Jack Bird backs new coach Shane Flanagan to unite fractured Dragons

Dragons officials, and Flanagan, met with their wantaway captain on Monday and informed him the club won't be acceding to his request for a release from his deal that runs to the end of 2025.

Hunt's request for an immediate out has thrust the club into fresh tumult in a campaign previously plagued by speculation surrounding the future of former coach Anthony Griffin.

It was hoped Flanagan's appointment would bring fresh stability, but his initiation has proven a stark illustration of the task he has in rebuilding the joint-venture.

Read more: Dragons finally make the right call in rejecting Hunt release

He has form in that area having taken the Sharks from wooden spooners to 2016 premiers in two years after serving a suspension over the 2011 supplements scandal.

Bird debuted in the NRL under Flanagan in 2015 after shifting north from the Dragons, winning a premiership and playing Origin footy in his first two years of first grade.

While it remains to be seen whether Flanagan can get Hunt on board with his vision for the next three years, Bird said his former Sharks mentor has a rare ability to hold a club together.

"With Flanno, I think one of his strengths is he brings a team together," Bird said.

"Everything we do [under him], we do it together. He brings the boys together, he'll bring a great culture and he'll get us working together. That's something I'm looking forward to.

"Carry's (interim coach Ryan Carr) done a great job here in the last few weeks and all the boys love him. It's the same with Flanno, you love playing for him and he's just got an aura about him, someone like Wayne Bennett.

"Wayne Bennett's obviously pretty big in the game and people love playing under him, and I can't wait to play under Flanno again.

"At the Sharks, there was nothing like it. It's pretty crazy when you think about it, I kind of miss it sometimes, but that's something he'll bring to this club."

It's a welcome development on the personal front for the Berkeley Eagles product, who's walked an injury-riddled path since departing the Sharks at the end of 2017.

He's confident re-uniting with Flanagan, and shrugging off the niggles that have plagued his 2023 campaign, can see him find top form again.

"It's massive, I can't wait for him to get here," Bird said.

"Obviously, I probably played my best football under him so I just want to get my body right and play good footy leading to next year when Flanno gets here.

"Hopefully I can get my body sorted for next year, but we've still got 10-odd games this year. We still have a job to do this year and that's to try and make the finals.

"Obviously performances like [Friday's loss to the Warriors] don't help, but we've got 10-odd games to go and we can improve."

The Warriors defeat was a return to action for Bird after missing three weeks with lingering knee soreness.

Read more: Dragons reject Hunt's pitch for release, set to play skipper against Sharks

While it's not a result of previous knee reconstructions, or the rheumatoid arthritis he battled as a teenager, the 28-year-old says it has hampered his preparation for games.

"Obviously I've had some problems with my knees in the past, but this doesn't have too much to do with my recent surgeries or injuries," Bird said.

"We think it's tendonitis in the back of my knee or in the tendon there. It's a little bit sore, but I felt all right out there [on Friday]. It's hard because everything around my knees feel good.

"I went and got scans on both my knees the last two weeks and they came back with nothing, relatively, to worry about. It's got to be something a bit deeper than what we can actually see.

"I don't know what's letting me down there. I've had my tests and all that kind of stuff. I've seen my rheumatologist and he's ticked off that it's not arthritis so that's a good sign.

"It's all right sometimes, and then when I'm doing back-to-back training sessions or whatever, it's a bit sore. It felt all right out there [on Friday]. Once I warmed up it's OK."

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