IF a UFC referee had seen an elbow bend that way he’d have stopped the fight, but as Sharks centre jack Bird said after Sunday’s grand final – “it’s the grand final, this is war.”
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It’s why the Berkeley Eagles product battled on after his right elbow folded under the full weight of skipper Paul Gallen early in the first half despite replays of the incident sending a collective shudder through all who could bring themselves to watch.
The 21-year-old’s effort to continue making tackles with one arm will be of the enduring images of the Sharks breakthrough grand final victory. He went on to finish with 16 carries for a 159 metres and perhaps just a hair’s breadth away from the Clive Churchill Medal.
Asked post-match if he ever considered coming from the field and elated Bird said: “Nah mate. No way. There was no way they were getting me off that field.
“It's the grand final and this is war. You’re going to do anything to win.”
He did concede it was the most pain he’d ever endured of a football field and required pain-killing injections at halftime to keep him on the paddock.
“I thought I’d actually broken my elbow,” Bird said.
“I chased out of there at marker went for the legs and I think Gal fell on it and I might have hyper-extended it. I've done my ACL before. That wasn’t playing rugby league, that was playing touch and I’ve done my lateral [knee] ligament at training last year and played the season with that but I can't recall being out there on the field and having so much pain in my life.
“I came in at half-time and it was pretty sore and they put some anaesthetic in it and it wouldn't stop me playing on the big stage.
“If you saw someone injured in the opposition team you're going to target them and run at them all day but I wouldn't let the boys down, no way. There was no way I was going to let a try in or anything. If I made a tackle and my arm came off I'd still play.”
The performance would have come as no surprise to those who know Bird best, having watched him overcome career threatening rheumatoid arthritis to become an Origin rep and premiership winner at just 21.
“To win a grand final is something I've always dreamed of ever since I was a little boy, especially with my illness - I never thought I'd play footy again - and here I am on the biggest stage and I've got a ring,” Bird
“To win a grand final and play for my state [this year] has been unbelievable. I wouldn't have it any other way.”
It’s also put him well in the frame for a maiden Test jumper – with Australia coach Mal Meninga to name his team on Tuesday – which would cap a remarkable second NRL season.
“I’m sure Mal’s selected his team and if I’m in it 100 per cent I’m keen to go, if not I’m just going to relax and get my elbow right,” Bird
“I'm happy enough to chill with the boys for the rest of the summer. If I don't get picked I'll still be supporting them 100 per cent.”