St George Illawarra Dragons centre and utility forward Jack Bird could be set to stay with the club beyond the end of the current season.
Bird's contract status has been one of the competition's most well-publicised in the last couple of weeks, with the star reportedly knocking back a Dragons deal that he eventually revealed he never received.
He then claimed he has no interest in moving back to Queensland amid reports Wayne Bennett was wanting to link back up with a player he once coached at the Brisbane Broncos via a contract for 2023 at the Dolphins.
It left the Parramatta Eels as the seeming front runners to secure the versatile star's services, with Bird finally putting long-term injuries in the rear-view mirror over the last 12 months.
The move for the Eels made sense too given they are set to lose Marata Niukore and Isaiah Papali'i out of their forward pack, while there have been reports suggesting Ryan Matterson has been told he won't be offered a new deal at the club.
The Daily Telegraph though are now reporting that the Eels have decided they are no longer interested in pursuing Bird, which leaves the Dragons as the front runner to retain his services.
Bird last week said it wasn't about money as to why he was yet to re-sign with the Dragons, although the club went back to the drawing board in increasing last year's original offer, with the new reported figure being $1.1 million over two years - $550,000 per year.
It's understood Bird met with his manager last week and a decision could be made over the weekend, with Dragons officials now reportedly confident they will retain Bird for 2023 and 2024.
Bird, who is a Dragons junior, has now played 107 NRL games and made a strong start to the new year, playing the opening two matches in the second row.
