Bird vows to fight back
BRISBANE’S $3 million man Jack Bird has admitted he went missing in his Suncorp Stadium debut for the Broncos.
Bird was one of many passengers in Broncos colours as Brisbane suffered its first home loss to the Titans since 2007 in the 26-14 Easter Sunday upset.
The NSW Origin star did not run the ball until the 33rd minute, seemingly floating at left centre and reluctant to inject himself into the contest against the fired-up Gold Coast.
Coach Wayne Bennett has thrust Bird into the unfamiliar position of left centre since he joined the Broncos from Cronulla this season.
And he admitted he needed to get more involved if he was to deliver on his $750,000-aseason price tag.
“In the first half I didn’t get much ball,” Bird, 23, said.
“They had a lot of possession and it was a very fast game. We made too many errors in the first half which resulted in us not having the ball.
“I only had two runs in the first half.
“I promised myself when I came into the sheds at halftime that I would get involved and help out the forwards. I tried to do that in the second half but it wasn’t good enough.
“I need to get my hands on the ball otherwise I do go missing in games. I don’t get involved too much.”
To Bird’s credit he was more active in the second half, finishing the match with 10 runs for 71m and 10 tackles in his second game back from a shoulder reconstruction.
The error-riddled Broncos did not go down five-eighth Anthony Milford’s left edge often, but a player of Bird’s quality and potency is expected to go looking for the ball more than he did.
Prop Matt Lodge, who amassed 148m from 17 runs, was arguably Brisbane’s best player against the Titans and Bird said he had to do more tough work when the Broncos face the Knights in Newcastle on Saturday.
“I’m going to try my best to get my hands on the ball as much as I can throughout the year to help the forwards out,” he said.
“It was a pretty piss poor effort from us. We got our pants pulled down and it was very embarrassing.”
I NEED TO GET MY HANDS ON THE BALL OTHERWISE I DO GO MISSING IN GAMES. I DON’T GET INVOLVED TOO MUCH.