The midfielder, who was named in the Sydney Swans’ best against both Geelong and Essendon, has been impressive in recent weeks, collecting 30-plus possessions in consecutive matches for the first time in his career.
Often selected in the side to play lock-down roles or as a defensive forward, this season has seen Bird spend more time purely in the midfield, which he said had been an exciting change.
“The last couple of weeks have been pretty good,” Bird told media on Friday morning.
“Much like the team, I’ve been slowly building as the year has gone on.
“I’ve probably been playing a bit more through the midfield this year and I’m really enjoying that role.
“Hopefully I can just keep going forward for the rest of the year.”
The New South Wales product, who hails from Nelson Bay, said he felt his recent rotation through the midfield had sparked some of his best form and added that consistency had also played a role in his improvement this season
“Probably the last few weeks have been some of my better games throughout my career,” he said.
“I think I’ve shown in patches that I can play at this level and I’ve just been a bit more consistent over the last few weeks, and hopefully I can keep that going for the rest of the year.
“The last few years I’ve been doing a few tagging jobs and playing a bit more forward and this year has been a bit more through the midfield, and I’ve enjoyed that role.
“I’ve just been working with the other mids and I think we’ve been going quite well over the last couple of weeks.”
The Swans completed their final training session at the SCG on Friday morning ahead of Sunday’s round 12 fixture against the Gold Coast Suns at Metricon Stadium.
Following the Swans’ dominant performance over the Cats and six consecutive victories, Bird said the team needed to maintain a level-headed approach against the Suns, who have been in top form this season.
“It was a good win (over Geelong) and we’ll take confidence out of that,” he said.
“But we know that Gold Coast is another test and we can’t afford to get too far ahead of ourselves.
“We’ve got to make sure we bring the same sort of effort as we did last week against Geelong, and we know it’s going to be a good test because (the Suns) have been in good form this year.
“We’ve got to bring that work rate and that pressure that we’ve been bringing over the last few weeks.”
Bird admitted that the Suns’ dramatic rise this season had come as a bit of a surprise, but said he and his team mates were aware of the challenge ahead.
“I am a little bit (surprised), but I knew that they’ve got some good young players and their midfield has been really strong,” he said.
“They’ve also got some exciting forwards and they’ve obviously been in good form this year and will be another test for us.
“They’ve got some good young players now who have developed over the years, so it’s going to be a tough contest for us and we’re going to have to bring our work rate again this week.
“We’re looking forward to a really good game.”
