figures who, starting with Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius, have also included the likes of Theodore Roosevelt, Steve Jobs, Ulysses S. Grant and Barack Obama.

“So it’s a book about adversity,” Bird says simply.

“And how with hard work, you can overcome it.”

Originally published as NRL 2021: Jack Bird reveals how Dragons team-mate Adam Clune is helping with his return to the game