Wests Tigers utility Jack Bird has signed with Super League team Leeds Rhinos effective immediately, ending his one year tenure at the Tigers.

Bird, who was reported by this masthead to have been close to linking a deal in England will join former Eels coach Brad Arthur for their 2026 season.

The former premiership winner was initially believed to be part of a swap deal which would’ve seen Bird move to Manly in place of front-rower Nathan Brown, who would return to the Tigers after starting his career at the club in 2013.

That deal fell over and Bird was believed to be staying at the Tigers, but this masthead can reveal the 30-year-old had been in talks with the London Broncos to play in England’s second division competition the Betfred Championship.

Bird fell out of favour with the Tigers mid way through the 2025 season, missing the clubs final six rounds before being given permission to leave at the end of the year.

Just days ago Bird attended the Tigers season launch, but is expected to start with Leeds in the coming weeks.

COOK CHASING SMITH AS DRAGONS PREPARE TO RE-SIGN VETERAN STAR

—Peter Badel

The Dragons have opened contract negotiations with Damien Cook as the former NSW Origin hooker looks to extend his career in the NRL beyond his 36th birthday.

Code Sports can reveal St George Illawarra hierarchy have kicked off preliminary talks on a one-year extension in the hope of keeping Cook in the Red V until the end of 2027.

The 34-year-old is off-contract at season’s end and there were suggestions Cook could be weighing up retirement after a decorated 240-game NRL career that began with the Dragons in 2013.

But Cook is keen to soldier on beyond this year, with the Dragons veteran expected to draw the curtain on his career in 2027 if he can secure one final deal with the joint venture club.

The former Test rake returned to the Dragons last year after nine seasons at South Sydney and was a shining light for St George Illawarra.

Cook played all 24 games for the Dragons and was a model of consistency in a struggling joint-venture team that finished third last in their second season under coach Shane Flanagan.

Flanagan is presiding over a major rebuild at the Red V and Cook’s big-game experience is vital for the Dragons’ pack and emerging crop of rookies headlined by Lyhkan King-Togia.

Few hookers have survived in the NRL beyond the age of 36.

Storm legend Cameron Smith retired at the end of 2020 at age 37 and Cook has similarly built his career on fitness, showing remarkable endurance over the last decade.

The 2018 Dally M hooker of the year has rarely been injured since 2017, playing no fewer than 23 games per year for nine consecutive seasons.

That has given Dragons officialdom confidence Cook’s body can withstand life in the engine room for another two seasons as the Red V look to climb out of the NRL cellar.