New St George Illawarra recruit Jack Bird has lifted the lid on his time at Brisbane, stating the he felt like a "burden" at Red Hill.
Bird found live tough as a Broncos player, signing a four-year deal with the club worth close to $4 million before succumbing to two ACL injuries, limiting him to just 17 games since the start of the 2019 season.
Speaking to various media sources this week, Bird said that the Broncos "didn't care about me".
“At the end, I felt like a burden there. Like I was just there for the sake of it,” he told the Daily Telegraph.
“I felt like they weren’t putting their time and effort into me, my rehab. I felt like I was just another number... they were pushing me to the side, they didn’t care about me.
“So in the end, I knew if I wanted to get back to my best I had to move. Go to someone who was willing to put their time and effort into me getting back to my best.”
The 25-year-old departed Brisbane with 12 months remaining on his contract after it was made known to him that he wasn't part of Kevin Walters' plans for 2021.
“I knew they didn’t want me there,” he told the Sydney Morning Herald.
“Kevvie was saying he wanted me there, but I got a feeling he didn’t.”
The Dragons have struggled to fill the void at lock given Jack de Belin's absence, with Bird willing to take on the new role in the Red V.
“We’ll see what happens but it’s a good opportunity for me to step into the No.13 jersey if that’s what Hook wants me to do,” he said.
“I’d definitely feel comfortable in the No.13 jersey.”
Speaking to Big Sports Breakfast, Dragons coach Anthony Griffin revealed Bird was gunning to get onto the training field.
“(Bird) is frustrated obviously over the last couple of years he’s had with his body,” Griffin said.
“He’s got about a month left in his rehab but he’s got a real spring in his step.
“We did a heavy conditioning session yesterday and he flogged it, he’s just got a real hunger about him, Jack. Hopefully mid-January he’ll join the main group and be ready to play in the trials.”
