Controversial Gold Coast recruit Greg Bird has issued a chilling warning to South Sydney, vowing to take his frustrations out on the Rabbitohs in Friday night's NRL clash at ANZ Stadium.
Outlawed from the 2009 NRL following a string of off-field indiscretions, Bird endured a forgettable comeback in the Titans'
24-18 escape against the Warriors last Sunday.
The burly five-eighth committed a series of uncustomary handling errors, missed three tackles and gave up an intercept try in a howler at Skilled Stadium.
The former NSW Origin and Kangaroos player says he is still dirty with himself.
He was left so filthy with himself he refused to talk to media and even coach John Cartwright afterwards.
But, breaking his silence on Thursday, Bird pledged to atone against the Rabbitohs who are themselves under pressure after their 36-10 round-one flop against the Sydney Roosters.
"I'm disappointed in myself but there's no better way to get over it than to get out there and have a good game and blow it out of the water," Bird said.
"It was a win and come round 25 no-one will notice how you played in that game. You got the two points at the end and you build on that this week."
Bird says his teammates will have to be wary themselves of a Bunnies backlash.
"A lot of people have been talking about them and they'll be disappointed with their first round," he said.
"(Sam) Burgess in particular and it's going to be a big test for our blokes in the middle.
"It's hard to say (what Souths' biggest weakness is). I can't really make a judgment on them because I haven't seen a lot of their games for a while.
"I've only seen the one game they played last week and as with us, you can't really know how a team's going on one game, they could come out this week and play a completely different style of football.
"We played them in the trial and they were strong, so we'll be expecting a strong game pretty much all over."
One big positive for Bird has been coach Cartwright's response to his less than inspirational first game for the Titans.
Cartwright shrugged off Bird's errors, saying he was pleased with the way his new recruit's aggression and enthusiasm had rubbed off on the other players, something Bird has taken on board.
"It is a positive, I always like to think of myself as my own worst critic but I was disappointed, I thought I made a fair few errors and I'll have to make up for that this week," he said.
Titans forward Ashley Harrison said Bird has settled into the team well.
"Like any player coming to a new club it takes a little bit of time to get your footy 100 per cent where you want it," the Queensland Origin player said.
"Last week Birdy brought a lot of aggression to our team and I'm sure he's just going to get better as the weeks go on.
"It's infectious and he's great to have around the side."
Titans match-winner Preston Campbell has pulled out of the game after being advised against flying to Sydney following a head knock last week.
William Zillman has replaced him at fullback.
- AAP
Controversial Gold Coast recruit Greg Bird has issued a chilling warning to South Sydney, vowing to take his frustrations out on the Rabbitohs in Friday night's NRL clash at ANZ Stadium.
Outlawed from the 2009 NRL following a string of off-field indiscretions, Bird endured a forgettable comeback in the Titans'
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