St George Illawarra coach Anthony Griffin has stated that Jack Bird is set for a positional shift next season with the aim of returning the 26-year-old back to prominence.
While Bird has claimed Origin and premiership honours whilst playing at centre across the course of his injury-interrupted career, Griffin outlined that a permanent move to lock could see the Wollongong-born Dragon recapture his spark.
โWith Jack, I have had a couple of good chats with him over the offseason,โ Griffin was quoted by The Courier Mail.
โI would say (he will play) somewhere around the ball, in the back row."
Since earning a ring with Cronulla in 2016, Bird has battled ailments, form and demons across the course of his two-year stint with the Broncos before returning back to Sydney.
Shoulder, sternum and a pair of ACL injuries cruelled the Indigenous All Star's ability to make a difference whilst on a rich $4 million deal in the river city, but having made 22-appearances whilst wearing a Red V in 2021, his horrid run with luck appears to have ended.
With Bird able to hit the track this summer, Griffin held hope he could use the time to prime himself for the rigorous role.
"Last year he was just doing rehab on his knee and he didnโt do much," the head coach continued.
โThis year will be his first real offseason for four or five years.โ
While a return to the Origin arena in the lock position may be off the cards given the quality of South Sydney's Cam Murray and the Roosters' Victor Radley, Griffin suggested that Bird would be looking to follow in the fellow youngster's footsteps.
When asked whether Bird would be afforded a chance to line-up as the Dragon's starting lock, the former Broncos and Panthers boss suggested as much by saying: "Probably around there โ a bit like a Radley, Murray type of player.
Griffin also spruiked Bird's flexibility to cover multiple positions across the park.
โHe can play six as well, which with our young halves there might be a point in the season where we need to throw him in there for a couple of weeks or so.
โMainly we will be looking at him in that lock area.โ
Bird's impending recommittal to the merged side now means that Griffin will have a wealth of forward options to help cover the loss of club veteran Paul Vaughan, with names like George Burgess, Aaron Woods, Francis Molo and Jaydn SuโA all set to call Kogarah home in 2022.
โWe didnโt have any (middle forwards) last year,โ Griffin said of his previous plight.
โWe had Vaughany (Paul Vaughan) and then he left. Jack was underdone. Blake Lawrie is a good tough kid but we just didnโt have anything around him to help him.
โWe stocked up well there and did it well with the cap.โ
Griffin's weyr of Dragons will have their first opportunity to put their best foot forward when the club face South Sydney in the Mudgee for the Charity Shield next season.
This hit-out will be followed by their first game for points against the New Zealand Warriors in the pair's Round 1 clash scheduled for March 12.