Greg Bird
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| Personal information | ||
|---|---|---|
| Full name | Greg Bird | |
| Date of birth | 10 February 1984 | |
| Place of birth | Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia | |
| Height | 183 cm (6 ft 0 in) | |
| Weight | 102 kg (16 st 1 lb) | |
| Nickname(s) | Birdy | |
| School(s) | Rutherford High School | |
| Club information | ||
| Position(s) | Lock / Five-Eighth | |
| Current club | Cronulla Sharks | |
| Youth clubs | ||
| Years | Club | |
| West Maitland Red Dogs Maitland Pumpkin Pickers |
||
| Youth representative teams | ||
| 2001 | Australian Schoolboys | |
| Senior clubs* | ||
| Years | Club | Apps (points) |
| 2002 – present | Cronulla Sharks | 100 (152) |
| Representative teams** | ||
| 2007 2007 – present 2007 – present |
Country Origin New South Wales Australia |
1 (0) 3 (0) 2 (4) |
|
* Professional club appearances and points |
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Greg Bird (born 10 February 1984 in Newcastle, New South Wales) is an Australian professional rugby league player for the Cronulla Sharks in the National Rugby League (NRL) competition. He has represented at state and national levels. He plays at either second row, lock or five-eighth.
Contents |
[edit] Early career
Bird played junior football for West Maitland and Maitland Pumpkin Pickers. A schoolboy sensation in rugby league, he represented and captained the junior Australian Kangaroos side.
[edit] Senior career
[edit] 2002
Bird made his NRL debut for the Cronulla Sharks on 28 April, 2002, Round 7 v Bulldogs at Toyota Park.
[edit] 2003-2006
Bird played regular first grade for the Sharks in 2003.
Bird obtained notoriety in 2004 after kneeing Souths winger Shane Marteene in the head during their round four clash, which resulted in him not only being sent off by the referee but also in a 10 week suspension from the judiciary.[1] According to his agent, Gavin Orr, Bird had "said he copped a couple of blows to the face during the match and he got an elbow from Shane Marteene in the tackle and just lost it."[2] Chief executive of the club, Steve Rogers claimed that Bird had "been made an example of" and was angered that there "wasn't much consideration given to Greg's youth and his previous record".[1] But the judiciary stated that it took Bird's remorse and good record into account, but decided upon the lengthy suspension due to the severity of the offence.[3] After the game Bird apologised to Marteene in the dressing rooms and also wrote letters to the player and the Souths club.[1]
Bird had a strong year in 2006 and was voted as the Cronulla Sharks Player of the Year despite missing seven games of the season through injury.[4] He suffered a serious rib injury in a Round 21 game against the Newcastle Knights which ended his season. Also during 2006, he posed for the Naked Rugby League 2007-08 charity calendar, which was produced to raise money for the National Breast Cancer Foundation of Australia. In March, 2006 he was alleged to have sent model Lara Bingle lewd text messages.[5]
[edit] 2007
Following outstanding club form, Bird made his debut for Country Origin and the NSW Blues in game II. His performance earned him a recall for game III of the series, this time in the position of five-eighth where he played most of his early football. He was also awarded Man of the Match. Bird made his Australian Test debut in 2007 and was named the Player's Player in the one-off test match between Australia and New Zealand.
[edit] 2008
Bird made a strong start to the 2008 and was selected for Australia for May's Centenary Test, retaining his five-eighth jersey in place of an injured Darren Lockyer. Following the Test, Bird was again named in the NSW Blues side, controversially chosen again in the five-eighth position. In the 2008 State of Origin game one Bird was named Man of the Match.
[edit] Representative career
- Represented and captained the Australian Schoolboys
- Country Origin: 2007.
- State of Origin: 2007
- Australia: 2007
- State of Origin: 2008
[edit] External links
[edit] Footnotes
- ^ a b c ABC Sport - Rugby League - Sharks lash Bird suspension
- ^ Bird says sorry for 'cowardly act' but he's prepared to pay the price - League - www.smh.com.au
- ^ ABC Sport - Rugby League - Bird gets 10 weeks for kneeing
- ^ Greg Bird
- ^ Crude texts less than model behaviour - League - Sport - smh.com.au
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