Gregory Bird
Personal information
Born	10 February 1984 (1984-02-10) (age 25)
	Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia
Height	183 cm (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	102 kg (16 st 1 lb)
Playing information
Position	Lock, Five-eighth
Club
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
2002–08	Cronulla-Sutherland	106	35	6	0	152
2009–	Catalan Dragons	22	5	3	0	26
	Total	128	40	9	0	178
Representative
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
2007	Country Origin	1	0	0	0	0
2007–08	New South Wales	4	0	0	0	0
2007–08	Australia	2	1	0	0	4
Source: RLP, NRL Stats

Gregory Bird (born 10 February 1984^[1] in Newcastle, New South Wales) is an Australian professional rugby league footballer currently contracted to the Catalan Dragons of Super League. An Australian international and New South Wales State of Origin lock or five-eighth, Bird previously played for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks of the National Rugby League.

Contents 1 Early career 2 Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks 3 Catalans Dragons 3.1 Representative career 4 Controversies 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Early career

Raised at Lochinvar in the Hunter Valley, Bird played junior football for West Maitland and Maitland Pumpkin Pickers.^[1] A schoolboy sensation in rugby league, playing for Rutherford Technology High School, he was a member of the Newcastle Knights under-18 SG Ball side, going on to represent and captain the junior Australian Kangaroos side in 2001.^[2]

While attending Rutherford High School, Bird played for the Australian Schoolboys team in 2001.^[3]

[edit] Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks

Bird made his NRL debut for the Cronulla Sharks on 28 April, 2002, Round 7 v Bulldogs at Toyota Park.^[1] Bird played regular first grade for the Sharks in 2003.

Bird obtained notoriety in 2004 after kneeing Souths winger Shane Marteene in the head during their round four clash, which resulted in him not only being sent off by the referee but also in a 10 week suspension from the judiciary.^[4] According to his agent, Gavin Orr, Bird had "said he copped a couple of blows to the face during the match and he got an elbow from Shane Marteene in the tackle and just lost it."^[5] Chief executive of the club, Steve Rogers claimed that Bird had "been made an example of" and was angered that there "wasn't much consideration given to Greg's youth and his previous record".^[4] But the judiciary stated that it took Bird's remorse and good record into account, but decided upon the lengthy suspension due to the severity of the offence.^[6] After the game Bird apologised to Marteene in the dressing rooms and also wrote letters to the player and the Souths club.^[4]Greg Bird was charged with two assaults including girlfriend in 2008

Bird had a strong year in 2006 and was voted as the Sharks' Player of the Year despite missing seven games of the season through injury.^[7] He suffered a serious rib injury in a Round 21 game against the Newcastle Knights which ended his season. Also during 2006, he posed for the Naked Rugby League 2007-08 charity calendar, which was produced to raise money for the National Breast Cancer Foundation of Australia. In March, 2006 he was alleged to have sent model Lara Bingle inappropriate text messages, although Bird denied this, Sharks spokesman Rob Willis saying "Greg's thrown up his hands... He says he's done nothing inappropriate. There's been nothing obscene written. There's been no harassment.".^[8]

Following outstanding club form, Bird made his debut for Country Origin and the NSW Blues in game II. His performance earned him a recall for game III of the series, this time in the position of five-eighth where he played most of his early football. He was also awarded Man of the Match. Bird made his Australian Test debut in 2007 and was named the Player's Player in the one-off test match between Australia and New Zealand.

Bird made a strong start to the 2008 season and was selected for Australia for May's Centenary Test, retaining his five-eighth jersey in place of an injured Darren Lockyer. Following the Test, Bird was again named in the NSW Blues side, controversially chosen again in the five-eighth position. In the 2008 State of Origin game one Bird was named Man of the Match.

Following NSW's loss in Game II, Bird claimed he was "jokingly" arrested and hancuffed outside a Brisbane nightclub as part of a practical joke by Queensland Police. Queensland Police responded in a press release stating Bird was arrested after he failed to follow police instructions. He was released after five minutes without charge.

In August, 2008, Bird was named in the preliminary 46-man Kangaroos squad for the 2008 Rugby League World Cup.^[9][10]

[edit] Catalans Dragons

On 16 January 2009, Bird was released from his contract with Cronulla.^[11] The following day, Bradford Bulls confirmed they had signed Bird to the English Super League side for the 2009 season, with a two year option for 2010 and 2011.^[12] However he was unable to play for the Bulls this season as his visa was denied. After initially deciding to play rugby union in the Shute Shield for Southern Districts Rugby Club, he eventually joined French rugby league club Catalans Dragons.^[13] On 6 May 2009, the Catalans Dragons opened talks with Bird about extending his stay at the club despite his conviction on the 28 April 2009 for assault.^[14]

[edit] Representative career

• Represented and captained the Australian Schoolboys
• Country Origin: 2007
• State of Origin: 2007, 2008
• Australia: 2007, 2008

[edit] Controversies

Cause	Glassing of girlfriend Attempting to blame friend
Conviction(s)	Reckless wounding Making a false accusation
Penalty	16 months imprisonment (8 months to be served) $5000 fine 3 year good behaviour bond
Status	On bail pending appeal

On 25 August 2008, Bird appeared in Sutherland Local Court charged with maliciously inflicting grievous bodily harm on his 24-year-old American girlfriend Katie Milligan at his flat in Cronulla. It was alleged that he had smashed a glass into her face. It was reported that she is undergoing surgery for a fractured eye socket and facial injuries. He was granted bail. The Cronulla club's chief executive, Tony Zappia, advised Bird would be stood down from the playing roster pending further investigations. Ms Milligan had moved to Sydney to be with Bird earlier in the month, having met him in Las Vegas while he was on holiday there earlier in the year.^[15][16][17] In September 2008 Bird's legal representative was advised that Bird would be facing additional charges of public mischief and false accusation.^[18]

The charges against Bird led to the British Government denying him a work permit to take up a playing position with Bradford Bulls. ^[19]

On 13 March 2009 Bird again appeared in Sutherland Local Court ^[20] on five charges of common assault against a female at Cronulla on 19 January 2008. This matter was not related to the case involving his girlfriend. ^[21]

On the 28 April 2009 Bird was found guilty of one count of reckless wounding and one count of making a false accusation to police after attempting to blame his flatmate. ^[22] On 22 June 2009 he was sentenced to a maximum of 16 months imprisonment. ^[23]

But in November 2009, the charges were dismissed and Bird found innocent.^[24]

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Cronulla Sharks profile
• NRL profile

v • d • e Catalans Dragons - current squad 1 Greenshields · 2 Murphy · 3 Wilson · 4 Mogg · 5 Pelo · 6 Bosc · 7 McGuire · 8 Ferriol · 10 Guisset · 11 Raguin · 12 Croker · 13 Mounis · 14 Carlaw · 15 Griffi · 16 Elima · 17 Gossard · 18 Duport · 19 Chan · 20 K. Bentley · 21 A. Bentley · 22 Fakir · 23 Stacul · 24 Casty · 25 Khattabi ·26 Baile · 27 Quintilla · 28 Touxagas · –– Vaccari · Coach: Walters