Jack Bird has been spotted following a meeting with Wests Tigers officials as the Dragons player prepares to leave the club ahead of schedule.
According to 9News reporter Danny Weidler, the 29-year-old was in Concord Tuesday morning and left with a smile on his face.
Bird has been out of the St George Illawarra squad several times this year due to fitness and issues, but has returned to the No.6 jersey in the past two weeks. However, with just one year left on his Wollongong contract, his current club should not stand in his way if Bird finds a new home.
Weidler’s news comes just hours after the Tigers announced the signing of Sharks big man Royce Hunt to a three-year contract.
The club also added Jarome Luai and Sunia Turuva to their squad for next year. As for the Dragons, who are now on course to miss the finals after a crushing defeat against the Eels in Round 26, there could be a squad overhaul in the off-season. Bird has played a variety of roles since returning to his roots in 2021 but has failed to replicate the form shown early in his career that made him a State of Origin star and a long-distance JV transfer another NRL title appears to be on the cards. . Mikaele Ravalawa and Blake Lawrie have also been allowed to ply their trade elsewhere after struggling under manager Shane Flanagan this season, while Ben Murdoch-Masila and Max Feagai are not signed for 2025 and beyond.
Questions remain over Ben Hunt’s future in red and white, with the captain available to rival clubs from November 1 this year.
One man who certainly won’t be there is Zac Lomax, the senior wing who signed a contract with Parramatta after a public contract saga earlier this year.
Flanagan has signed stars Valentine Holmes and Damien Cook for next year, while front-rower Reagan Campbell-Gillard is also expected to join the Red Vs.