Craig Bird

Craig Bird
Personal information
Full name	Craig Bird
Date of birth	21 January 1989 (1989-01-21) (age 22)
Original team	NSW/ACT Rams (TAC Cup) Nelson Bay (BDAFL)
Draft	#59, 2007 National Draft, Sydney
Height/Weight	180cm / 85kg
Position(s)	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Sydney
Number	14
Playing career1
Years	Club	Games (Goals)
2008–	Sydney	62 (25)
1 Playing statistics to end of 2011 season .

Craig Bird (born 21 January 1989) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL).

He was drafted to the Swans with the 59th pick in the 2007 AFL Draft after previously being part of the NSW AFL Scholarship Program. He was recruited from Nelson Bay and made his debut in round one of 2008 season, wearing the number 14 guernsey, previously worn by club legends Paul Kelly and Bob Skilton.^[1] At the end of the 2008 season he was named as the Sydney Swans Rising Star of 2008 tied with Kieran Jack.^[2]

His 2010 season was delayed due to a stress fracture of the toe.^[3]

Bird enjoyed his best year at the Swans in 2011, managing to play 22 out of 24 games for the season. Bird was given a tagging role for much of the year and played the role exceptionally well for the most part. He played on some of the best midfielders in the league over the course of the season. However his best performance of the year came against the Western Bulldogs in round 18 when he kicked 4 goals as a defensive forward having been given the job of limiting the influence of dangerous rebounding defender, Rob Murphy.

References

1. ^ Buckle, Greg (20 March 2008) Bird gets early chance with Swans
2. ^ Warren, Adrian (3 October 2008) McVeigh judged as the best Swan
3. ^ Toe injury grounds Bird

External links

• Craig Bird's statistics from AFL Tables

Persondata
Name	Bird, Craig
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	21 January 1989
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death