Dragons gun Jack Bird has issued an apology to Red V fans for his comments on Wednesday, stating he was “just trying to stick up for my coach”.
On Wednesday, the 28-year-old slammed a report he had been ringing rival clubs looking for a new home, with a move to Manly on the cards.
He also slammed disgruntled fans who, according to The Daily Telegraph, have begun a petition for coach Anthony Griffin to be sacked.
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“Fans don’t really know too much about footy, I don’t think,” Bird told reporters.
“They’ve got a lot to say about people on the field. I don’t think they’ve ever played a game of footy.
“I’m speaking from first-hand stuff that I’ve copped. I feel sorry for ‘Hook’ (Griffin). It’s us out there playing so we should be the ones to blame.
“Fans are good for the game and stuff like that, but it comes to a point where you can’t cop so much criticism over the players and coaching staff.”
Now Bird has issued an apology to Dragons’ fans, stating “what I said is not what I meant”.
“I want to say sorry to the fans for upsetting them,” Bird said to the Sydney Morning Herald.
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“In no way, shape or form did I mean to make comments coming at the fans personally, I was just trying to stick up for my coach.
“What I said is not what I meant, I just wanted to clarify it. It came out the wrong way, I got tripped up a bit in the way I expressed myself, I didn’t mean it in that way.
“I just want to clear everything up. Hook is not just my coach, he’s my friend as well.
“When you have a coach, you always try to back them, no matter what. He’s obviously under a lot of pressure and I don’t want to dog my own coach or see other people talk shit about him. I was just sticking up for him.”
Bird on Wednesday also said “Hook could be struggling outside of football”, doubling down on that sentiment in his apology.
“I’m fine with stuff coming my way. But people don’t understand that with Hook going through a rough patch with football, he may be struggling with stuff outside of footy as well. That can push somebody over the edge.
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“It wasn’t that fans don’t know what they are talking about, it was that they may not know what’s going on behind the scenes in someone’s personal life.”
Bird previously made it clear he wasn’t leaving the Red V club and said it was “frustrating” to see reports he wanted to force an exit.
As it stands, the Dragons sit equal last after 10 rounds, winning only two games alongside the Wests Tigers.
Bird also said “without the fans there is no game” and explained “I should have left the fans out of it but I got a bit flustered”.
“If they want to boo me, they can boo me. I was just trying to stick up for my coach,” Bird said.
“After I made the comments I instantly felt bad. I said to myself, ‘I shouldn’t have said that stuff, because it’s not what I meant’.
“I knew straight away it would get taken the wrong way. I can understand they are frustrated, they want to win games and so do I.”
