Jack Bird has given a damning assessment of his time at the Brisbane Broncos, claiming that the club "didn't care about him" and plunged into a spiral after Wayne Bennett left.
Bird, who has joined the Dragons, endured an injury-riddled three-year stint in Brisbane. The 25-year-old played just 17 games, having copped two ACL ruptures.
Bird became a target for frustrated Broncos fans and said the he was left "feeling like a failure in life". He said that the club became unsupportive near the end of his time there.
"At the end, I felt like a burden there. Like I was just there for the sake of it," Bird told The Daily Telegraph.
"I felt like they weren't putting their time and effort into me, my rehab. I felt like I was just another number … they were pushing me to the side, they didn't care about me.
"So in the end, I knew if I wanted to get back to my best I had to move. Go to someone who was willing to put their time and effort into me getting back to my best."
Bird has been tipped to play at lock for the Dragons. He was a 2016 premiership winner at Cronulla and played State of Origin for NSW.
He is aiming to regain his best form, saying that Bennett's departure soured his time at the Broncos from the outset.
"When Wayne left, everything went south," Bird said. "If he wasn't coach, I wouldn't have went there. I would've gone somewhere else or stayed at Cronulla."
Bird said that he was finally enjoying football again, amid pre-season with St George Illawarra.
He said that although new Dragons coach Anthony Griffin was viewing him as a lock, playing at five-eighth or centre were still options.
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