Possible Cronulla return for Bird?

Following Jack Bird's recent sighting at the Sharks v Knights game last weekend, speculation about a return to the shire for Bird is continuing to grow.

For much of the 2018 season, there has been talk Bird hasn't quite adjusted to the lifestyle at the Brisbane Broncos and could be seeking a return to the club whom he won the 2016 premiership with.

Bird's sighting isn't the most convincing evidence to support the rumours, with The Daily Telegraph's Phil Rothfield stating Bird was at Southern Cross Group Stadium to support good friend Luke Lewis.

Jack Bird was at shark park today. Interesting. pic.twitter.com/z0CPnfa6m8

— NuggzAF (@NUGGZ26) August 26, 2018

Rothfield told Fox League's Controversy Corner on Monday Bird was particularly close with Lewis, who is retiring at the end of the season.

“It was Luke Lewis’ farewell game at Shark Park and he came down to watch him," Rothfield said.

“He was a guest of (Sharks) director Craig Airey in his corporate suite.

“I’m still hearing that he will be coming home next year, and if there’s anyway Cronulla can find space in the cap he will wear a Sharks jersey.”

Cronulla's co-captain Paul Gallen has questioned Bird's motives for leaving the Sharks on what was reported as a $4 million dollar deal.

Gallen said he's known Bird since he was a teenager and that money wasn't much different at the Broncos.

"The whole chatter at the time was that he wanted to play five-eighth, that was the biggest issue,” Gallen said.

“He wanted to have his hands on the ball, that’s all he kept saying.

“If you go and play lock or you go and play five-eighth, you’ve got to make 20-30 tackles a game as well. He seemed to have forgotten about that part.

“When he went to Brisbane, he never got put in the five-eighth position and it never turned out well for him. He doesn’t seem to be that happy.”

Bird's debut season for the Broncos hasn't quite gone to plan with him featuring in just eight games for Brisbane in 2018, mainly due to injuries.

Cronulla will be losing quality players in the form of Ricky Leutele, Edrick Lee and Jesse Ramien for the 2019 season, with Gallen revealing he'd welcome Bird back in a heartbeat.

“At the end of the day, he’s on about $850,000 a season and the Sharks simply do not have that in the cap next year,” Gallen said.

“I’d love to have ‘Birdy’ back. You look at our roster next year and we lose some of our outside backs.”