Jack Bird feels like a new man. He looks like one as well; the former Shark has dropped five kilograms and added a moustache and a mullet, with the latter bringing what he considers a touch of Sydney culture to inner-Brisbane's uninspiring male hair scene.

"No one has hair like this up here. Only out in the bush," Bird insists.

Looks are one thing but Bird knows he is at the stage of his career where deeds will do all of the talking. He has been missing in action for so long over recent seasons that his only real goal for 2020 was to try and see it out relatively unscathed.

Bird's move north to Brisbane, a high-profile signing by former coach Wayne Bennett, has been difficult to say the least. He arrived with a shoulder concern, then had a sternum injury that restricted him to just eight appearances. Last season, he finally found some continuity before injuring his ACL in round nine to rule a line through his campaign.