It has been revealed that the St George Illawarra Dragons contract offer for Jack Bird was never received by the star utility after he cut off communications with his manager.
The Dragons reportedly offered Bird a two-year deal worth somewhere around the $500,000 per season mark last week after rejecting an earlier deal, however, Bird revealed that he had never received a second offer after not being ready to make a decision late last year after the original deal landed.
It had been reported the Dragons pulled the original offer off the table, something Bird seemed to confirm by saying the club gave him just five days to decide, before the club's second offer was never received.
“Rumours coming out saying that I rejected it because of money, that is far from the truth,” Bird told Wide World of Sports.
“The Dragons offered me a deal, they gave me five days to decide and I wasn’t ready to make a decision then, [so] they pulled it off the table.
“I didn’t really have a decision to make then, I had to wait until they were ready to offer me another deal.
“To be honest I don’t even know if they’ve offered me another deal [now]. There’s [sic] rumours saying they’ve offered me a contract, but I haven’t had anything in front of me."
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the second offer never being received was a result of Bird not picking up the phone from his manager, David Riccio.
The Daily Telegraph reports that, should Bird depart the Dragons, then the Red V, under recruitment consultant Shane Flanagan, will target New Zealand international second rower Briton Nikora as his replacement.
It's understood other clubs - including the New Zealand Warriors - are also circling Nikora, with the Sharks keen to hold onto the star, but also not wanting to end up in a bidding war for the consistent 24-year-old's services.
Both Bird and Nikora are off-contract at the end of 2022.
