{"id":443441,"date":"2026-01-28T18:18:34","date_gmt":"2026-01-28T18:18:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/443441\/"},"modified":"2026-01-28T18:18:34","modified_gmt":"2026-01-28T18:18:34","slug":"former-blues-stars-nrl-career-likely-over-nrl-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/443441\/","title":{"rendered":"Former Blues star\u2019s NRL career likely over – NRL News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Jack Bird<\/a> looks to have played his final game in the NRL<\/a>.<\/p>\n

According to the Daily Telegraph, the Tigers are open to moving the 30-year-old on as he explores opportunities in the UK Super League<\/a> in a bid to revive his career.<\/p>\n

The former premiership winner fell out of favour midway through the 2025 season, missing the club’s final six games before being granted permission to leave at season’s end.<\/p>\n

Bird was initially linked to a swap deal that would have seen him join the Manly Sea Eagles<\/a> in exchange for front-rower Nathan Brown<\/a>, but those talks collapsed, leaving his future uncertain.<\/p>\n

While it was believed Bird could remain at Concord, it’s understood he has since held discussions with the London Broncos<\/a> about a potential move to the Betfred Championship.<\/p>\n

\"NRLSYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – MARCH 30: Jack Bird of the Wests Tigers reacts during the round four NRL match between Wests Tigers and New Zealand Warriors at Campbelltown Sports Stadium, on March 30, 2025, in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Darrian Traynor\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

However, that option fell through due to the club’s failure to secure promotion to Super League<\/a> and ongoing salary cap restrictions.<\/p>\n

The Broncos, now owned by Darren Lockyer<\/a> and coached by Jason Demetriou<\/a>, have already recruited a host of NRL<\/a> names, including Reagan Campbell-Gillard<\/a>, Dean Hawkins<\/a>, Savelio Havili and Luke Smith<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Bird is still believed to be searching for a Super League<\/a> opportunity, with roster spots remaining available across several clubs.<\/p>\n

His departure would provide the Tigers with additional salary cap flexibility and an extra place in their top-30 squad, aiding their retention plans for key young talent, including Jahream Bula<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Bird joined the Tigers after stints with the St George Illawarra Dragons<\/a>, Brisbane Broncos<\/a> and Cronulla Sharks<\/a>, but has managed just 17 appearances across the past three seasons due to injury setbacks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jack Bird looks to have played his final game in the NRL. According to the Daily Telegraph, the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":443442,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[568],"tags":[64,63,761,762,158,85],"class_list":["post-443441","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nrl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-national-rugby-league","tag-nationalrugbyleague","tag-nrl","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443441","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=443441"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/443441\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/443442"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=443441"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=443441"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=443441"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}