JACK Bird can see the Newcastle Knights are building for the future and will consider a move to the Hunter if he doesn’t sign a new deal with the Sharks.
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Off contract, Bird, who is in camp with the Indigenous All Stars in Newcastle this week, hopes to finalise his future by “round two or three”.
The 21-year-old’s preference is to extend his stay at the Sharks, whom he helped steer to a historic premiership last season, but is “not ruling anyone out”.
Asked if the Knights were an option, Bird said: “Yes, 100 per cent.” “Obviously the Knights didn’t go too well last year but they are building for the future.
“They have signed Kalyn Ponga from the Cowboys and we saw what he can do at the Auckland Nines. He is a good player.
“The Knights are building for the future but I’m happy to stay at the Sharks.
“We will have to wait and see, and wait for my manager to sort that stuff out.”
The Knights are preparing a war chest as part of coach Nathan Brown’s long-term strategy to attract marquee players and transform the back-to-back wooden spooners back into a premiership force.
They are understood to have around $500,000 left in the salary cap for this season.
That figure is likely to swell with the departure of Korbin Sims to the Broncos and the dark cloud over the future of playmaker Jarrod Mullen.
If, as expected, Mullen’s positive test to prohibited substance Drostanolone is confirmed, his $750,000 a year contract will be ripped up.
The Knights, who have 19 players off contract, have also sat aside money in the unlikely scenario that the Cowboys released 2018 signing Ponga a season early.
Bird sits at the top of the Knights’ target list. His versatility, age and strike power, tick all the boxes.
Mullen’s likely exit could also open an opportunity at five-eighth, where Bird played the majority of his debut season for the Sharks in 2015.
The 21-year-old switched to centre last season to accommodate the arrival of James Maloney and will also line up on the edge for the Indigenous All Stars against the World All Stars at McDonald Jones Stadium on Friday night. However, the excitement machine, who made his NSW debut off the bench last season, has made no secret of his desire to be closer to the action and said that would be a factor in determining his future.
“It comes down to where you are going to be happy playing position-wise, and where you see the club going in the future,” he said.
The Sharks signed outside back Valentine Holmes to a new million dollar three-year deal last weekend, leaving Bird and Wade Graham as retention priorities.
“Now Val is out of the way they have me and Wade to go through,” Bird said. “I’m sure I will start negotiations with Flanno soon. I have had a few little chats with him but there is nothing on the table yet. I am happy to stay at the Sharks, I just have to wait and see what they offer.”
Bird, who is in the All Stars for the first time, attended a youth summit with 64 kids from remote areas on Wednesday.
“I have really enjoyed my time in camp,” said Bird, who discovered his heritage two years ago. “It is a change for myself, my first time coming in. To play with the likes of Johnathan Thurston and Greg Inglis is something I don’t take for granted. You learn a lot about culture and your background. It is something I have wanted to learn since I found out I was indigenous.”