Jack Bird still doesn't see his long-term future in the centres, but the Cronulla firebrand says he was "crazy" to call the position boring at the start of the year.
The NSW Origin utility raised plenty of eyebrows after the first month of the season when he openly described his transition from five-eighth to centre as "boring".
It cast doubts over the 21-year-old's level of happiness in the Shire after being shifted away from the halves to accommodate the arrival of James Maloney and Chad Townsend.
While there's little doubt he will be selling himself as a five-eighth to attract the big dollars when he goes on the market on November 1, heading into Sunday's grand final against Melbourne Bird says his attitude towards playing in the centres has changed dramatically since his comments in April.
"I wouldn't say I'm bored now," Bird said.
"I was just getting used to a position I wasn't used to. It's a lot different to five-eighth. When you're at five-eighth you can roam the field and you have a lot more ball in your hands than you do in the centres. I wasn't used to that, but I think gradually over time I started getting used to it. It was early in the year when I said I was bored, so I hadn't given it enough time to get used to.
"But when I look back now, just to be playing in this team, it's a privilege and honour to be in this team. It's pretty crazy when I look back and even said I was bored. I'm not bored no more. I'm pretty sweet. I think long term I'd like to get back closer to the ball, but I'm pretty happy at the moment being in a grand final."
Bird's comments prompted coach Shane Flanagan to address concerns his star player was unhappy at the club given he also missed out on the No.1 jersey to Ben Barba.
Flanagan hosed it down as Bird just being competitive, adamant there was no tension over his decision to play him in the centres.
The strength of their relationship became evident during this year's Origin series, when Fairfax Media revealed Flanagan had volunteered to drive from Cronulla to Coffs Harbour and back just to deliver Bird's medication to treat his rheumatoid arthritis.
The Blues travelled to Queensland the next day and had to source the medication in Brisbane, however Flanagan's gesture wasn't lost on Bird.
"It just goes to show what kind of bloke Flanno is," Bird said.
"Obviously I played my first NRL game under Flanno. It goes to show the things that he would do for his players. Even though he wasn't involved in the Origin team, he showed just how much his players mean to him by volunteering to bring it up for me.
"I wouldn't have let him drive it up, because it's a pretty long drive. It's pretty crazy when I heard that he would do that. It just shows the bloke he is."
