Australian centre Jack Bird says he is looking forward to another year at Leeds Rhinos before making a decision on his long-term future.

The former State of Origin player arrived at Leeds in February after an 11-season career in the southern hemisphere NRL which included spells with Cronulla Sharks, Brisbane Broncos, St George-Illawarra Dragons and Wests Tigers. Bird confirmed his contract runs until the end of 2027 and he’d like to remain at Rhinos beyond that, though he has yet to decide how long he’ll continue playing.

“I am still at the club next year,” Bird - who is set to make his 13th appearance in Friday’s regular season finale against Hull FC - said. “I have still got another year. I am getting old now, I am 31, so I would like to keep going around, but I’ll see how the body holds up and if Leeds are still keen to keep me for an extra few years.”

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Jack Bird joined Leeds Rhinos early this season on a contract until the end of 2027. Picture by Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com.

placeholder image — Jack Bird joined Leeds Rhinos early this season on a contract until the end of 2027. Picture by Alex Whitehead/SWpix.com.

But Bird stressed: “I am not really focused on that at the moment. I will wait until next year and see if I am playing good footy and how the body holds up. At the moment I want to keep playing, but I have got another year here so I’ve just got to be consistent with my football, play good footy and hopefully I can stay here. If not, I might have to look elsewhere, but my goal is to keep playing for an extra few years.”

Bird could yet end his debut season as a Grand Final winner, but he admitted Rhinos need to put last Saturday’s 40-8 home loss to Wigan Warriors behind them. “We knew what was on the table for us to take, but we just didn’t step up,” he reflected.

“They came out physical and strong and we just didn’t match it. It’s disappointing, but it’s best happening now in-season than going into the finals. We can address it, see where we went wrong, work on it and fix it.”

Rhinos could meet Wigan again, if both teams make it to Old Trafford. Bird added: “They are a great team, but so are we. I think if we play them again in the big dance we can get them, but we need to match their physicality and stay in the grind with them, take them to the deep end and see if they can handle that.”

Fergus McCormack, seen in action against St Helens earlier this year, will do a good job at full-back as replacement for the injured Lachie Miller, his Leeds Rhinos teammate Jack Bird reckons. Picture by Allan McKenzie/SWpix.com.

Leeds will have to do that without one of their most influential players, full-back Lachie Miller, who suffered a hamstring injury just seven minutes into last week’s defeat. “It’s hard,” Bird conceded. “We had to put a back-rower [Chris Hankinson] at full-back and he did a good job there in the circumstances, but losing Lachie was massive.”

Rhinos could still snatch top spot if they beat Hull and Wigan lose at home to Catalans Dragons on Friday, but a better performance is Leeds’ main priority, Bird insisted. “We need to get that confidence again,” he said.

“Hopefully Catalans can beat them, but it’s in the past now, we’ve just got to look forward to what we can work on and fix. We can’t really rely on other people’s performances - we’ve got to look at our own performance and go from there. It mattered that we didn’t get the shield, but our focus is on the finals.”