Julius Sezer
22-06-13, 11:44 AM
GREG Bird is the quintessential Origin player a rugby league machine designed to perform on the game's biggest stage.
He is everything State of Origin was created for. The Blues hardman is tough, skilful and possesses the qualities needed to succeed in such an arena.
But why is Bird so good? What has driven this man from Maitland to give his everything for the NSW jersey?
''People talk about it being the best, biggest, most competitive, physical, emotional game,'' he says.
''That's the way I enjoy playing.
''For club football you've got to curb those impulses a bit but Origin is the most pure form of football.''
It's that desire that's led Bird to such great heights.
He cracked the NSW side in 2007 and was man of the match, at five-eighth, in just his second game. He collected the same gong in Game One of 2008 as he began to forge a legacy as one of the concept's greatest players.
''He'll be up there with some of the best (of all time when he retires),'' says Immortal and NSW legend Andrew Johns. ''Just look at his record. How many games (12) he's played and how many man of the matches (3) he's got.
''He's an Origin player. I haven't seen him play a bad game at that level.
''Every game he plays at this level he's at his best. He's inspirational and is made for that sort of footy.
''I don't know what makes one of these special players but he just takes his game to a new level and inspires other players around him.''
For Bird, Origin is earned. It's not a right.
It's the reason he came back to Australia after a stint in the Super League.
As he sat in the Catalans clubhouse in 2009, watching NSW lose their fourth straight series after just two games, Bird knew he had to leave France.
''Origin was the major contributor in returning to the NRL. It was pretty much the only one really,'' he said.
''In France the lifestyle was great, money was good but there's no rep football. There's no Origin, which is something I really enjoyed playing here.
''In 2009 we got beaten pretty convincingly. It went to a dead rubber. That was hard to watch.
''I always knew I wanted to come back and then when it came to Origin, once you get a taste you can't wait to get back out there.''
Bird's return to the NRL has been nothing short of emphatic.
The 29-year-old was voted the game's best second-rower by his peers recently and is now a co-captain of the Gold Coast Titans.
He is the second player picked for NSW, behind captain Paul Gallen, but something has eluded him his entire career a Blues series win.
''You can (feel that pain). You can feel every loss,'' he said. ''You have to move on. It's a new series.
''We're even now. It doesn't matter that we've lost seven in a row.
''That's why I love it so much. You can put everything into one game.''
For so long during Queensland's seven-year dynasty, NSW has lacked direction. From the top to the bottom, an entire state has struggled to halt Origin's greatest winning streak.
The Blues have their best chance in years to finally crack Queensland's stranglehold and Johns says Bird will play a major role in that.
''When the big play needs to be made, he invariably does it. He's just one of those special guys that has that quality in him,'' Johns said.
''I don't know how you get it, whether you're born with it or over time you develop it but he's one of those players that has that special quality and is a real leader of men.
''They missed him, 100 per cent (while he was in France). Really missed him.
''He reminds me of the best players I played with at that level. Freddy (Brad) Fittler at his best, Laurie Daley. When he finishes he'll be right along the lines of some of our best Origin players.''
It's an accolade that will sit well with Bird but he knows it won't happen without a series win.
Amid all the hype of their Game One victory, the series ledger still reads Queensland seven, NSW nil.
It's a fact that hurts Bird but one he's confident of changing.
''No matter how many games you've played, you can never play enough,'' Bird says.
''I'd like to be (remembered as one of the greatest) but that's not for me to decide.
''I'm just happy to be involved in it at the moment and a team that has the opportunity to break a drought.
''We've got a lot of work ahead of us.''
http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2013/06/22/453433_gold-coast-titans.html
He is everything State of Origin was created for. The Blues hardman is tough, skilful and possesses the qualities needed to succeed in such an arena.
But why is Bird so good? What has driven this man from Maitland to give his everything for the NSW jersey?
''People talk about it being the best, biggest, most competitive, physical, emotional game,'' he says.
''That's the way I enjoy playing.
''For club football you've got to curb those impulses a bit but Origin is the most pure form of football.''
It's that desire that's led Bird to such great heights.
He cracked the NSW side in 2007 and was man of the match, at five-eighth, in just his second game. He collected the same gong in Game One of 2008 as he began to forge a legacy as one of the concept's greatest players.
''He'll be up there with some of the best (of all time when he retires),'' says Immortal and NSW legend Andrew Johns. ''Just look at his record. How many games (12) he's played and how many man of the matches (3) he's got.
''He's an Origin player. I haven't seen him play a bad game at that level.
''Every game he plays at this level he's at his best. He's inspirational and is made for that sort of footy.
''I don't know what makes one of these special players but he just takes his game to a new level and inspires other players around him.''
For Bird, Origin is earned. It's not a right.
It's the reason he came back to Australia after a stint in the Super League.
As he sat in the Catalans clubhouse in 2009, watching NSW lose their fourth straight series after just two games, Bird knew he had to leave France.
''Origin was the major contributor in returning to the NRL. It was pretty much the only one really,'' he said.
''In France the lifestyle was great, money was good but there's no rep football. There's no Origin, which is something I really enjoyed playing here.
''In 2009 we got beaten pretty convincingly. It went to a dead rubber. That was hard to watch.
''I always knew I wanted to come back and then when it came to Origin, once you get a taste you can't wait to get back out there.''
Bird's return to the NRL has been nothing short of emphatic.
The 29-year-old was voted the game's best second-rower by his peers recently and is now a co-captain of the Gold Coast Titans.
He is the second player picked for NSW, behind captain Paul Gallen, but something has eluded him his entire career a Blues series win.
''You can (feel that pain). You can feel every loss,'' he said. ''You have to move on. It's a new series.
''We're even now. It doesn't matter that we've lost seven in a row.
''That's why I love it so much. You can put everything into one game.''
For so long during Queensland's seven-year dynasty, NSW has lacked direction. From the top to the bottom, an entire state has struggled to halt Origin's greatest winning streak.
The Blues have their best chance in years to finally crack Queensland's stranglehold and Johns says Bird will play a major role in that.
''When the big play needs to be made, he invariably does it. He's just one of those special guys that has that quality in him,'' Johns said.
''I don't know how you get it, whether you're born with it or over time you develop it but he's one of those players that has that special quality and is a real leader of men.
''They missed him, 100 per cent (while he was in France). Really missed him.
''He reminds me of the best players I played with at that level. Freddy (Brad) Fittler at his best, Laurie Daley. When he finishes he'll be right along the lines of some of our best Origin players.''
It's an accolade that will sit well with Bird but he knows it won't happen without a series win.
Amid all the hype of their Game One victory, the series ledger still reads Queensland seven, NSW nil.
It's a fact that hurts Bird but one he's confident of changing.
''No matter how many games you've played, you can never play enough,'' Bird says.
''I'd like to be (remembered as one of the greatest) but that's not for me to decide.
''I'm just happy to be involved in it at the moment and a team that has the opportunity to break a drought.
''We've got a lot of work ahead of us.''
http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2013/06/22/453433_gold-coast-titans.html