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Toast Craig Bird

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kickthething

kickthething

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…..you are kidding right
Is he now the most under rated player in the game? His last few weeks in particular have been very good and he really has stepped up perhaps just as much as Luke Parker. We keep hearing about how the forward line has made the difference, I believe its the performance of players like Bird that have had a real impact in our current run.
 

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westcoastswan said:
Or me and there is a reason he was given the guernsey he was given ...
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The guernsey that has been worn by such Swans luminaries as Tony Franklin, Michael Byrne and Stephen Allender? Was there a reason Tony Armstrong was given the guernsey number of the great Michael O'Loughlin? Ed Barlow was given the number of Peter Bedford, Stu Maxfield and Mark Browning.

They are just numbers.
 
swansfan51 said:
The guernsey that has been worn by such Swans luminaries as Tony Franklin, Michael Byrne and Stephen Allender? Was there a reason Tony Armstrong was given the guernsey number of the great Michael O'Loughlin? Ed Barlow was given the number of Peter Bedford, Stu Maxfield and Mark Browning.

They are just numbers.
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While your point is decent, they did actually wait a while before giving the number 14 to anyone, and they made quite a big deal of it.
 
Some people wrote off Bird but there are a lot of silly opinions on this board. Opinions are like a..holes. Everyone's got one.
 

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Punts said:
Hopes to earn him self a new contract soon. Coming up on AFL.com from J Dampney
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You would expect it to be a formality as long as his agent doesn't turn feral.
 
He has had a great year and I am stoked that he is maturing his skill this year. There is definitely value in tagging a few years, learning skills of the best and using their own skill against them! :)

P.S. Nick Smith is still the most under-rated player in the game! ;)
 

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TheTrademark said:
He has had a great year and I am stoked that he is maturing his skill this year. There is definitely value in tagging a few years, learning skills of the best and using their own skill against them! :)

P.S. Nick Smith is still the most under-rated player in the game! ;)
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This, he canes all of his opposition without earning any respect outside the swans, he is that good you almost forget he is playing sometimes, he and his opponent just disappear
 
Superstar swan said:
This, he canes all of his opposition without earning any respect outside the swans, he is that good you almost forget he is playing sometimes, he and his opponent just disappear
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100% agree....just ask Cyril:D
 
I'll admit that I didn't think Bird would be a quality player, but he's proven me wrong :)

I'm not sure Nick smith is that under-rated any more - he's considered by many to be the best small defender in the comp
 
It was good to hear Wells give Bird a bit of wraps on the Marngrook footy show, mentioned that he's a tough player to play against. I don't think I've ever hear Bird mentioned by an opposition player, it would seem the tide's turning for Bird. Hopefully we snap him up at a discounted rate and lock him away for a while, his price is set to soar.

As for Smith, he's starting to get his recognition. Was making a name for himself throughout 2012-13, he gets as much respect as you can get as a small defender.
 
I worked with Bird's flatmate for a while. We had a chat about him whilst drinking about 30 beers at the casino one night. To sum it up I said "Bird, he's an underachiever". The response ... "yeah, he knows."

I think it was just a matter of time before everything clicked and he gained confidence. We seem to be seeing that now and I hope it continues because it is guys like him, McGlynn, Rampe, Parker & Laidler that will see us win the flag. We know our top level is great - but so is everyone else's. If we can get the bottom half of our best 22 to perform at their peak, no-one can stop us.
 
To say that Bird is a part of our "bottom half" is a massive thumbs up to our recruiters and list management. I feel like I repeat myself every year but yet again we are proving we easily have the best recruiters and list management in the competition. Bird, Smith, AJ, Parker, Pykey & McGlynn are great examples of guys in our team which have stepped up above the level they have often been given credit for in the past. I have noticed a bit more respect given to Bird and most certainly Parker the last few weeks. Before that however they were "pretty good" or not mentioned at all. We all know what they mean to our team and we don't need all the "experts" massaging our egos and telling us we have some superstars. We already knew that. Then again, a bit of recognition every now and then is a nice difference from the norm. Particularly for a guy like Bird or Smith who work hard week in week out for not much recognition even when they light it up.
 

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