Jack Bird has declared he finally has full confidence back in his knee as St George Illawarra plan a cautious approach to his NRL return after two years out.
The Dragons' opener on Sunday night against Cronulla will mark Bird's first NRL game for his junior club, after two years of injury hell with back-to-back ACL blows.
Initially injured in May 2019 during Magic Weekend playing for Brisbane, Bird's 2020 was ruined when he went down on the eve of the season with the same injury in his left knee.
The 25-year-old only got back to running properly in January, and the Dragons have since managed his workload closely.
That is expected to continue into the season, with coach Anthony Griffin willing to play it safe at the hint of any niggle for the former NSW State of Origin star.
"We might still have to look after him a little bit over the next couple of months," Griffin told AAP.
"I know Sunday night he won't be going out there worried about minutes and fitness but we've got to do that for him.
"He's obviously a serious player. He's won a comp, played Origin before he was 22 or 23.
"You watch him move at training, the really good classy players you don't even have to watch play.
"You just watch the way he moves now he's got a bit of confidence and speed. He's a wonderful player."
But Bird is insistent he will not need to have his workload managed, either at training or on the field.
After getting through most of his pre-season in the back row to limit lateral movements, Bird requested he return to the centres.
The former Shark and Bronco will be crucial to sparking a Dragons side that are favourites for the spoon, playing on the left rather than his preferred right.
He will have Adam Clune inside him at five-eighth this weekend, with Corey Norman not expected to appeal his one-game ban for a street brawl.
"Hook (Griffin) has been cautious but I have told him to back off," Bird quipped
"He's been pretty cautious with me in the pre-season but I am pretty confident in my knee and body.
"There are no mental challenges there, or mental barriers.
"I don't want to be doing less than other players. I want to challenge it as much as I can by training and playing as much as everyone else.
"If I can't do that then I shouldn't be playing NRL. I don't want to be training half the day and looking after my knee."
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Bird has faith back in knee on NRL return - Yahoo Sport Australia
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