{"id":321033,"date":"2026-03-09T18:12:11","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T18:12:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/321033\/"},"modified":"2026-03-09T18:12:11","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T18:12:11","slug":"tigers-make-strange-bird-statement-three-weeks-late-nrl-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/321033\/","title":{"rendered":"Tigers make strange Bird statement three weeks late – NRL News"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Wests Tigers<\/a> have finally confirmed the departure of utility player Jack Bird<\/a> more than three weeks after he had already signed with another club.<\/p>\n

In a statement released on March 8, the club stated.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Wests Tigers<\/a> can confirm that utility, Jack Bird<\/a> has departed the Club by mutual consent.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe announcement comes following official confirmation of Bird’s release via the NRL<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cBird \u2013 Wests Tiger #299 \u2013 arrived at Concord ahead of the 2025 NRL<\/a> season and made 17 NRL<\/a> appearances during his time with the Club.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Wests Tigers<\/a> would like to thank Jack for his contribution to the Club and wish him all the best in the next chapter of his career.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bird, 30, had already been confirmed as a new signing for the Leeds Rhinos<\/a> on February 19, inking a two-year deal after being granted permission to leave the Tigers.\u00a0<\/p>\n

His move to the Super League<\/a> was widely seen as a rugby league lifeline, after he has struggled with injuries in recent seasons.<\/p>\n

The utility, who spent just one season at Concord, missed the final six games of 2025 due to form and managed only 17 appearances across the past three injury-hit NRL<\/a> seasons.<\/p>\n

Bird leaves the NRL<\/a> after previous stints with the Cronulla Sharks<\/a>, Brisbane Broncos<\/a>, and St George Illawarra Dragons<\/a>.<\/p>\n

While the timing of the Tigers’ statement raises eyebrows, Bird’s career now continues in England<\/a>, giving him a fresh start after a turbulent NRL<\/a> period.<\/p>\n

Get set for the footy with the FREE Zero Tackle 2026 NRL Season Guide!<\/a> Packed with 130+ pages of player profiles, team previews, insights and analysis, the 2026 NRL Season Guide<\/a> is built for fans who want the full picture. Download your free Season Guide HERE.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Wests Tigers have finally confirmed the departure of utility player Jack Bird more than three weeks after…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":321034,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[111,139,69,213],"class_list":{"0":"post-321033","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-new-zealand","9":"tag-newzealand","10":"tag-nz","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=321033"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/321033\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/321034"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=321033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=321033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=321033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}