Greg Bird

Greg Bird (born 10 February 1984) is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s.

He played as a or for Australia at international level.

Bird previously played for the NRL for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks and the Gold Coast Titans.

In 2001, while playing for Rutherford Technology High School, Bird was selected for the Australian Schoolboys team and captained the side.

In round 7 of the 2002 NRL season, Bird made his NRL debut for the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks against the Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs.

In 2003, he became a regular first-grader for the Sharks.

In 2004, Bird obtained notoriety after kneeing South Sydney Rabbitohs Shane Marteene in the head during their round 4 clash, which resulted in him being sent off by the referee and being suspended from playing for 10 weeks.

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."

Chief executive of the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks, 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".

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.

After the game Bird apologised to Marteene in the dressing rooms and also wrote letters to the player and the South Sydney Rabbitohs club.

In 2006, Bird 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, Bird was alleged to have sent model Lara Bingle inappropriate text messages, although he denied this.

Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks spokesman Rob Willis said "Greg's thrown up his hands. He says he's done nothing inappropriate. There's been nothing obscene written. There's been no harassment."

In 2006, Bird suffered a serious rib injury in round 21, against the Newcastle Knights, which ended his season.

He was voted as the Sharks' player of the year, despite missing 7 games of the season through injury.

In May 2007, Bird was selected for the New South Wales Country Origin team in the annual City vs Country Origin match.

In June 2007, Bird was selected for the New South Wales side to play Queensland in game 2 of the 2007 State of Origin series.

His performance earned him a recall for game 3, this time at five-eighth.

He was awarded the man of the match award.

In September 2007, Bird was selected for the Prime Minister's XIII team to play Papua New Guinea.

In October 2007, Bird was selected for Australia to play New Zealand in the one-off test match in Wellington, New Zealand.

He scored a try on debut and was named the player's player.

In May 2008, Bird was selected for Australia in 2008 centenary test, retaining his five-eighth jersey in place of the injured Darren Lockyer.

Bird was also selected for game 1 of the 2008 State of Origin series for New South Wales, controversially chosen again in the five-eighth position.

He was named man of the match and was again selected in game 2.

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

However, he didn't play a game in the tournament.

On 25 August 2008, Bird appeared in the 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 underwent surgery for a fractured eye socket and facial injuries.

Bird was granted bail.

The Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks chief executive, Tony Zappia, advised Bird that he would be stood down from the playing roster pending further investigation.

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.

In September 2008, Bird's legal representative was advised that Bird would be facing additional charges of public mischief and false accusation.

He played for the Catalans Dragons in the Super League in two separate spells, having previously played for the French club in 2009.

He is a NSW Country, New South Wales State of Origin, Prime Minister's XIII and Indigenous All Stars representative.

Bird was born in Maitland, New South Wales, Australia.

He played junior football for the West Maitland Red Dogs and Maitland Pumpkin Pickers before being signed by the Newcastle Knights.

He played for the Knights' Harold Matthews and SG Ball teams before being signed by the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks.